Our team
Our great team
Mandy (Co-founder & Executive Director.)
Mandy first visited Kyiv, Ukraine in the summer of 2017. While there, she learned about the mass poisoning of thousands of street dogs ahead of Euro 2012 — and was shocked to discover that exterminators still target these animals today. Unlike the media coverage surrounding the poisoning of dogs in Russia before the Olympics, the situation in Kyiv had received little attention.
She began forming relationships with independent rescuers and local groups, many of whom were sacrificing their own time and resources to rescue street dogs. Deeply moved by their commitment and by the loss of her beloved dog, Copper, Mandy decided to launch an organization that would not only help these dogs find loving homes but also raise international awareness about their plight.
Today, she manages a wide range of tasks at Transform a Street Dog — from recruiting volunteers and coordinating adoptions to building partnerships and organizing fundraising. Her inspiration comes from the stories of resilient dogs transformed into wonderful companions thanks to the compassion of dedicated volunteers.
Outside her work, Mandy is a busy mom to two toddlers, Fletcher and Coraline, and cares for her two dogs — Latka, a Ukrainian rescue, and Rocco, a miniature Greyhound.
Jena (Co-founder & President)
Jena is from Ukraine and moved to San Francisco to pursue her career as a Software Engineer. Passionate about animal welfare, she has always felt a strong connection to the effort to rescue street dogs in Ukraine, making it a natural step for her to join the Transform a Street Dog team.
Jena and her husband, Max, travel between Ukraine and San Francisco several times a year and are able to personally escort adopted dogs to their forever homes in the Bay Area.
She is currently fostering a dog named Bonya and is thrilled to save a life from the streets of Kyiv, giving back to the stray animals of her homeland.
In addition to fostering and transporting dogs, Jena has played a key role in developing our website — a vital tool for showcasing adoptable dogs. Her Russian language skills also help maintain strong communication with our local partners. We’re so grateful for her dedication and talents.
Maryna
Maryna has lived in Kyiv her whole life. She started rescuing dogs from the streets after she witnessed the mass poisoning of street dogs before the Euro 2012 games. As a professional videographer, she felt compelled to record what was happening so that she could share it and not let it be denied. The horrible memory of these images haunt Maryna and this is what motivates her and her mother to dedicate themselves to rescuing street dogs.
She spends most of her time and money rescuing, rehabilitating and adopting out street dogs. At any given time, she has 10-12 dogs in her apartment. We have partnered with Maryna to help relieve some of her stress with raising money and finding homes, and in turn she provides us socialized dogs for adoption, who would otherwise be fending for themselves and being at-risk on the streets.
Phoebe
In her spare time, Phoebe likes to take ballet classes, explore San Francisco (while meeting lots of dogs!), cook plant based delights, and sleep in.
More about "Transform a street dog"
We need help from animal lovers like you to save more street dogs from suffering.
