About Us
Board of Directors
JEFFREY FEDERICO – PRESIDENT
Jeff Federico currently works with The MathWorks, Inc., where he is a member of its eMarketing organization. His area of expertise is website creation and strategy, with an emphasis on site analysis and optimization. In addition, Jeff owns various websites, with topics ranging from space exploration to social networking. His web properties currently focus on creating customizable tools which other websites utilize. Previous to his current role with The MathWorks, Jeff was a self-employed webmaster, with approximately five years experience. Immediately after college and during the period when Jeff's web technology focus took hold, he variously worked for a number of nonprofits in a contractor capacity. These included the Boston Symphony Orchestra, United Way of Massachusetts, Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research, Action for Boston Community Development and the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City. Jeff is a 2001 graduate of George Washington University and holds a bachelor's degree in International Affairs, with specialization in International Politics. During his college years he gained extensive non-profit and public relations/marketing exposure. DUKE HUTCHINSON – VICE PRESIDENT AND TREASURER
Originally from Connecticut, Duke graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with a degree in Business Administration. He then spent over 25 years in the retail sporting goods management, mostly in the Greater Boston area. In 2000 Duke switched careers, joining Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) as the Campaign Manager for the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) of Eastern Massachusetts, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Employees Charitable Campaign (COMECC), and the City of Boston Employees Charitable Campaign (COBECC). He retired from these roles in June, 2013, joining the board of the Animal Welfare Fund that same year. Duke grew up in rural Connecticut, directly across the street from a dairy farm. He has written: “My family was never without a cat (or two) while the surrounding woods, streams and ponds introduced me to a wide variety of animals.” He now lives in Watertown MA, just outside Boston. Duke has been involved in sports of all kinds since childhood. A competitive runner, he has participated in numerous marathons including Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and London. He is active in the New England running scene and is the past president of a local running club. Duke also volunteers at many running events and is a continual advocate for running as part of a fitness plan for all ages. LEONA PEASE – SECRETARY
Leona Pease began working professionally with animals at age 15. Until recently, she was the long-time Animal Control Officer for the town of Shrewsbury, MA. In that position, she worked regularly with local animal rescue groups. Every month she trapped twenty to thirty feral cats in the Worcester County area and transported them to be neutered at various local free clinics run by cat rescue and TNR groups (TNR=trap, neuter, release). She also volunteered at all these clinics with a goal of ensuring that every cat in Worcester County would be spayed or neutered by the time she retired. Her rescue efforts also extend to injured wildlife, and she is a familiar face at the Tufts Wildlife Clinic, where she recently appeared with an owl she found injured in the fast lane of a major highway. She is a member of SMART (State of Massachusetts Animal Response Team), a system that trains local volunteers to set up and manage emergency shelters for animals during a disaster. She is part of both SMART’s small and large animal search and rescue team and also the specialized species team. Before she began to focus on animal rescue and overpopulation, Leona bred dogs. She has trained and shown dogs both in confirmation and in obedience (with one of her dogs receiving the honor of being Best in Show). She is a professional all-breed groomer and has managed boarding kennels in the past. Now she fosters and rehabs toy dogs with behavior problems that make them unadoptable. She may keep one of these little troublemakers for many months, but at the end, the “fosteree” has become a friendly and well-adjusted family pet, ready to be adopted into a good home. |