Marilou Chanrasmi, CARE Center Chief – Northern Tier

Marilou has been collaborating and partnering with Minnesota tribal communities since 2008. She has deep connections and relationships with proximate leaders at Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Red Lake Nation and Little Earth of United Tribes. Collaborating with her Anishinaabe friends in Minnesota, she has been building an expanding circle of indigenous proximate leaders and trusted partners committed to animal and human well being. She is deeply committed to honoring the wisdom within the community, building authentic relationships, and elevating the voices of indigenous people and those from marginalized communities. She has served as a liaison, mentor and guide to trusted allies wanting to learn a new way of listening and being in their work with tribal communities. 

Marilou is a somatics coach and an experienced facilitator of circles with a process that creates space that is participatory, experiential, healing, reflective, equitable and meets people where they are, and also challenges them to see with more than eyes and hear with more than ears.

Marilou is a founding member of Deep Listening for Social Change/DLSC. DLSC is a peaceful action that members of the Twin Cities BIPOC mindfulness community initiated  in response to the murder of George Floyd. DLSC uses the practice of Deep Listening as an anti-racist tool for having difficult conversations, healing from the wounds of systemic and community-specific racism, and creating a greater sense of interconnection in order to facilitate sustained social change. 

Marilou shares her home with her 3 dogs: Legacy and Ishkode (from Leech Lake Nation) and Migizi (from Mille Lacs Nation). Marilou continues to be guided by her spirit dog, Ahnung (a Red Lake Nation dog) who crossed over to the spirit world in 2013. She has a daily meditation, nature hiking, qigong, and centering practice.

Donovan Dodds, CARE Center Director – Atlanta [South Eastern Tier]

Donovan Dodds is an 4th generation HBCU educated, Atlantan scholar with a superior record of years of successful community representation and relations as a dedicated and seasoned Community Engagement & Outreach Professional. Donovan was raised with strong family values and learned from a very early age that like the great Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Everybody can be great, because everyone can serve.” He grew up watching his family serve in numerous volunteer leadership roles in church, sororities, and the community at large. 

 Due to his great involvement and volunteerism Donovan was awarded the Bonner Community Service Scholarship while pursuing his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at Morehouse College. It is during that time, working with underserved students, the un-housed population downtown, and even helping with local community organizations, he identified that he truly did have call of service on his life. 

He took those experiences and became focused on providing and connecting people to the resources they need. In 2020 at the age of 23, Donovan was elected Chair of Neighboring Planning Unit ‘R’, which  is a citizen advisory council in Southwest Atlanta that serves as the official avenue for residents to express concerns and provide input in developing plans to address the needs of each neighborhood, as well as to receive updates from City government; making him the youngest person ever elected to serve in that role in City of Atlanta history. 

Donovan brings his intimate knowledge of the Atlanta community and his over 10 years of volunteering in animal welfare to his role as CARE Centers Director, having previously created programming centered around bringing adoption events and services to underserved and under represented communities. Under his leadership, that program has placed hundreds of shelter dogs into loving homes, including 3 pitbulls, Tinkerbelle, Pharaoh and Attikus whom have made his family’s home theirs.

Hakeem Ruiz, Director of CARE Centers Philly/Camden

Hakeem Ruiz is a 29 year old born and raised in Philadelphia. While attending Lincoln High School, Hakeem and other friends started a group called The Block. Years later that friend group went on to become a very successful non-profit called ” The Block Gives Back”. Hakeem became the Vice President and was given the task of hosting block parties, street cleaning events, and networking with the adults and youth of the community. In 2019 the group was recognized by KYW radio as a winner of the Black History Month “GameChangers” award, for the continued efforts in minority communities. 

Aside from community volunteering Hakeem formerly worked in the social work field as a Case Manager before joining the CARE team. Spending parts of 3 years working with at risk youth from ages 13-17 to earn expungement of permanent charges. Hakeem will now be the CARE Center Director of Camden/Philly. He looks forward to being able to continue to create and build connections for more organizations along with CARE and being able to assist an unaddressed need in a forgotten area. Having raised a 13 year old stray dog, Gucci, Hakeem has seen the low points of the animal care system locally and is determined to change it for the better of the community.