About Us
The Federal Government of Mexico recognized Amigos de los Animales de Guanajuato, AC (asociación civil) as a non-profit, non-governmental organization in February of 2002. It is managed by a board of 10 members who oversee our activities in México. Our sister organization, Amigos de los Animales de Guanajuato, Inc., was formed as a non-profit corporation in New York State in May of 2006 and recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code in June of that year. The corporation, which is managed by a Board of three directors, channels its support to Amigos AC.
Our combined mission is to reduce the abandonment, mistreatment, and suffering of dogs and cats in the Guanajuato municipality by focusing on sterilization and education. We envision a community that respects all animals, in which every companion animal is well cared for, and where even stray animals are treated humanely. To date, Amigos de los Animales has sterilized over 23,000 animals and helped to improve the treatment of animals in the municipality of Guanajuato through our education programs.
We depend entirely on private donations, and Board members serve without compensation.
Our board of directors
Tom Reavley
President, U.S. 501(c)3 & México A.C.
Fundraising Committee
U.S. attorney at law and Guanajuato resident who has been an officer of Amigos, AC, since 2002 and president and secretary since 2020. A graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School, he clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark early in his career. His law practice has specialized in mediation and commercial arbitration. Now semi-retired, Tom teaches tai chi in person and meditation online. He is the author of Mario’s Folly: Living a Path with Heart, a book reflecting Carlos Castaneda’s influence on his own philosophy. As president of Amigos, he has provided valuable advice to the organization on policy and legal issues.
Suzy Thompson
Vice-President, México A.C.
Fundraising Committee co-chair
A former teacher who taught K-12 grades in the U.S. and is certified to teach English as a second language. She has been active in organizing our fundraising activities. Before moving to Guanajuato in 2020, she and her husband lived for 12 years in San Miguel de Allende, where she volunteered at a low-income nursing home.
Nancy Hager
Secretary, U.S. 501(c)3
A resident of New York City and our corporate secretary since 2006, Nancy was a faculty member of Brooklyn College of the City University of New York for over 40 years, 16 of them as director of the College’s Conservatory of Music. She held other administrative positions, including interim provost. Since retiring she has continued to advocate for music education and animals. A cat rescuer, bird watcher, and photographer, she supports numerous animal rights and animal protection organizations.
Liz Carranza Arrellano
Secretary, México A.C.
Fundraising Committee
Liz taught nutrition at the Iberoamericana University in León and directed international programs for various foreign universities. She has been active in Guanajuato social organizations that support children and women and founded the Shelter for families of patients at the General Hospital.
Joslyn Lewis
Treasurer, U.S. 501(c)3 & México A.C.
Education & Communication Committee
Before moving to Guanajuato in 2020, Joslyn had a career in healthcare as a registered respiratory therapist at several U.S. hospitals. Besides overseeing our finances, she produces creative posts about our activities on our Facebook page.
Mexico board members at large
Rosemarie Conde
Sterilization Committee chair
Fundraising Committee
Rosemarie is a retired clinical social worker in the U.S. Air Force, teacher of English as a Second Language in the DC area, teacher of English to adults, and former Peace Corps Volunteer in Romania, where she taught middle schoolers. She also volunteered for seven years at a U.S. dog shelter, serving on its board, before moving to Guanajuato in 2020.
Saul Helfenbein
Education & Communication Committee
Fundraising Committee
Saul’s career has been in global health management and finance, mainly with governmental and NGO institutions providing reproductive health, safe-motherhood, and HIV/AIDS services and support in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He continues to teach a course in public health at Nagasaki University. Saul is helping us expand our education program, prepare grants to support our program, and evaluate our activities. He resides in Washington, DC.
Bill Merrell
Legal Affairs Committee
Bill is a U.S. attorney who as an undergraduate earned a degree in Spanish and Latin American history and taught Spanish in the Texas public school system before going to law school. Now retired, he is focusing his efforts on legal issues involving animal welfare in Guanajuato and correcting our translations of news items from English to Spanish.
Julia Salido
Sterilization campaign coordinator
Education & Communication Committee
Julia has been an active member of our association since its founding and president in 2005-06. In 2018 she became our sterilization campaign coordinator and is responsible for selecting the sites for our campaigns, purchasing the inventory, and recruiting, training, and supervising our volunteers. As one of our education volunteers, she has given talks in many schools to sensitize children to their pets’ needs, is regularly interviewed about pets on a local television channel, and when announcing our sterilization campaigns explains to pet owners what the importance of sterilizing both females and males. She also works with two other organizations, arranging to send rescued dogs to British Columbia and North Carolina for adoption, and she has found homes for many dogs and cats in Guanajuato.
Sandra Ward
Founder
Education & Communication Committee chair
Sandra has served on the Board since 2002 as president, secretary, and treasurer. She continues to write most of our news articles, provide advice to the Board based on her extensive knowledge of the organization, and recently has planned our children’s education program. Before moving to Guanajuato in 1998, she was a writer and editor in the population field and for 26 years managed a publication office at a federally funded multinational research center in Honolulu.
Our veterinarians
Verónica Almaguer, MVZ
Anesthesiologist
At our campaigns, Verónica checks the health status of the animals and anesthetizes them before they go into surgery. Her regular job is at SENASICA (National Service for Agricultural Food Health, Safety, and Quality), located at the Bajío International Airport. There, she issues health certificates for products and by-products of animal origin for export, including pets that travel to other countries. She studied veterinary medicine at La Salle Bajío, receiving her degree in 2005.
Ricardo Montes de Oca, MVZ
Surgeon
Ricardo performs surgeries at our campaigns. In addition, he mentors veterinary students in sterilization techniques, offering them one-on-one training in rapid sterilization techniques at his private clinic, and handles the few campaign cases that require follow-up care. He received his degree in veterinary medicine at the University of La Salle Bajío in 2012. He has also earned a diploma in infectious diseases of dogs and cats from UNAM (the National School of Higher Education) in León and a master’s degree in administration of institutions of health from La Salle. In 2022 he was certified in the sterilization protocols developed by the organization Spay Mexico at the University of Mexicali’s School of Veterinary Medicine.
Arturo Rocha, MVZ
Surgeon
Arturo is our other principal surgeon at the sterilization campaigns. Prior to joining our team, he had extensive experience sterilizing dogs and cats. During weekdays he is a veterinarian at the Centro de Control y Bienestar Animal (Animal Control and Wellbeing Center) in the city of León. He attended the University of La Salle, Bajío Campus, in León, graduating with a degree in veterinary medicine in 1999.
Other key volunteers
Antonia López
Education Coordinator
A retired preschool teacher, Tony taught for 34 years at rural, suburban, and urban preschools in the Guanajuato municipality. Throughout her career and as a volunteer in several animal-protection groups, she has encouraged children to respect all living beings. She works with our Education & Communication Committee to plan and conduct our educational activities for children.
Verónica Mares
Sterilization campaign volunteer
Vero has volunteered at our sterilization campaigns for at least 16 years. She’s the person invariably seen in our Newsletter photographs of dogs and cats being prepared for sterilization. She served on our board of directors from 2008 to 2022. An animal rescuer, she has rescued scores of dogs and cats from the streets and negligent pet owners. Each year Vero participates in the city’s anti-rabies campaign, vaccinating dozens of dogs in her neighborhood.
Susan Pataky
Caterer
A professional chef, Susan organizes and supervises the preparation of delicious foods for our two main fundraising events, the annual anniversary fiesta in February and our Christmas market in December. She raises funds to buy the ingredients needed for these culinary delights by preparing and selling delicious take-out foods to an eager clientele throughout the year.
Jim Sullivan
Technical advisor
Jim is our go-to guy for computer help. He enjoys using his skillset to improve systems and processes and to enhance the capabilities of individuals and teams working toward a common goal. He has certainly improved our systems and processes. He redesigned our website, modernized our communications, and expanded our online services to the public. He routinely and cheerfully offers his support to our board and other volunteers.
Did you know?
Our monthly board meetings are open to the public and conducted both in-person and on Zoom. If you are interested in attending a meeting, send us an email.