EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER BIOS

Kelly Bettinger, CZA Vice-President & Campus Cats Program Coordinator

Kelly A. Bettinger, Collections Manager of the University of Georgia Herbarium , is a Certified Wildlife biologist through The Wildlife Society, the national professional society for wildlife biologists. She received her B.S. in Wildlife Management from Virginia Tech in 1989, and her M.S. in Wildlife Biology from Oregon StateUniversity in 1996. She has more than 14 years experience in avian research and monitoring and teaches an annual workshop on monitoring protocol and birding by ear. Where appropriate, she advocates the humane and proven technique of TNR as the best solution for reducing feral cat populations and subsequently reducing conflicts with wildlife. She is currently the Coordinator of "Campus Cats", a program dedicated to reducing the number of feral cats on the UGA campus

"Angel", CZA President & Community Cats Program Coordinator

Angel is from Oregon.  She is a vegetarian who has been involved in the animal community for many years and is always looking for ways to have a positive impact.  She has experience as a clinic manager for a nonprofit spay and neuter clinic until her move to the Athens Area earlier this year.  She has served on a number of committees for humane societies and other nonprofit animal organizations.  She also started “Angel Bunny Rescue,” an organization responsible for reducing bunny euthanasia in Central Oregon.  She has four cats, two dogs, and two bunnies.


Lisa M. Lowe, CZA Board Member & Web Page Development Coordinator 

Lisa is originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and her love of nature was developed at an early age on her grandfather's Christmas Tree Farm in Bad Axe, Michigan. She earned her B.S. Degree in Psychology at Michigan State University. When Lisa moved to Georgia to earn her M.A. in Psychology at the University of West Georgia, she met her husband and decided to stay in Georgia. She and her husband both work for the University of Georgia. Oddly enough, they thought the first pet they would get would be a dog but they ended up being adopted by 3 feral kittens. After much education by those kittens and other felines to follow, Lisa has gained several years of expertise in trapping, socializing, and caring for feral felines. Some of the biggest lessons came when she and her husband relocated and converted a colony of 9 feral felines into indoor cats when the cats' lives were anonymously threatened at an apartment complex.  Lisa is also managing a colony of "Campus Cats" which includes one of the oldest known (verified by multiple people) feral cats living on a college campus in the U.S.  "Kitty Tom" is 14 years old which is over 80 years old in human years!

PHOTOS OF THE ANIMALS WHO HAVE ADOPTED THE BOARD MEMBERS COMING SOON!