Kimberly Smith - Ford, President

Kimberly has been an active member in the CNY rescue community for the past 16 years. She has been the Director of Education, foster and volunteer coordinator for various rescue groups. Kimberly has been with Second Chance since the groundbreaking and is passionate about giving second chances to local dogs in our community. She lives in Camillus with her husband and daughter. She is an elementary teacher in a local CNY school district.

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Deborah Hauswirth, Treasurer

​Deborah Hauswirth has been been with SC 5 years. She is retired from MONY/AXA  after 35 yrs.  She lives in Liverpool with her husband, 6 yr old pom mix and 4 yr old rottie.  Deborah has always been an animal lover!

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Ashley Rotella, Adoption Coordinator

​  Ashley has 2 dogs adopted form SPCA Adele and Izzy, 4 adopted kitties and a rescue   bird. She worked at the SPCA for 3 years. She has been a volunteer with Cuse pit crew since 2015 and has been with Second Chance since it opened first opened

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Joanna Parisi, Event Coordinator

Joanna has been a volunteer with Second Chance since 2017. She has always had a soft spot for helping animals. She is a strong believer in second chances and the unconditional love that comes from adopting a rescue. Joanna lives in Syracuse with her 3 rescue dogs.
​She is an elementary teacher in a local CNY school district. ​

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Carol Wolkensdorfer, Foster Coordinator

Carol has been a volunteer with Second Chance since we opened in 2015.  She is now in charge of all our dogs in foster homes. Making sure they have everything they need, and are loved and cared for while they wait for their forever home. Carol has had rescue dogs all her life. She is pictured here with her dog Zuzu, her latest rescue from Second Chance!

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Nikki Peios, Marketing/Advertising Coordinator

Nikki is a mother of 3, who’s children share her passion and love for animals…especially shelter dogs! She can be seen at the Jamesville Dog Park daily accompanied by her Second Chance alumni pups Frankie and Brenda. Growing up in Jamesville with multiple adopted dogs she understands  the importance of local shelters and the need for support from her community.  ​

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Jordyn Burgess

Jordyn has been involved with Second Chance in both a foster and volunteer capacity since early 2023. Prior to this, she was a strong advocate for adoption and served as a foster caregiver for her local shelter in her former home state of Michigan. A lifelong animal enthusiast, Jordyn grew up with dogs and continues to nurture her passion for animals of all kinds. Outside of her work in commercial construction project management, she enjoys spending time at her home in Lafayette with her partner, Jeff, spoiling their two canine companions and her foster pup. 

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Kim Allen, Volunteer Coordinator

​Kim has been volunteering with the local shelter community since early 2022, although she has worked behind the scenes to support various shelters for over a decade. She works for a non-profit organization by day, while also supporting a bunch of other local non-profits on a volunteer basis. Kim has loved animals (dogs in particular) since a young age and cannot recall a time in her life she didn't have at least one canine companion by her side.
Kim loves to take shelter dogs on outings to give them a break from the shelter and enjoys working with them on skills to help them long-term as they wait for their chance at fur-ever.
When not volunteering, she enjoys spending time at home with her rescue pup, Lily, baking goodies, exploring nature, and spending time with friends and family.

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Kathleen Ullrich 

​​I have always loved dogs, growing up with several different breeds that were always treated as members of the family. After my first dog as an adult, our purebred GSD Athena passed away, my husband and I wanted to adopt from a local shelter. In 2018, a few months after Athena passed, we adopted Dax as a puppy from HumaneCNY. We were told that his mom and his litter mates had been dumped on the side of the road. It opened my eyes to the problem of dumped and stray dogs in our own backyard. 
I started volunteering at the city shelter, B&R Bunkhouse during summer of 2021. Through volunteering there, I experienced the full extent of the crisis facing our animal community, and the disproportionate number of Pit Bulls and Bully breeds being abused, neglected, and/or brought to shelters. Wanting to do more, I then started volunteering with Cuse Pit Crew, Recycle-A-Bull Bully Breed Rescue, and Second Chance Canine Adoption Shelter. I continue to be active in all of these groups and enjoy it all. It has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done. I enjoy spending time with all the adoptable dogs, taking them on outings and to events, and just showing them the love they deserve while they wait for their families. 
If my free time isn’t spent with rescue work, I enjoy hiking/outdoor activities, spending time with friends, traveling, or just hanging at home. 
I am honored to be selected to sit on the board at Second Chance and look forward to doing as much as I can to help the animals in our community.

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