ABOUT THE SANCTUARY

The Board of Directors

David Brotherton

David Brotherton is the founder and president of Brotherton Strategies, a Seattle-based communications firm serving socially-responsible corporate, philanthropic and non-profit clients. Before starting his own firm, David was communications director for the Marguerite Casey Foundation. He previously served as vice president of public affairs for Imagio | J. Walter Thompson, and as director of public relations for RealNetworks. David began his career in Washington, DC as a congressional speech writer and later a political reporter. He has also served on numerous political campaigns at the federal, state and local levels. David earned his bachelor’s degree from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR and did his masters work in journalism at the University of Oregon.

 

Gay Dorsey

Gay Dorsey is part owner with her husband Mike of Poppoff, Inc., a concrete contracting firm in Yakima, WA. She has extensive experience in volunteering and fundraising for non-profits such as the American Cancer Society, Planned Parenthood, and the Allied Arts Council. She has served on several local and regional boards, and brings a an Eastern Washington connection to the CSNW board. Gay is a strong supporter of CSNW with a passionate interest in primate welfare in general and a sincere desire to provide the best possible care for the Cle Elum Seven in particular. Gay and Mike have two grown children, both of whom have become involved in CSNW as well.

 

Julia Gallucci, MS

Julia Gallucci first began working with apes in 2000 and has since cared for both gibbons and chimpanzees in a variety of settings. Julia currently works as an advocate for great apes and other exotic animals exploited by the entertainment industry. She has a BA in anthropology from California State University, Northridge, and an MS in primate behavior from Central Washington University. Julia's master's thesis examined gestural dialects in wild and captive chimpanzees.

 

Jackie Heinricher, MS

Jackie Heinricher is the founder and CEO of Boo-Shoot Gardens. Heinricher is an environmental champion with a focus on utilizing bamboo agro-forestry to support economically challenged communities domestically and internationally. She has published many peer reviewed scientific publications and has been featured in The Seattle Times, The New York Times, Readers Digest, Smithsonian, and on NPR. In 2009 Heninricher won Martha Stewart's "Dreamers into Doers" award and in 2010 she was named one of Seattle Business Magazine's Top Innovators. Her company remains the leading provider of bamboo horticulture markets worldwide, and is increasingly focused on expanding markets for agriculture, forestry, carbon mitigation, bio-fuel, textiles, green building materials, and pulp for paper production. Jackie has a masters of science degree from Tennessee Tech University.

 

Holly Harris Reid, MBA, Treasurer

Holly Harris Reid has a diverse background with 20 years of combined non-profit and corporate experience. She is the Controller for Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah. She has an MBA in Accounting and a BA in Journalism. Although conservation and primate welfare are her first loves, she chose to pursue her MBA which led her into business for several years. Prior to her accounting career, Holly was the Managing Editor for a multi-authored book, Wild Mammals in Captivity. Her special interest and affinity for the Great Apes took her to work for Zoo Atlanta and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. When the opportunity to work again for a non-profit in animal welfare came along, she happily said good-bye to the corporate world and has never looked back. Holly and her husband's furry family include two dogs and two cats.

 

Keith LaChappelle, Founder

In May of 2002, Keith LaChappelle read an article in Discover magazine about the lives of chimpanzees in biomedical research and the need for sanctuaries to care for them once they were released. Keith had always cared deeply about all life on this planet, and learning about the plight of these chimpanzees was a life-changing experience for him. He wondered if he could apply his professional skills of managing major construction projects to build a sanctuary home for chimpanzees. Keith carefully researched the feasibility of starting such a project. He spoke to many people and traveled to several sanctuaries - learning everything from policies and procedures to the gauge of steel used for caging. On one of these trips, he met Billy Jo, a chimpanzee who had finally found sanctuary after a lifetime of abuse in entertainment and research. Looking into Billy's eyes transformed Keith's desire to "do something" into the realization that he had found his calling. Keith has worked diligently not only to build the physical structures for the sanctuary, but also to build a sustainable non-profit that will carry the organization into the future.

 

Kimber Leblicq

Kimber Leblicq has over ten years of experience in the Pacific Northwest philanthropic community. She started her fundraising career in the visual and performing arts and has recently shifted to an environmental focus. She is currently a Development Officer for NatureBridge, an environmental education nonprofit where she is responsible for individual and major donor giving. Prior to NatureBridge, she was the Director of Membership and Development at Seattle Audubon Society, and the Corporations and Foundations Manager at Seattle Children’s Theatre. Kimber is a compassionate advocate for animal welfare and the environment. Past volunteer commitments include education and outreach volunteer for Seattle's Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), and committee member for Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. Kimber received a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Northern Arizona University and is also visual artist.

 

Jessica Martinson, MS, President

Jessica Martinson began working with chimpanzees in 1999 as a graduate student at the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute. She went on to manage IDA-Africa's Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon, Africa and now serves on IDA-Africa's Advisory Board. In addition to her dedication to protecting chimpanzees in the US and Africa, Jessica has also volunteered at local animal shelters and spent two weeks rescuing pets from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. In her professional life, she works in management at a non-profit health-care organization. Jessica has been involved with CSNW since 2007 and had the pleasure of greeting the chimpanzees the day after they arrived in Cle Elum. She continues to volunteer at the sanctuary and also serves on CSNW’s auction committee. Jessica holds a Master of Science in Primate Behavior from Central Washington University and an undergraduate degree from Drake University.

 

Mary Murray, MA, Secretary

Mary Murray brings more than a decade of experience in strengthening the efforts of nonprofit organizations. As founder of MEMconsultants, Mary provides a variety of consulting and training services designed to support community-based agencies to fulfill their missions. Additionally, Mary is a passionate advocate for primate conservation, and has served as a volunteer keeper-aide, providing care for great apes at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, and Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Mary holds a BA in psychology from Haverford College and an MA in community & prevention research from the University of Illinois at Chicago.  Mary lives in Seattle with her husband, Derek, and son, Nathan.

 

Felicia Nutter, DVM, PhD

Felicia Nutter is a wildlife veterinarian and conservationist, with more than 15 years of experience with great apes. She has worked with both captive and wild chimpanzees, gorillas and other primates in the US, Africa, and Asia. Felicia has a strong commitment to protecting the health of wild primates, and providing the best possible care for those in sanctuaries and other captive settings. With her husband Chris, also a wildlife veterinarian, Felicia has worked at both Gombe National Park in Tanzania, and with the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project in Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. While with MGVP, she helped establish the first interim sanctuary for orphaned mountain gorillas and Grauer's gorillas in the region. Her undergraduate degree is from Yale, she went to veterinary school at Tufts, and then completed an internship, residency, and PhD at North Carolina State University. Felicia serves on CSNW's Direct Care Committee.

 

Mel Richardson, DVM

Dr Mel has been providing care for captive chimpanzees and other captive wildlife for more than 40 years, as zookeeper, primate research technician and veterinarian.  In 1982 Dr. Mel earned his Doctor in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Georgia.  He has worked and consulted with zoos and wildlife parks in the USA, Africa, Colombia, and Taiwan.  He was veterinarian for the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project 1992-93. From 1995-1996 Dr. Mel was Project Director for the Projet Protection des Gorilles, a lowland gorilla orphanage in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, where he cared for gorillas and bonobos.  Dr. Mel has been an advocate for humane treatment of captive wild animals since 1997.  He is committed to relieving the suffering endured by captive chimpanzees and other captive wildlife.  Dr. Mel works with non-profit organizations to bring to the attention of the public the realities of day to day anguish suffered by captive wild animals in circuses, entertainment, research and zoos.

 

Erica Knauf Santos, Esq.

Erica Knauf Santos is a Seattle attorney in private practice. Along with legal experience, Erica brings three years of experience caring for non-human primates from her time at the Chimpanzee & Human Communication Institute. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Great Ape Project and the Advisory Board for IDA-Africa, and is an at-large member of the Washington State Bar Association's Animal Law Section. Erica received her BS in primate behavior and ecology and BA in psychology from Central Washington University, and her JD from Seattle University School of Law. She lives in Seattle with her husband, Enjay, and son, Nicolas.

 

Bruce Wagman, Esq., Vice President

Bruce Wagman is a partner at the San Francisco law firm Schiff Hardin LLP. His practice focuses on animal law, with a special interest in chimpanzee issues. Bruce works tirelessly as an advocate for animals, and has won major victories for shelter dogs in Georgia; chimpanzees in Hollywood, California; and nearly 1,000 dogs in hoarding situations in North Carolina. He is also the co-editor of the Animal Law textbook used in law schools across the country. Bruce graduated from University of California - Hastings Law School, and has undergraduate degrees from Columbia and Cornell.