Who We Are
Read about the people behind Dhole Conservation Fund. We are a 100% volunteer driven organization with each person bringing their own experience, expertise, and passion to the mission.
Our Board
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Chelsea Davis – Has worked with captive canids (wolves, foxes, African wild dog, coyotes and yes dholes) for over 10 years. Chelsea has also worked as a field tech in a variety of wildlife projects, traveling around the globe to aid in conservation projects. Working in the non-profit sector for over a decade and with special conservation project training, Chelsea decided to open a project for a animal close to heart but so one that she felt need some attention. She has a B.S in Animal Science form UC Davis, and a GIS professional certificate. She currently works for Washington State University in the research sector.
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Bonnie McDonald - After working as a wildlife biologist across the West, Bonnie settled in Gardiner, Montana in 2015. She has worked with a variety of species, from wolves, cougars, and coyotes to elk and sage-grouse. She has a B.S. in General Biology from the University of California, San Diego and is currently working on her M.S. in Wildlife Ecology at Utah State University. Bonnie spent hundreds of hours observing elk to gather behavioral data for her research on prey vigilance behavior in a multi-predator system. While living in Gardiner, she has worked as an ecotourism wildlife guide, and most recently as biological research technician for Yellowstone National Park.
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Sandra Gonzalez- A San Diego native, she graduated from the University of California San Diego with a degree in Biochemistry and Bioengineering. She has been in the field of Orthopedic Medicine for 17 yrs and is currently working in the Private practice sector. She loves to stay active in the community by volunteering for the rock n roll marathon and spartan races through out California in a medical staff capacity. In her spare time she likes to hike and travel as much as she can. Despite no animal care experience or work history she is an avid lover of all animals…just not mosquitos.
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Education and Awareness Committee
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Dayna Turner - Dayna has worked with captive wild animals for over 6 years and previously volunteered at a rescue center for domestic animals. Throughout her career, Dayna has worked with a variety of species, including invertebrates, reptiles, birds, primates and small mammals. She now specializes in the care and management of small and large carnivores, with a particular focus on Dhole. Outside of work Dayna enjoys a variety of arts and crafts including photography, painting, drawing, wood burning and crocheting. Dayna has a BSc (Hons) in Animal Behavior and Welfare and currently works as a carnivore keeper at Howletts Wild Animal Park in the UK.
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Hello, my name is Jay Meredith, I am a professional zoo and wildlife photographer based in Charleston, South Carolina. My goal is to educate the public on the plight that many species face in the wild and the work that many zoological institutions do to safeguard those species for future generations. Over the course of my 3 year journey, I've documented over 1200 species of animals with the Dholes being a highlight species to photograph. I am truly honored to be working on bringing awareness to this incredible Whistling Dog
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Justine Zafran worked four years for the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program and 16 years for the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Six of those years focused on working with dholes, including training them for successful shipments to Zoo Miami, The Wilds in OH, and the Minnesota Zoo. She currently lives on Colorado’s Western Slope. Her participation in dholes.org allows her to stay connected to her prior professional career and dhole conservation.
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Jessica Aguirre is a zookeeper at Zoo Miami and a proud member of the U.S. Navy, where her love for adventure has taken her around the world. She grew up in South Florida and developed a deep passion for wildlife. A dhole named Sanuk at Zoo Miami inspired her dedication to Dhole conservation. Whether she's caring for animals, traveling to new destinations, or indulging in great food, she’s always looking for her next exciting experience. She also has a serious sweet tooth and never says no to dessert! In her free time, she loves reading, trying new things, and watching movies.
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Want to Volunteer
History
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2017: An idea and three years of planning and training with start up donation we became non-profit corporation in California.
2018: After working on mission statements and assembling a board with different backgrounds to best give the Fund the best chance at thriving we filed and received our 501.c.3. This allowed us to apply for grants and funding, but also help with giving tax deductible donation letters. 2018: Founder volunteers on a dhole research project in Thailand. 2018: Help fund a small local Thailand project. Help with the publication of a wild dhole photobook to be sold in nation parks to bring a better appreciation for these often-unknown dogs. 2019: Returned to Thailand to in provided input for the IUCN Dhole Population and Habitat Viability meeting. The week summit aided in figuring out not just habitat but also idea the conservation problems found for dholes. The problems were broken down by region and we tried to identify areas of greatest need. Dhole Conservation Fund was tasked with helping promote a more western awareness of dholes and their conservation needs and efforts. 2019: Funded the travel expenses of a researcher that was accepted to present their findings and paper in a conference in Europe. 2020: Launched the home and dhole information hub dholes.org. This current website allows for is to find and read information about dholes. While also allowing people easily find the Dhole Conservation Fund. 2020: COVID SHUT DOWN 2020: Through 2020 we waited to see what would happen globally. Up to this point we had been in talks with a few small projects throughout the dhole’s home range on their needs and ideas for dhole projects in their parks and region. Unfortunately, 2020 saw Covid-19 hit southeast Asia extremely hard. Field efforts halted. Towards the end of the year, we realized this was not going to blow over anytime soon and not sure when global travel and work would open up again we switched gears. We started to look into expanding our education beyond just our website. 2021: Hire professional conservation educators to develop programs for K to 12th grade levels that educators can do on their own in the classroom. We also opened up to do virtual presentations for all ages and levels. 2021: We celebrate our first World Dhole Day in the US. 2021: Team up with Amazing AZ animal books to help with content for The Dedicated Dhole. 2022: Gave out 20 copies of the Dedicated Dhole to zoos and wildlife education groups around the world. 2022: World Dhole Day turns into a true global event. Not only an increase effort in the US but it also moved into Europe! |
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Financials
The Dhole Conservation Fund keeps overhead as low as possible. Although we can’t eliminate all expenses that aren’t 100% dhole driven (government and bank fees add up) we do try to limit them. We do not have a physical office; we rely on virtual platform.
2024
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2023
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2022
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