Board of Directors

JANET HENDRICKSON, MSN, FNP-C

President/Founder

Janet Hendrickson is a Nurse Practitioner and a passionate advocate for health. A lifelong animal lover, she established People & Pets Project (PPP) to address the healthcare needs of individuals living in underserved communities while simultaneously caring for their pets.

Before founding PPP, Janet worked as a Nurse Practitioner in both the primary care and emergency department settings.

Prior to her healthcare career, Janet served as the Deputy Director of Policy for Governor Gray Davis in California and worked for a public policy consulting firm.

Janet was the first Chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Front Street Animal Shelter in Sacramento, California. She has also been a member of the California State Council for the Humane Society of the United States and recently participated in the task force developing the AAHA’s One Health Guidelines, to be released in 2025.

Janet earned her Master’s in Nursing at CSU Sacramento in conjunction with the NP/PA program at UC Davis. Earlier in her career, she obtained a BA in Journalism from CSU San Diego.

Janet lives in Macon, GA, with her husband, four rescue dogs, and three rescue cats in a recently restored Victorian home.

 

ALEX BURY

Vice President of Development at Vegan Outreach
Vice President

Alex Bury has been a professional fundraiser for 15 years. She lives in Anchorage, Alaska with her rescued dog, Goldie.

VIRGINIA HASS, DNP, FNP, PA-EMERITUS

Retired, The Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis
Secretary

Virginia Hass is a nurse practitioner and a retired associate clinical professor for the Master of Science — Nurse Practitioner and the Master of Health Services — Physician Assistant Studies degree programs at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis. Dr. Hass continues to provide clinical care through volunteer work in the US and abroad.

JUDY SCHEFFEL, EdD
SVP, Learning & Leadership Development at Bank of America
Treasurer

Judy has a professional background in sales leadership and change management and currently leads change and transformation initiatives for one of the world’s largest banks. She has led solutions towards improved performance, productivity, corporate growth and profitability in the financial and technology sectors, spanning as far as into Vladivostok, Russia.

ANITA L. BARKIN, Dr.P.H., M.S.N., NP-C, FACHA

Dr. Barkin is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Georgia Health Initiative and holds an appointment in the Department of Community Medicine at Mercer University as a Professor for the medical educator track.

She was formerly the District Nursing Director for the North Central Health District (NCHD) and subsequently served as the Deputy Director of the District from 2017 to 2019. Prior to her work in the NCHD, she served as the executive director of Carnegie Mellon University Health Services for 27 years. She received her doctorate in public health and her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a Board-Certified Nurse Practitioner and an American College Health Association (ACHA) Fellow.

KEISHA RENEE CALLINS, MD, MPH

OB/GYN at Community Health Care Systems, Joy McCann Endowed Clinical Assistant Professor at Mercer University School of Medicine, C.H.A.M.P.S. Transformational Healthcare Leadership Fellow

Dr. Keisha R. Callins is a Georgia-trained Obstetrician/Gynecologist with Community Health Care Systems, Inc. (CHCS) and Professor at Mercer University School of Medicine. She is committed to providing healthcare services to rural and medically underserved areas. Her personal mission statement is, “You may not be able to change the world, but you can change the world of everyone with whom you interact.”

ANDREA COOKE, MFT

Southern Center for Choice Theory

Andrea is a married mother of eight. She is an MFT doctoral candidate in the Marriage and Family Therapy program at Antioch University in Keene, NH. She received her bachelor’s degree in Social Work from THE Fort Valley State University. She went on to obtain a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from Mercer University in Macon. She currently works in development and as a master’s level clinician at the Southern Center for Choice Theory, a small counseling agency, working with vulnerable populations.

MINERVA DANIEL

Retired Educator

Minerva Rivera Daniel is a retired educator who enjoys spending time with family, friends, and her German Shepard Lola (pictured here).

KRISTIN JANKOWSKI, VMD

Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor of Small Animal Community Practices at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine

Kristin Jankowski, VMD, CCRP is the Director of Veterinary Services at the Open Door Veterinary Collective and an Access to Care Veterinarian at the UC Davis One Health Institute. From 2020-2023 she served as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Small Animal Primary Care at UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. In 2022, she was invited to lead the development of the new Access to Care Program at UC Davis. Prior to 2020, she worked in general practice, specialty rehabilitation, and was the creator and director of One Health Delaware.

Dr. Jankowski is a 1994 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. She completed her certification in canine rehabilitation through the University of Tennessee in 2014 and completed the Purdue University certificate program for Diversity and Inclusion in Veterinary Medicine in 2021. She has a special interest in education and research in delivering compassionate care to all pets and their families.

HANK SCHWARTZ, MD, FACP

Henry Schwartz is a physician with training in internal medicine, pediatrics, endocrinology, and aerospace medicine. In his spare time, he enjoys running and hiking with his dogs.

MARK STARR, DVM, MPVM, DIPL. ACVPM

Special Consultant for Environmental Health at California Department of Public Health

Mark Starr was appointed by Governor Brown in 2012 as the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Deputy Director for Environmental Health. He retired in 2022, but continues to assist the Center for Environmental Health, which encompasses Food and Drug Safety, Cannabis Safety, Radiation Safety and Environmental Management programs, and supporting laboratory programs. Mark is also a Volunteer Clinical Professor for the Masters of Public Health program in the School of Medicine at UC Davis.

BRENDEN TU, MD

UC Davis Student Health and Wellness Center, Clinic Director of Clínica Tepati and the Knights Landing One Health Clinic

Brenden is a family practice doctor, currently practicing at the UC Davis Student Health and Wellness Center. He is also the Clinic Director of Clínica Tepati and the Knights Landing One Health Clinic (both volunteer, student-run clinics). He lives in Davis with Quetzal, one of the first dogs rescued by Janet in 2014.

Lauren Ward
LAUREN WARD, PhD, MPH & TM

Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Global Health Equity at University of Michigan

Lauren Ward is an epidemiologist with training in infectious disease, chemical exposures, and global health. She holds a PhD in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of Michigan, a Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine from Tulane University, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Purdue University. Lauren’s interest in One Health has stemmed from varied research and educational experiences. Her first job was a shelter volunteer at the local humane society. Since 2016, she has been engaged in public health research on nutrition, water sanitation, impacts of weather events on water quality, and occupational exposures. Dr. Ward is committed to collaborative, community-engaged health research. Her current work focuses on the health impacts of environmental exposures in Chitwan, Nepal. Lauren currently lives in Ann Arbor with her tuxedo kitties, Babka & Bagel.

Advisors

DR. PAULINA ZIELINSKA CROOK DVM, MPVM, MPH
PAULINA ZIELINSKA CROOK, DVM, MPVM, MPH

Doctoral Candidate in Global Leadership at Fuller Seminary, Former Director, Office for Global Programs at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Paulina Crook is a Doctoral Candidate in Global Leadership at Fuller Seminary.  She is the past Director of the Office for Global Programs at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. She was also a faculty advisor for the Students for One Health (SOH) Club and served as a mentor for the student-led Knights Landing One Health Clinic.

Jenny Morris with pup
JENNY MORRIS, DVM

Director of Animal Health at Atlanta Humane Society

Dr. Morris graduated from Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2004. She was in private small animal practice before joining the Humane Society of South Mississippi in 2007. There she served as Chief Veterinarian and became a fellow with the University of Wisconsin/ASPCA Shelter Medicine fellowship in 2014. Dr. Morris was the Director of Veterinary Outreach and now the Director of Animal Health at the Atlanta Humane Society since 2015. Her professional focus is on consulting with struggling shelters to improve animal well-being throughout the state of Georgia and beyond. Additionally she enjoys training veterinary students in shelter medicine and surgery to increase awareness in the veterinary community of the needs of shelters.

MARY MATHIS
Mary Mathis is a public health professor living in Macon, GA with her husband, two dogs, and a cat.

She is interested in the welfare of both human and animal populations and works on community-based projects that support access to care for people and their pets. Her work focuses on connecting individuals to local resources and promoting health through practical, community-centered approaches.

We will be restarting our “Healthcare for Both Ends of the Leash” One Health Clinics in September. Before that, we’re heading to Guatemala for our annual One Health clinic in June. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates. Have a great summer!