Board of Directors

Guy Brouillette: Chair

Guy is a Colorado native having grown up in Arvada and always living around the Boulder area. After spending 18 years in pharmaceutical IT and 15 years in Healthcare IT, Guy followed his passion and he received his Executive Wine Sommelier certification in 2013. He opened PeakWine LLC in 2015, a wine consulting company and loves teaching and talking about wine. Guy spent time as a volunteer firefighter in Arvada until an accident retired him in 1990. Guy’s other passion has been helping animals in any way possible since the need is so great everywhere in the world. Growing up he had rescue dogs and even a white-faced Capuchin monkey that needed a good home. Guy is excited to be part of Project AnimalAid, an amazing global organization that is dedicated to both animal and ecological welfare at home and abroad and looks forward to being a part of this team.

Kyrie Ivanovich, DVM: Vice Chair

Kyrie grew up on a ranch in New Mexico. Following her love of science, nature and animals, she moved to Colorado in 2009 to pursue an undergraduate degree in biomedical sciences, followed by veterinary school at Colorado State University.  Kyrie works as an emergency veterinarian at the Colorado Animal Specialty and Emergency Hospital in Boulder. She has a passion for the reservation dogs she grew up with and the street dog populations of southeast Asia and Mexico, splitting her professional time between ER and shelter medicine. In her spare time, Kyrie also volunteers with the Matthews House and Street Dog Coalition in Fort Collins. She enjoys outdoor adventuring, yoga, traveling, cooking for friends and spending time with her partner, Andy, and their fur kids, Summit and Mochi. 

Kylie Lathers: Secretary

Kylie Lathers has a degree in Public Health from East Carolina University and a Master of Business Administration with a dual concentration in Marketing and Executive Healthcare Administration from the University of Denver.

Upon graduating with her MBA, she founded Apricus Grace Solutions LLC in 2020, a Marketing Consulting Firm in the Medical Device industry. She is currently a marketing strategist for several medical device companies including a global leader in patient-focused medical innovations for structural heart disease.

Kylie brings more than nine years of executing medical device marketing initiatives and strategies while managing a broad range of product marketing and operational functions in diverse, start-up, and global environments. A leader with business acumen and a deep understanding to drive brand management, align goals and analyze metrics, omni-channel optimization, improve processes, and facilitates cross-functional collaboration across an organization.

Magdalena Ryzska: Director

Magdalena was the founding partner of a branding and marketing firm that specialized in the engineering and design of consumer packaging and support material including catalogs and websites. The firm's clients included pet product manufacturers. Magdalena earned her degree in communication graphics and later an MBA both of which helped her run a successful business for 24 years. 

Magdalena’s love of animals and concern for our planet’s health fit nicely with Project AnimalAid’s mission. Utilizing her career skills and experience she hopes to help grow the organization and support it in any way she can. 

She has been living in Boulder since 1994 and is an avid hiker and outdoors explorer. You can see her almost every day in the local mountains with her four and two legged companions. 

Michelle Clopton: Director

Michelle has loved animals since she was a small child and would sneak into the neighbors’ yards to play with their pet dogs. A Colorado native, she also has a passion for nature and the environment, and loves spending time outdoors snowshoeing, hiking, gardening and kayaking on the reservoir. After graduating with a degree in marketing and an MBA, Michelle has spent her career in high-tech marketing, working in product marketing, executive communications, account management and writing roles. When not working, she enjoys volunteering for organizations that focus on helping animals, people and the environment, which is why the Project AnimalAid mission is so compelling. Michelle also enjoys traveling, cooking, reading, writing, the arts, and is especially passionate about learning new things.

Michelle currently works for VMware, a cloud computing company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. She lives in Boulder – a perfect location for residing close to nature. Michelle enjoys spending time with family, friends and her furry rescue companion, Petey the Bichon Frise.

Katie Berlin, DVM: Director

As a kid growing up in Maryland, Katie could either be found on the back of a horse or with her nose in a book. After finishing college with a degree in art history and spending two years working in an art museum, she returned to school to pursue her childhood dream of being a vet and graduated from Cornell with her DVM in 2009. She spent 12 years in general practice in New York and Pennsylvania and received her certification from the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society in 2020. She began looking for ways to combine her passion for words and creativity with her love for the veterinary community, and along with podcasting for herself and others, she worked in content strategy at the American Animal Hospital Association prior to taking her current position as veterinary director of brand advocacy at Clinician's Brief and Plumb's Veterinary Drugs.  She also works relief at urgent and primary care practices in the Denver area.

Katie moved to Colorado in 2022 in search of mountain air, and the Tales for Tails benefit that year was her first introduction to Project AnimalAid. She is excited to see how her experience in content, media, and marketing in the veterinary space can help PAA and, in turn, the global animal health and welfare community. She spends as much time outside as she can, hiking, biking, running, and paddle boarding, and shares her home with the world's mellowest cat, Jon, and an elderly Chihuahua, Frank, who is gradually mellowing with age (any day now). 

Jessica Hartman: Director

With a passion for organizing meaningful experiences, Jessica has honed her expertise in event coordination through years of hands-on involvement throughout non-profit organizations. Jessica brings a wealth of experience in leadership, fundraising, and event coordination to Project Animal Aid. She comes with a background in organizing large-scale events and she is passionate about making a tangible difference in the community.

Her deep commitment to animal welfare and hands-on approach to problem-solving make her a valuable asset to the board. Jessica is excited to contribute to Project Animal Aid's mission of protecting and improving the lives of animals, utilizing her skills to further amplify the organization’s impact.

Diane DeRoia: Director

Diane earned her law degree from the University of Arizona Rogers College of Law, and her LL.M. in taxation from the University of Denver.

After earning her LL.M., Diane focused her career on compensation and benefits, working as a consultant for many years before settling into human resources in the federally funded research and development industry.  Diane is currently the Assistant Director, Total Rewards at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder.  She is grateful to be able to spend her professional time and her volunteer time working with local non-profit organizations that make an impact both locally and globally.  

Diane is also involved in greyhound rescue, having been fortunate enough to experience the joy that is a greyhound first with her rescue grey Chester, until his passing, and now as a foster human to new greyhounds adjusting to life off the track. Diane is also an active member of the Junior League of Denver.  She is excited to use her leadership training and expertise gained from the Junior League, as well as her professional experience, to assist Project Animal Aid in achieving its mission to improve the health and welfare of animals. 

Diane currently resides in Superior, CO. She has a passion for wildlife, animals, and the environment, and can often be found out on the trails hiking with her Australian Shepherd, Skye. In her spare time, Diane enjoys reading, hiking, running, scuba diving, camping, and traveling.

Candy Brad, DVM:
Founder

After practicing traditional and alternative small animal medicine for 25 years, ten of which she co-owned Alpine Hospital for Animals in Boulder, Colorado, the idea for Project V.E.T.S. (now Project AnimalAid) came after many years of traveling as a wildlife photographer and lover. Seeing the needs of local veterinarians firsthand inspired Candy to think about the excess inventory in her practice and planted the seed for Project V.E.T.S. The Indonesian Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the senseless killing of mountain gorillas in the Congo, were the catalyst to make Project V.E.T.S. a reality. Candy started Project V.E.T.S. in 2009 with the goal to do what she could for animals in need and our precious planet. Now retired from veterinary medicine, but with Project V.E.T.S./Project AnimalAid still going strong, Candy has impacted the lives of millions of animals with her simple idea and her unwavering love for our natural world.

Candy now lives in Victor, Idaho with her husband, Louis, and cockapoo, Zabu.

Meghan Curtis:
Executive Director

Meghan comes to Project AnimalAid with a lifelong passion for wildlife conservation and animal welfare.  Prior to joining Project AnimalAid, Meghan worked with the Capuchin Province of Mid-America as the Director of Foundation Development and Special Events. She also worked for many years in the banking and telecommunications industries focusing on project management, contract management and sales operations. Meghan volunteered with Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center for 10 years and served on their Board of Directors and Fundraising Committees for a number of years.  

Meghan has enjoyed trips to Central America and Africa to participate in wildlife research and conservation projects. She lives in Arvada, Colorado with her husband, three children and their dog, Charley.

Meghan can be reached at meghan@projectanimalaid.org.

Marcy Thrash:
Program Director

Marcy works as Project AnimalAid’s Program Director.  She manages all of the inventory that comes in and goes out of the warehouse, communicates with all of our partner organizations, oversees warehouse staff and volunteers and helps with a wide range of other jobs. Project AnimalAid is a huge part of Marcy’s life. Their mission reflects her own beliefs; being kind to our environment and saving animals.

When she is not at Project AnimalAid, Marcy owns and operates a therapeutic pet massage practice and works part-time for a small animal practice in Niwot, Colorado. She loves reading, hiking, camping and live music. She lives in Longmont, Colorado with her husband, two children and their two dogs, Gus and Bruce.

Marcy can be reached at marcy@projectanimalaid.org.

Maya Key:
Development Manager

Maya has worked in the animal welfare field for over 25 years in a variety of different positions. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Maryland and a Master’s degree in Non-Profit Management from Regis University. Maya is also a veterinary technician and has enjoyed applying these skills to large scale spay/neuter campaigns in Mexico, Kenya, and on the Navajo Reservation. In 2003, she founded Wild at Heart, a non-profit organization that provides spay/neuter/vaccination services to feral cats in and around Boulder County.

Maya lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband and daughter, along with their silly looking pug mix, Binky and their formerly feral cat, Philip. When she’s not sitting in alleys trapping cats, Maya enjoys snowboarding, traveling, reading, and spending time with friends.

Maya can be reached at development@projectanimalaid.org.