Board of
Directors

Dr. Peyton Aaronson was born and raised in Palm Springs, CA. She graduated from Palm Springs High School and was accepted into UCLA, where she received her undergraduate degree and was named Bruin Senior of the Year in 2016. She went on to receive her veterinary degree (DVM) from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, where she developed an interest in pet nutrition, chronic pain management, and soft tissue surgery. Shortly after graduation she moved back to her hometown to care for the greater Palm Springs community. She was awarded Palm Springs Life’s 40 Under 40 for her contributions to the community and career achievements. She works full-time at VCA Desert Animal Hospital, and aids in relief at other veterinary hospitals in the desert impacted by the veterinary shortage. She enjoys volunteering her time in surgery and preventative care at the Palm Springs Animal Shelter, then seeing those animals in their new families when she becomes their primary veterinarian.

Dr. Douglas Kunz has passionately dedicated his career and life to his profession and to the health and support of pets and the people that care for them. Dr. Kunz developed a love of animals and a desire to make sick and injured ones feel better as a young child growing up in rural southeastern Idaho. From these passions, he has built his professional career.

Dr. Kunz graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree and obtained a Master’s of Science degree in animal nutrition from Brigham Young University. His veterinary education was obtained from Colorado State University where he graduated in May of 1977.

Dr. Kunz has practiced small animal medicine and surgery in Palm Springs for the past 42 years. He currently practices at VCA Desert Animal Hospital in Palm Springs where he also serves as medical director.  Dr. Kunz has served on the California Veterinary State Board Exam Review Committee and the Medical Advisory Board for PetDrX, Inc. He is a contributing author of the Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine. He was a founder of Animal Emergency Clinic of the Desert and served as president of the board of directors for over 20 years until its sale to XLNT Veterinary Care, Inc. in January of 2007.

As a founding President of the Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter from 1996 to 2015, Dr. Kunz maintains his dedication to the shelter by continuing to serve on the board of directors of Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter today and acts as a trusted advisor to the shelter’s medical team.

Dr. Kunz and his wife of 50 years, Colleen Ross live in Palm Springs. They are the parents of five children and have 19 grandchildren.

Tamara Hedges is longtime animal advocate and activist, volunteering her time for animal causes since she was a teen growing up in Colorado. She joined Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter (FPSAS) in 2008, working to help raise funds for the new city animal shelter, built in October, 2011. Prior to joining the organization, Tamara volunteered with the San Francisco SPCA for eleven years, serving in a wide variety of roles. Her experience with the SF SPCA helped her create the FPSAS volunteer program at the old animal shelter in 2009, launching it with just six dedicated volunteers. Along with then board member Tanya Petrovna, Tamara developed the TNR program in 2011. As part of the executive board, Tamara helped craft the proposal to the City of Palm Springs to operate the shelter and was part of the management team when Friends began running the shelter in November 2012. She established the Fix a Friend free and low cost spay/neuter program in 2014, securing grant funding to launch the program. Tamara has served as secretary, vice chair, and chair of the board of directors.

Tamara has been an administrator for the University of California for nearly three decades, beginning at UC San Francisco in 1992, before transferring to the UC Riverside Palm Desert Center in 2005, where she was part of the University’s launch team. There she served as the financial and administrative officer, then became the Chief Operating Officer, before being promoted to her current position of Executive Director in 2013. Tamara has created and supported countless academic and community engagement programs at UCR Palm Desert, covering a wide range of subjects including climate change, conservation, food insecurity, social justice, health care, nonprofit management, fine arts, film, literature, Native American studies and mindfulness, to name a few.

Tamara and her husband Tony Thelemaque live in Palm Springs, where their rescue cats and dogs graciously allow the couple to share their home.

Kierith Jones, as The Head of Strategy and Innovative Finance at Thruline Networks, serves as a Thought Partner and Special Advisor to purpose-driven businesses and entrepreneurs, providing guidance for sustainable growth planning, organizational development and capital stack optimization. She also serves as a Special Advisor to individual investors, private funds and foundations focused on values-based investing for social and environmental impact. Prior to that, she led the Innovative Finance Program at Criterion Institute, a global non-profit think tank working to advance gender and social equity by addressing power dynamics in financial systems and transactions.

Kierith is a veteran human rights attorney and community organizer with decades of experience in reproductive justice, LGBTQ+ rights, environmental justice, voting rights and election protection initiatives for major organizations including: the ACLU, Brennan Center for Justice, Center for Reproductive Rights, DNC, Empire State Pride Agenda, Greenpeace, Human Rights Watch, Lambda Legal, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and OFA. She serves as a Pro Bono Arbitrator for the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (WRRAP), the largest independent abortion fund in the United States.

Previously, Kierith was an international corporate finance and governance attorney, for Cleary Gottlieb (NYC and Paris) and later, Wilson Sonsini (Palo Alto, CA), where she worked for over a decade representing major institutional investment firms and multi-national corporations on complex financial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, securities regulatory and compliance matters. She also advised Boards of Directors of public, private and nonprofit institutions. Kierith is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, L’Université Paris, La Sorbonne and New York University School of Law. She is a member of the Bar of the State of New York.

Carl Johnson worked in New York City and lived in Chappaqua, NY before retiring to Palm Springs.  He was employed by Citigroup Inc., Smith Barney brokerage division for 20 years, serving as the Executive VP-Technology of the Legal and Compliance Division. He worked closely with senior management to ensure adherence to state, federal, and industry regulatory bodies. He created real-time on-line systems and reporting structures enabling effective monitoring of their policies, procedures, and transactions and transmission of information directly to the regulatory agencies.

Previously a cat-only pet owner, Carl’s life was immediately enhanced by also welcoming dogs into his family after his retirement in 2006. Carl began volunteering with the Big Brother organization in 2008 mentoring children one on one and then also in an after-school program tutoring students. He began volunteering at the Palm Springs Animal Shelter in 2011. Looking for an opportunity to put his business acumen and leadership to work, he joined the Friends of the Palm Springs Animal board of directors in 2012 where he quickly found this to be his life passion and served as our Vice Chair. He was active in employing policies and procedures in the new No Kill shelter and worked with others to install a new animal database enabling real-time information gathering and effective presentation for management review and reporting.

Most recently, Carl has put his personal passion of enriching and enhancing the lives of the shelters dogs in preparation for adoption into action.  He worked to enhance the Canine Enrichment Program by developing and strengthening the shelter’s infrastructure with program enhancement and effective training of staff and volunteers. Carl has always shared his life with multiple animals and feels honored to have been the recipient of love, hope, and companionship from them.  It is with this honorable exchange that he helps shelter animals to prepare for their next adventure, safely, securely, and without fear.

Scott Nevins is an award-winning TV Host and personality, entertainment/political news contributor, writer, producer, and LGBTQ+, civil rights and healthcare advocate. He lives in beautiful Palm Springs, California with his husband, Philip, and their rescue dog, Wifi. Scott is a Board Member at DAP Health (where he co-chaired “The Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards”), as well as the Palm Springs Sister Cities committee, and is the new producer of the long-running “Cabaret 88” series at the Palm Springs Art Museum.

Scott has proudly utilized his talents for numerous organizations like HRC; PFLAG; Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS; God’s Love We Deliver; The Matthew Shepard Foundation; The Entertainment Community Fund and Glenn Close’s organization Bring Change To Mind, to name a few.

Scott was honored on OUT Magazine’s prestigious OUT100 list, and is the recipient of the Out There Award and the Silver ADDY Award for his work as a LGBTQ+ and HIV awareness advocate.

Paul Ortega is a California native with a penchant for travel and learning, Paul received his Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Stanford University and his Master of Arts in International Relations and Economics from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.  Both programs allowed for him to continue his academic pursuits while studying in Italy.

Before moving to the desert, Paul worked as a member of the executive team for a major US retailer, as a business manager for a global telecommunications company, and as the CFO of an international business-to-business Internet firm.

Since 2002, he has lived and worked as a landscape designer in Palm Springs, embracing the desert environment with a deep commitment to water conservation.  In 2005 he co-founded the Desert Horticultural Society and served as its board president for 8 years. Additionally, Paul served as a member and chair of the City of Palm Springs Architectural Advisory Committee, and as a member of the Living Desert University Board as well as Modernism Week’s Events Committee.  He began volunteering at the Palm Springs Animal Shelter in 2017.  In December 2020 he was appointed to the board of directors of Desert Water Agency (DWA), and currently serves as that board’s president. Paul also represents DWA on the Association of California Water Agencies – Region 9 Board, which guides regional water issues.

Paul has lived with both cats and dogs in the home. He is currently the proud dad to Miss Jazz, otherwise known as a foster failure (but don’t tell her that).

Alyson Yarberry is the President of Modera, an award-winning marketing firm and WBENC-Certified Women’s Business Enterprise she founded in 2010. Her experience includes developing strategic marketing campaigns for local and national health and wellness brands and providing services to many non-profits. Modera’s mission is to make it easier for health and wellness companies to connect with their audience by developing and sharing their value through innovative strategies, authentic storytelling, and focusing on opportunities to drive positive impact.

She previously served on the board of directors for Orange County-based non-profit organizations, Providence Speech and Hearing (2016-2020) and The Priority Center (2021 -2023). Alyson began supporting the TNR program at PSAS in 2019 as a donor and quickly became involved in additional shelter programs and events. She is also dedicated to increasing the number of women leaders, by supporting programs and communities that provide women with a platform for growth and advancement.

After many years as a part-time resident, Alyson moved to Palm Springs in 2021 with her husband, Jamie Reidy, and former rough-and-tumble stray cats Tigger and Diego (former PSAS resident), who have adjusted well to indoor life.