The WCHS Team
As a nonprofit shelter, Wayne County Humane Society is operated by a small and dedicated staff, a very active volunteer board of directors, and our amazing shelter volunteers.
Meet The Staff
Shelter Director
Lisa worked at the shelter for several years starting as a kennel technician and moving on to the adoption coordinator position before pursuing a career as a paralegal. She worked for several years in the legal and nonprofit sectors in Wayne County while pursuing further education. In 2021, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Management with a specialization in Business Intelligence and Analytics Management.
Debbie Emery
Animal Care Technician
Debbie has worked at WCHS for 13 years and is a familiar face around the shelter. She is a big animal lover and her favorite part about working at WCHS is that she has the opportunity to take care of and interact with animals every day. Some of Debbie's main duties involve the rescue and transport of WCHS animals, cleaning kennels, and lending a hand around the shelter wherever it is needed.
When she is not hard at work, Debbie enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, going out to eat, and visiting with friends. At home, Debbie has eleven cats, three dogs, an iguana, and a bearded dragon to keep her company.
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Volunteer and Events Coordinator
Karen is the Volunteer and Events Coordinator at WCHS. Her business management degree and background help keep her organized as she schedules all of the shelter volunteers and manages numerous social and business events throughout the year. Karen and her husband Randy live on a mini farm complete with horses, dogs, and cats. They enjoy family time with their grown son, daughter, and son-in-law.
Karen says the best part of her job is the people who volunteer and their "can-do" attitude. "It's fun to match people and their skills to the needs of the shelter - whether that involves graphic arts designing, decorating, landscaping, or any aspects in between. The shelter is responsible for a tremendous amount of animals and it takes a small army to keep it running smoothly and efficiently. In addition to our wonderful individual volunteers, we are so blessed to have a network of local businesses that are incredibly generous with both their donations and employee work service days that enable us to help as many animals as possible. It truly is amazing!"
Akash Loess
Veterinary Assistant/Animal Care Technician
Animal Care Specialist
Say hello to Stephanie Long! Stephanie's Associate of Science degrees from Ohio State University in Animal Science and Agricultural Education have made her a great fit for the many animal care roles that she has held at the shelter since joining the team in 2014. Her current role is Animal Care Specialist, which puts her in charge of overseeing and managing the health and welfare of animals while they are at WCHS. Additionally, Stephanie coordinates rescues, arranges foster care for animals in need, plans and assists vets with trap-neuter release services, evaluates animal temperaments, writes bios for adoptable animals, and comes up with many of the clever names for our adoptable animals! The best parts of Stephanie’s job are that she is able to use her skills and knowledge to help make animals happy and healthy, and that she gets the opportunity to introduce people to their new best friends.
Mandy Miller
Animal Care Technician
Mandy is our Animal Care Technician at WCHS. She makes sure all of the animals are well cared-for and healthy during their time at WCHS. Mandy loves working with animals, and her favorite part of her job is getting to be a part of each animal’s journey to find their forever home.
At home, Mandy enjoys spending her time in the garden with her four kids. She also spends her time playing with and caring for all her pets. She has three mini dachshunds, five cats, a bearded dragon, several geese, and a few peacocks. When she finally has a moment to relax, Mandy enjoys writing poetry.
Alix Smetzer
Animal Care Technician
Terri Pierce
Animal Care Technician
Meet The Board
Mike Bomboris
Board President
Mike came to the Humane Society volunteering to do videos with pets to make a difference in their lives and help get them adopted. He was approached to join the board and it was a no-brainer with his previous knowledge and work in animal welfare.
Mike, and his spouse, Charles, have 3 dogs (Ellie, Oliver, Motley), 4 cats (Rupert, Rowan, Charlie, and GiGi), and a horse (Sassy). He loves to spend time with his family, spouse, fur babies, and in the spring and summer, he loves to be in his flower bed.
Mike’s goal for WCHS is to see our volunteer program increase and to be able to help change the lives of more animals.
Dee Black
Board Vice President
Dee joined the board after learning about the opportunity at Leadership Wooster nonprofit day. She loves volunteering and giving back to the organization from which she adopted her dog-child, Scampers. Dee is a former special education teacher turned yoga studio manager and yoga teacher. Dee is employed at Flex Yoga Wooster. She is married to Zach, who works at the College of Wooster; they have two cats: Daisy and Sketch, and Scampers. Dee's goals for WCHS are to increase our visibility in the community and continue to streamline processes for efficient shelter operations.
Alyssa Gilbert
Board Secretary
Alyssa became a part of Wayne County Humane Society as a volunteer in 2016, where she enjoyed socializing dogs and cats during her lunch breaks. She joined the board in 2020 and has loved getting involved with marketing, fundraising events, and running the Annual Paws in the Park Dog Swim every August (save the date for August 6th this year! 🐶). Her favorite way to stay involved at WCHS is fostering. She has fostered several adorable litters of kittens over the last few years and has two cats of her own, Rourke and Pooka, that she and her husband foster failed in 2021. Outside of WCHS, Alyssa works as a Technical Market Analyst at Seaman Corporation and spends her evenings gardening or enjoying life with family and friends
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Greg Long
Board Treasurer
Bill Albright
Board Member
Anna Duke
Board Member
Anna is an animal lover who got involved with Wayne County Humane Society as a student attending The College of Wooster. She began as a volunteer in 2012, and when she moved back to Wooster in 2017, she got involved with WCHS again. Anna has been on the Board since 2020 and has served as the Vice President and President of the Board of Directors. Anna works at The College of Wooster as the Director of Annual Giving. Anna is a proud cat mom and has two cats, Calvin and Van Gogh, who were adopted from WCHS in 2020 and 2023. She and her family love coming to the shelter to volunteer.
Jim Hand
Board Member
Laurel Harrison, DVM
Board Member
Dr. Laurel Harrison is an associate veterinarian at Cleveland Road Animal Hospital in Wooster. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and their 5 shelter rescues: Barley, Kylo, Paski, Ollie and Nacho.
Laurie Harvey
Board Member
Matt Kopina
Board Member
Alexis LeJeune
Board Member
Alexis LeJeune is an Associate and Title Agent in the firm’s Real Estate department, with a focus on real estate and general corporate matters. She assists clients with contract agreements, contract disputes, and real estate portfolio management among other general legal services.
Prior to joining Critchfield, Alexis worked for the Louisiana House of Representatives Appropriations Committee drafting legislation, and at a boutique law firm in Metairie, Louisiana, with a focus on toxic tort litigation.
Alexis rescued her dog Felix from a kill shelter in Louisiana in 2015. The staff loved him so much they pushed his euthanasia date back several times and she was lucky enough to find him a few days before the final date was scheduled.
Ron Messner
Board Member
Chuck Neyhart
Board Member
Duper Pallotta
Board Member
I was THE cheerleading coach at Wooster High School for a combined 22 years.
I feel it's important to be a proud member of your community so therefore I have served on numerous non-profit boards over the years. I have been a long time supporter of and now serve on the Wayne County Humane Society Board because I believe in the mission.
I am the proud owner of 2 (black) Golden doodles, a horse and 4 mini donkeys.