Meet Our Staff 

Debra Berger, CHES, Founder & Program Director

 Debra Berger earned her BS in Communications  from Georgia State University.

 She worked for Turner Broadcasting Systems, The Apparel  News Group, and other publications. She returned to school  in 1988 to become a Massage Therapist.

 Through her various jobs and careers, her volunteer work  remained consistent in the area of animal protection. She  began working at the Atlanta Humane Society as a shelter  volunteer. It became obvious to her that a great deal of  animal cruelty resulted from lack of knowledge.  Furthermore, she became increasingly aware of the  connection between animal cruelty and human violence. In  response to this information, she studied and trained in Humane Education courses from national organizations, and became a Certified Humane Education Specialist (CHES) and Outreach Volunteer.

In recognition of her animal advocacy work, she won the 2009 Community Impact Award from The Humane Society of the United States.

Debra Berger contends that Humane Education will benefit students and society in more ways that we can presently imagine!

Judy Landey, Public relations and Humane Educator

Judy founded Judy Landey & Associates Public Relations,and has directed the firm as President for 20 years.

In addition to serving her many professional clients, Judy has volunteered her PR and event planning skills to numerous local and national animal rescue and advocacy organizations, including Atlanta Pet Rescue, Save Our Pets Food Bank, and the Humane Society of the United States.  She has been very involved in anti-dog fighting campaigns by gaining powerful media exposure, as well as devoting personal time to securing medical care and training for rescued dogs that may have otherwise been euthanized.  Judy has organized headline events for animal rescue, while working behind the scenes to save abandoned animals. Along with her PR talents and passion for animals, Judy holds a Masters Degree in Education from Georgia State University.

Andrea Appel, Humane Educator

Andrea earned a BS in Education at Georgia State University. She has also trained in Humane Education programs, including The Healing Species Program, based in Orangeburg, SC.

Andrea was the owner and manager of a retail store for more than a dozen years. Andrea’s China Cabinet owes much of its success to Andrea’s design talent, as well as exceptional customer service.

Andrea has used the marketing talents that she gained in her retail business to manage and organize several fund raising events for the Humane Society of the United States.

Four rescued dogs have found their forever home with Andrea.

Our Board members include:

Brian Schiff, CPA

Laurie Botstein, M.S/C.C.C.-SLP

Cynthia Allen, Finance Professional

Mitchell S. Rosen, Attorney

Cheryl McAuliffe, GA Director HSUS

Lewis Regenstein, Author & columnist

Gigi Graves, Founder & Director of Our Pals Place

Joseph Berger, MD, RPh