Board of Directors
Magdalena Rzyska: Co-Chair
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.
Laura Valdez: Co-Chair
Laura's love for animals began very young, growing up with her family pets and carrying her cat around like a newborn baby. Since those early days, loving and caring for animals have been integral parts of her life. Laura spent a short stint as a veterinary technician but has worked the past 25 years in bookkeeping, accounting and financial analysis. She currently runs her own bookkeeping services company catering to a wide range of businesses and non-profits.
As a lover of the outdoors, Laura has explored beautiful landscapes across the U.S., Europe and beyond. She feels a strong connection to nature, the silence and grandeur of the natural world, and the need for environmental protection. Laura's commitment to animal welfare and responsible environmental stewardship makes her work with Project AnimalAid a natural fit. She is excited to be a member of the board to help carry out it’s valuable mission.
Laura currently lives in Silverton, Colorado, adventuring and exploring the mountains with her husband Jeff and dog Jupiter.
Jamie O’Kane: Treasurer
Jamie was born and raised in Golden, Colorado, and has been passionate about supporting small businesses throughout her career. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Colorado State University in 2003 and began her journey in public accounting with small and mid-sized firms, gaining a diverse range of experience serving clients across industries.
In 2014, Jamie founded Abundant Beans, a firm dedicated to supporting women-owned veterinary practices with strategic bookkeeping and financial growth consulting. With a deep understanding of the veterinary industry’s unique challenges, Jamie and her team serve as integral members of their clients’ advisory teams—helping them streamline operations, strengthen financial health, and build thriving, sustainable practices.
A passionate problem solver, Jamie thrives on untangling accounting puzzles and serving as a trusted advisor who guides clients through complex financial landscapes. She believes that financially strong veterinary practices not only improve the lives of their owners and teams but also elevate the standard of care for animals in communities everywhere. This vision closely aligns with Project AnimalAid’s mission to improve animal health and welfare worldwide.
Outside of her professional life, Jamie is an avid learner and adventurer. She enjoys lifting, reading, knitting, hiking Colorado’s scenic trails, traveling internationally, paddleboarding, and caring for her lively menagerie of mammals and plants. As a dedicated mom and business owner, Jamie brings a wealth of expertise, compassion, and strategic vision to the Project AnimalAid Board of Directors.
Tracey Bain: Director
Tracey has a 35+ year background in technology marketing, where she focused on growing startup companies. Highlights of her experience include marketing management; company launch and messaging efforts; deep experience with customer reference programs, and execution of over a dozen major industry trade shows.
After retiring, Tracey turned her considerable energy to causes related to animal welfare. She’s thrilled to be on the board for Project AnimalAid to help the organization continue to advance the combined mission of both animal and ecological welfare. In addition, she coordinates a wildlife monitoring program in her hometown and is president of the board for K9 Conservationists, a nonprofit focused on uniting highly trained conservation detection dog teams with researchers to collect scientific data. She also volunteers with the Colorado Pika Project, a research project implemented by community scientists across Colorado to provide long-term monitoring of pika populations.
When she’s not working on animal-related causes, Tracey enjoys traveling and ballroom dancing with her husband, mountain biking, hiking, and pretty much anything outside.
Meredith Clark: Secretary
Meredith brings a lifelong love for animals to Project AnimalAid. She's seen firsthand the profound impact of compassionate and dedicated service through her work as a dog foster for various rescues and as a volunteer for the Humane Society of Boulder Valley. The critical need to protect our environment deeply resonates with Meredith, and she's particularly drawn to how Project AnimalAid's mission thoughtfully addresses both her passion for animal welfare and this vital global imperative.
Meredith has a background in marketing, sales, and business operations. She currently works as a Program Manager for Google and is excited to contribute her extensive program management, strategic planning, and operational excellence skills to Project AnimalAid’s success.
Meredith lives in Boulder with her husband, her son, and their dog, Wilmer. An avid runner and hiker, she loves exploring the outdoors, and also enjoys relaxing with a good book and discovering new places through travel.
Howard Cantor: Director
Howard was born in New York City and grew up in Connecticut. After attending college in Philadelphia, where he volunteered at a small animal shelter, he worked for a financial firm, an employee benefits company, and with his father in NYC as a Broadway theater party agent. Deciding to follow his lifelong desire to conserve and protect the environment, he then went to graduate school in Indiana and earned his master’s degree in public administration with a focus on environmental policy. That launched him into a nearly three-decade career in the federal government working in various senior executive positions at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior, both in Washington, DC and Denver. After retiring in 2025, his search to continue making a difference led him to Project Animal Aid and its vital mission.
Howard lives in Denver with his wife and has two boys, one who works in Massachusetts and another who will begin college in the fall. He enjoys practicing martial arts, traveling, and playing and spending time with his two dogs, Mr. T and Ladybug.
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.
Staff
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 Director
Maya has worked in the animal welfare field for over 30 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 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.