meet Mindy
animal lover | lifelong learner | creative thinker
Hey There!
I've spent much of my life loving animals, learning from them, and trying to make their lives better. Somewhere along the way, I realized they were shaping my life, too.
Animals have been a constant thread throughout my life. I've rescued them, cared for them through sickness and old age, learned from them, grieved them, and rearranged more than a little of my life around making sure they had what they needed. If you love animals, you probably understand that last part.
But over the years, I began to realize that caring for animals wasn't only changing their lives. It was changing me.
Animals have taught me to pay attention. To be patient. To look beyond behavior and ask what someone might be feeling or needing. They've taught me about responsibility, resilience, grief, joy, trust, and unconditional love.
And perhaps most importantly, they've taught me that compassion grows when we become curious enough to truly understand another living being.
That idea eventually became the heart of Animal Impact Hub.
Skywalker and his sister, Princess Leia, came into my life when they were just two weeks old. I bottle-fed them, watched them grow, and have had the extraordinary privilege of sharing nearly two decades of my life with them.
Over those years, our relationship changed. I began as their caregiver, responsible for keeping two tiny kittens alive. But eventually, especially as they grew older, caring for them asked more of me. It meant learning to notice subtle changes, adapting their world as their needs changed, advocating for them, making difficult decisions, and understanding that loving an animal well sometimes means meeting them exactly where they are rather than where we wish they could be.
Skywalker, in particular, changed the way I think about aging, dignity, and care. As he grew older and faced arthritis and cognitive changes, he taught me that a life doesn't become less valuable because it becomes more complicated. That comfort matters. Patience matters. Presence matters.
I lost Skywalker at 17, but the lessons stayed. Princess Leia is still here, still teaching me, nearly two decades after I first held those two tiny kittens in my hands.
And somewhere in those years together, I stopped thinking only about the kind of life I wanted to give animals — and started thinking about the kind of human I wanted to be because of them.
The TEACHERS
Some of the greatest lessons of my life have come from animals.
For years, I knew I wanted my work to help create a kinder world for animals. I just hadn't found the right way to bring all the pieces together.
I've worked in nonprofit organizations, communications, operations, education, and creative work. I've founded an animal nonprofit. I've studied animal health, nutrition, welfare, and the human-animal bond. I've created resources, told stories, supported animal organizations, and spent countless hours learning simply because I wanted to understand animals better.
For a long time, those things felt like separate threads.
Eventually, I realized they weren't.
They were all pointing toward the same idea.
Science can help us understand animals. Compassion can guide how we care for them. Education can help us make better choices. Stories can remind us why any of it matters.
And our relationships with animals can change more than their lives.
They can change us.
Animal Impact Hub grew from bringing those threads together — a place where science and compassion meet, where curiosity is encouraged, and where understanding animals becomes part of becoming more thoughtful, caring humans.
Because the more we understand, the more deeply we can care. And the more deeply we care, the farther that compassion can ripple.
How Animal Impact Hub Came to Be
Science with Compassion. Always.
I believe good information should do more than inform us. It should help us understand animals more deeply, make thoughtful choices, and turn what we learn into better care and meaningful action.
COMPASSION
We approach animals - and people - with empathy, kindness, and care.
CURIOSITY
We keep asking questions, following the evidence, and staying open to what animals can teach us.
INTEGRITY
We value trustworthy information, honest communication, and doing what's right over what's easy or popular.
DIGNITY
Every animal deserves to be seen as an individual whose life, needs, and experience matters.
HOPE
We believe meaningful change is possible - and that small acts of understanding and compassion can create ripples far beyond themselves.
We teach rather than shame. We pair evidence with empathy. And we never lose sight of who this work is ultimately for: the animals.
What Guides This Work
I believe that if I'm going to help people better understand and care for animals, I have a responsibility to keep learning, questioning, and following the evidence.
My education and experience span animal health and welfare, feline nutrition, nonprofit work, communications, technology, and responsible AI. I'm continually expanding that knowledge through research, professional education, books, courses, and - of course - the animals themselves.
CERTIFIED FELINE & CANINE NUTRITIONIST
Credentialed through Southern Illinois University
My training included advanced, science-based education in feline and canine nutrition, including nutrient requirements and metabolism, nutrition in health and disease, pet food ingredients and formulation, and the development of balanced homemade diets.
The program also included clinical pet nutrition, with an emphasis on nutritional considerations and dietary management for animals with common health conditions. Case-based study included diabetes, kidney disease, gastrointestinal and pancreatic disorders, liver disease, skin conditions, heart disease, obesity, cancer, urinary conditions, and skeletal disorders.
Always Learning
CONTINUING ANIMAL HEALTH & CARE EDUCATION
Additional certifications through the American Animal Hospital Association in canine and feline dermatology management, pain management, and diabetes management.
FOUNDER, HAPPY ANIMAL PROJECT
Founder of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit championing senior and special-needs animals in shelters, sanctuaries, and homes.
NONPROFIT EXPERIENCE
Years of hands-on experience in nonprofit operations, communications, administration, governance, and education.
AI & TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION
Google AI Essentials certified, with ongoing education and hands-on experience using AI thoughtfully, ethically, and practically in nonprofit and mission-driven work.
LIFELONG ANIMAL ADVOCATE & RESCUER
Many years of hands-on experience rescuing and caring for animals through every stage of life, including senior and special-needs care.
This is your invitation
Stay curious. Keep learning. Choose compassion. And never underestimate the ripple one caring human can create.
Animal Impact Hub is a place to better understand animals, care for them more thoughtfully, discover meaningful ways to help, and explore what our relationships with animals can teach us about being human.
You don't need to know everything. You don't need to do everything.
You just need to care enough to keep learning.
I'm glad you're here.
