APS Board of Directors

Kendall Page—Kendall is the Vice President and has been on the Board for 4 years.  She is a real estate attorney in Chapel Hill where she has lived her entire life.  She is a long-time supporter of various philanthropic activities in our community and is an advocate for rescuing homeless animals.  She has also assumed the major responsibility for raising funds for the APS Capital Campaign as well as the general ongoing fundraising programs.

Lida Coleman—Lida is a Certified Public Accountant and the managing partner of Coleman, Huntoon, Charamut & Brown in Chapel Hill.  Even when it’s not tax season, Lida is actively involved in non-profits in our community and is currently serving as the APS Treasurer and head of the Finance Committee.

Sarah Gray Lamm—Sarah Gray is currently the APS secretary having joined the board in 2007.  A native North Carolinian, UNC graduate and career real estate broker with Allen Tate Realtors in Chapel Hill, Sarah Gray has served her community in various volunteer roles for over 28 years including work with the United Way in every capacity from fundraiser to president.  Her life is richer for two shelter-adopted tuxedo cats and one sweet black cat that showed up one hot summer day and decided to stay.

DeWana Anderson—Dr. Anderson is a veterinarian who is currently affiliated with the Animal Hospital in Carrboro.  She has been a veterinarian for 13 years and is a member of the Orange County Board of Health and the Orange County Animal Services Advisory Council.   She has been volunteering to help homeless cats and dogs for several years and joined APS last year to add her support to our organization, where she chairs the Adoption Center Committee.

Perry Dowd—Perry joined in the Board in 2007 but has been an ardent APS supporter for many years.  She is well known throughout our community as a successful restauranteur and currently is a manager at A Southern Season.  She is the proud owner of 15 rescued dogs and multiple cats and brings a wonderful perspective to the board.

Amy Eller---Amy is serving her second year on the Board.  She is the marketing team leader for Whole Foods in Durham and previously worked in the world of non-profit communications.  She has been involved in the mission of this organization for many years and formerly served on the staff of APS, first as volunteer coordinator and then public relations manager.  She is the proud mom of three APS animals, one Bassett hound mix and two very lovely cats!

Caroline Green—Caroline is one of our newest board members and comes to us with years of experience related to animal welfare.  She volunteered with the Orange County shelter for years and recently served on the Orange County Animal Services Advisory Board.  She is an engineer who graduated from NC State and is currently working for a start-up company where she serves both as an integration engineer and grants manager, however, her most important job is mother to Petunia, a 2-yr old black lab/bloodhound mix adopted from the Orange County animal shelter.

Penny Leigh—Penny has been a board member for 2 years and is a volunteer with the APS dog training program for which she currently teaches two agility classes. She lives in Mebane and works as an Internal Consultant for the American Kennel Club in Raleigh. She also is a freelance writer, who has been published in several national dog magazines. She is a longtime dog trainer and avid competitor with her own dogs in agility, obedience, rally, flyball, and other sports. She has supported and helped with rescue programs, and two rescue border collies are among her current canine companions.

Debbie Leonard—Debbie joined the Board last year.  She grew up on a dairy farm in Welcome, NC, and animals have always been an integral part of her life.  She currently has two cats, aged 9 and 20 years!  Debbie served as head coach of the Duke Women’s Basketball team from 1977 – 1992 and was influential in increasing the attention and respect given to women’s basketball.  She was the 1986 ACC coach of the year.  She also coached at the national and international levels for various national championships.  She’s worked for ESPN and Fox as a women’s basketball commentator.  She currently owns a State Farm Insurance Agency in Durham.

Fran Massa—Fran has just joined the board after working as a volunteer for APS for many years, including working on the Walk for Animal Protection held in November  2006 and 2007.  She also volunteered with other animal rescue organizations as well as other local community groups.  She is a physical therapist who owns her own company, S.O.S. Physical Therapy in Chapel Hill.  Her home includes 11 pet cats, 3 dogs and 3 feral cats, along with a 100 gallon freshwater aquarium.

Ann Petersen—Ann is a former Board President and has been a Board member for 6 years.  She is an attorney in Chapel Hill specializing in criminal law.  Her love of animals is well demonstrated through her 10 cats and 3 dogs, all who were adopted from an animal shelter or rescue organization.  Some of these are foster animals that are in no hurry to leave.

John Wise—John is a former APS President.  He became associated with the APS as a student in the dog training program and subsequently volunteered as an instructor.  John is a civil engineer by profession and he has been a long time Board member.  His support of the building projects and other programs at the sanctuary site has been invaluable.