Board of directors
Jen Halpern, Founder, President & CEO
In the 11th grade, Jen's mom took her to see "Live Aid" which was a charity event given by musicians to raise money for hunger relief in Africa. Jen was so inspired by their selflessness to come together as a like-minded community for a cause, that she decided she wanted to do the same back at home. Her vision was to join High School students in NYC for a cause and run it completely by kids without any adult supervision. Jen formed a big street fair for The Make A Wish Foundation which grants children with cancer a wish come true. She coordinated and managed the students of 25 independent schools in NYC to participate in this huge and complex venture. This was the beginning of her experience with learning managerial and organization skills which ultimately took her into a career in film and TV production. Jen received a Bachelor of Science degree in film from Boston University and after years of working as a producer, she became a casting director. Jen never stopped giving throughout the years, and her love for animals started to take center stage again. While she was looking for volunteer options to help animals in some way, she found the Cage Comforter program on Animal Care Center of NYC's website. Her reaction to the skill requirement was "I don't know how to sew, but I can make this happen! And indeed she did! She took all her previous experience and created a group that met monthly to make beds for shelter cats and dogs. As the dedicated volunteer base grew in number, so did ideas and creativity. The group began making toys for cats, dogs, rabbits, and now guinea pigs too. Jen feels so honored to be part of this wonderful community of loving and compassionate people who have chosen to expand and support this effort. Jen's aim is to help our furry friends in need at the shelters - and her big goal is to spread the word to adopt never shop and find all our furry friends FOREVER homes.
Jo Duer, Treasurer
Jo started her career in the financial industry working as a portfolio assistant at Milbank Winthrop & Co.; a boutique investment firm in New York City. Later as an account manager at CheckFree Investments Services; a leading provider of investment management services to financial institutions, she was able to use her knowledge and skills to provide guidance and support to many investment firms by analyzing their needs and recommending the appropriate solutions. In 1995, while still employed in the financial industry, Jo helped her husband establish Avalon Restaurant Renovations, Inc. and discovered she had a passion for business and wanted to help other entrepreneurs with their start-ups. A year later, in 1996, she began her own business; OutSource Bookkeeping. As Jo learned working in “Corporate America,” sound financial systems are the backbone of all successful businesses. Jo lives with her husband, 2 children and their rescue dog, Nova.
simina calin, director of sewing and crafts
Simina has been involved with animal welfare since she joined her high school's Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals club as a freshman. She has volunteered for several animal rescue organizations in New York City, mostly providing cat and dog care. She currently serves as a mentor in the kitten nursery at the Best Friends Lifesaving Center in SoHo. She began her career as a foster parent in 2009 when she took in a nursing mother cat and her kittens through the NYC ACC's foster program. Since then she has opened her home to numerous animals including adults cats, kittens, dogs, rats, and rabbits. In 2012, Simina learned about Pillows for Paws through a post on the ACC's Facebook page and saw the perfect opportunity to combine her love of all things craft with her love of all things animal. She joined the group as a bed sewer and is now the active Director of Sewing and Crafts. She is in charge of programming and design for the unique, high quality Pillows for Paws beds and toys volunteers make. Her favorite things about the group is coming together with like-minded people to see how everyone's unique skills can help to bring comfort and love to New York's neediest animals. Simina lives in Manhattan with her three rescue cats, Theresa, Bob, and Sandy.
Lindsay Freda, Secretary
As a current volunteer, foster and former employee of Animal Care Centers of NYC, Lindsay brings a boots on the ground perspective to Pillows for Paws. As a member of the board of PFP, she serves as a liaison to the AC&C shelter staff and offers feedback that helps PFP better provide comfort and enrichment items that meet the needs of the animals in the shelter. She also puts her Columbia MBA to good use by contributing marketing and business development ideas including encouraging the group to bring their handmade products to the public for sale. She is thrilled to be working with the PFP team whose hard work, creativity, and loving commitment to caring for the City's homeless and abandoned animals is a tremendous inspiration. It is Lindsay's dream for all the shelter animals to receive the love and proper care they deserve on their way to finding forever homes. She currently lives with her husband, Dan, two tabby cats, Linus and Snoopy and a tuxedo cat named Jerry, who was a foster and now has been officially adopted from AC&C. She cannot thank them enough for the endless joy and unfailing love they provide.