Ed Jamison, Chair of the CAC Advisory Board 

Ed Jamison serves as CEO of Operation Kindness, a lifesaving non-profit animal welfare organization based in Texas. Under his leadership since March 2021, Ed guides the organization to administer innovative programs impacting dogs and cats across the region, including community initiatives, shelter partnerships, interstate transport, forensics for animal cruelty and more. Ed also leads the lifesaving work at the Operation Kindness shelter, which includes a medical wing, neonatal kitten nursery and pet food pantry, located in Carrollton, TX.

Previously, Ed served as the Director of Dallas Animal Services (DAS). When he joined DAS in 2017, the animal situation in Dallas was the center of public scrutiny. Ed was tasked with increasing public safety by getting loose animals off the streets, while also increasing positive outcomes. The “Dallas 90” campaign was designed to help create a community where all people and animals are safe, treated with respect, and have access to the resources needed to thrive. With a dog and cat intake of over 39,000 in 2019, Dallas had the 3rd highest intake in the nation. 

With an extensive background working in the animal welfare field beginning in the early 2000s, Ed worked in Cleveland, Ohio, before moving to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. In the position of Chief Animal Control Officer for the City of Cleveland, Jamison pushed to redefine functionality and public perception of animal control. The award-winning, trademarked CITY DOGs Cleveland Adoption and Volunteer programs continue to be flourishing programs copied throughout the country. 

Ed is currently the President of Texas Unites for Animals, Vice President of the National Animal Care & Control Association, and Board Member for the Association of Animal Welfare Advancement and Shelter Animals Count. His main role as the Chair of the CAC Advisory Board will be to support the CAC department at CARE by providing insights from the Human and Animal well-being field to create and sustain the effectiveness of the CAC program across the country. He will be responsible for building the rest of the CAC Advisory Board and ensure a focus on community driven and led workforce is considered throughout the council’s discussions to ensure sustainability.

Johnny Jenkins, Chief of Program Strategies

Johnny Jenkins has twenty-five years of experience in grassroots community engagement and professional non-profit experience. His talents have been used to support mission-driven efforts across movements ranging from animal welfare and LGBTQ+ equality to racial equity, diversity and inclusion. He has had had the opportunity to provide leadership as an organizer, a non-profit board and program director, and a multi-million-dollar grant portfolio manager. As an experienced strategic grant-maker, Johnny has led philanthropic initiatives that support racial and economic Justice while also advancing social justice inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity. Recently, he served as the adoption grants manager responsible for PetSmart Charities’ U.S. East Region to support shelters and rescues in finding homes for homeless pets.

Mr. Jenkins holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Western Michigan University, and is currently pursuing a graduate level degree from Arizona State University. His research interest includes organizing strategies, coalition-building, cooperative economics, leadership development (community wisdom), racial equity and social justice. He draws from lived experiences to engage people and communities to promote equity and access to opportunities that improve the quality of life for marginalized families and their pets.

Johnny has an extensive record of service in the LGBTQ+ and Detroit communities which has resulted in multiple community awards. In addition to his many community accomplishments, Johnny is also an accomplished spoken word artist who has produced and served as Slam Master for two national Detroit Poetry Slam Teams. In addition, he is a proud co-founder and former producer of one the oldest Black LGBT pride celebrations in North America – Detroit’s Hotter Than July (1996) which continues to operate today.

He is grateful for the opportunity to share his lived experiences and expertise to increase racial equity, diversity and inclusion in animal welfare. This is shared through his service as Co-Lead of PetSmart Charities’ Racial Equity Advisory, Steering Committee Member of PetSmart’s MOSAIC Associate Resource Group, Vice President of PetSmart’s Pride At Work (PAW) Associate Resource Group, and as a Co-Chair of The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (AAWA) DEI Committee. 

Rachel ‘Rae’ Williams, Senior Director, Community Animal CARE (CAC)

Rachel ‘Rae’ Williams, is CARE’s Senior Director of Community Animal CARE. Community Animal CARE (CAC) is CARE’s innovative community solution-based “animal care and control” model focused on prevention. The division is centered on community care capacity building, critical resource distribution, and Human and Animal Well-Being (HAW) support. This is something Rae has been working on her entire career. She will help design and implement a national strategy that cultivates well-informed communities to strengthen their capacity to make good choices for themselves and their pets. 

Rae is an experienced animal welfare professional that fosters a culture of community centered solutions. She is passionate about pets, people, public safety and pioneering innovative lifesaving practices and strategies. Rae has served as an Operations Manager for Dallas Animal Services Field and Shelter and LA County Animal Care and Control. Rae is a Board Member Spay Neuter Network and has received recognition from the University of the Pacific (Certified Animal Shelter Manager, 2019),  Southern Utah University (Best Friends Executive Leadership Certification, 2021), Fear Free Certified Professional (2020) and contributed to Ecosystems – Human Animal Support Services (2020). Rae enjoys spending her free time with family and being a pet foster parent. 

Dr. Raye Taylor, Senior Veterinary Medical Officer, Rural Community Animal CARE

Dr. Raye Taylor is a Red Lake Nation descendant and is the first in her family to go to college. She has worked with many animals from insects to birds and fish; however, she has spent most of her career working with dogs, cats, and horses. For education, Dr. Taylor has degrees from Iowa State University in Animal Ecology/Zoology and Microbiology, then left her PhD track to attend veterinary school at St. George’s University. She has certificates from University of Minnesota (Veterinary Medicine), and Cornell University (Leadership); and carries certifications in the Human-Animal Bond and Hospice and Palliative Care. With years in general practice, regulation, and teaching, she has always maintained a relationship with community work. This has extended from mentorship and leadership at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine; in veterinary clinics, on mobile services, and at the racetrack. She met CARE while volunteering with a student-led community service group, where primarily her focus has been to collaborate with indigenous communities and student mentorship. Her mantras are partnership with pet parents and empowerment through knowledge.

“CARE creates creative and inspiring opportunities to repair a broken system and broken hearts. I am excited to witness and facilitate the magic of empowerment through knowledge in our culture keepers, change makers, animal families, and community members & leaders. The way to repair the power dynamic is to give it to the people–and advancing that with CARE is going to be an honor.”

– Dr. Raye Taylor

Dr. Azalia Boyd, Chief Veterinary Medical Officer, Urban CAC Program & Chairperson, CARE Veterinary Advisory Committee

The Chief Veterinary Medical Officer, Urban Community Animal CARE  is a community solution-based leadership role in the veterinary field on a national level. This position works closely with CAC (Community Animal CARE) and CARE Centers team members to establish a new model for a community-based Veterinary CARE Clinic (VCC).

Dr. Boyd also serves as the committee’s first chair and is a double graduate of the Historically Black College & University (HBCU), Tuskegee University. There, she received a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine and a Bachelor of Science in Animal and Poultry Science. After earning her degrees, Dr. Boyd completed an emergency, surgery, and internal medicine internship, strengthening her medical skills. Once getting out into the work field, she has served as a valued associate at multiple clinics and hospitals within metro Atlanta, held leadership positions as medical director and mentor, and continues to provide high-quality veterinary care day to day. 

Dr. Boyd has enrolled and completed courses in leadership, positive psychology, and cultural competence, all of which she uses to help her connect with the people of the pets she serves.  “Every day, I have the opportunity to touch a very small part of the world and make a difference- the importance of my position extends outside of the clinic setting but affects the lives and happiness of people, pets, and the individual relationships with each other,” says Dr. Boyd. Dr. Boyd has been a longtime supporter of CARE and shares the same mission within the field and, most importantly, outside within the community. Her unwavering compassion is evident, and we are excited to build a positive and lasting effect on the world. 

Miguel Ruelas, Director, Community Animal Care (CAC)

Miguel Ruelas (he/they) is a parent to one human and three non-human creatures. Born and raised on unceded Tongva land in so-called Los Angeles, they are a queer, Trans, working class, child of Mexican immigrants and bring a wealth of expertise stemming from a lifetime of navigating the intersections of these identities. He works to build connections and uplift communities who have been historically marginalized and systematically oppressed. 

Miguel has had a passion for animals his entire life and spent the last 7 years in animal well being developing programming and working directly in and with communities. He is a certified community counselor and mediator and is excited to bring their whole self to his position as Director of Community Animal Care and continue supporting the human-animal bond through partnerships with the communities CARE serves and the other organizations and agencies uplifting those communities.

Michelle George, Director, Community Animal CARE (CAC)

Michelle has over 10 years of working experience in an open-intake county animal shelter with services contracted for shelter operations as well as field enforcement operations. While working in most departments within the shelter, the majority of her work experience was gained within Field Services. In the pursuit of the next opportunity or new challenge, she has been able to learn many facets (kennel, adoptions, client care, dispatch, field support, rescue through transport, and more) within animal welfare, never shying from the chance to be a source of information to anyone she meets. Awareness and empowerment are key.  

When away from work, Michelle enjoys spending time with her family, pets, and friends, traveling, and shopping.