HSTT Board of Directors
Jill Vacchina Dobbs, President

Jill grew up in Reno and spent most of her adolescence enjoying the outdoor life in Truckee and North Tahoe. She enjoys the Truckee community and natural environment where she can easily access her favorite outdoor pastimes with her husband, Jason, and their big, sweet, befuddled black labs, Zinger and Kota. She is an attorney licensed to practice in California and Nevada (inactive). And she is also a freshly minted mountain biker trying to master clip pedals so don't run her over if you see her on the trail!
Meg Raymore, Vice President

A Truckee native, Meg Raymore is the owner of SmallPond Studio, an award-winning marketing and design firm that donates hundreds of hours of design time to HSTT each year. She became involved with the organization through the cat foster and socializing program in 2000 after moving back to Truckee from the Bay Area. Meg is passionate about giving back to the community she loves and currently sits on the board of directors of the Rotary Club of Truckee and the Stanford Alumni Club of Northern Nevada & the Sierra. A former ski racer and ballet dancer, Meg is "mom" to son Ethan, dog Kobe, and three cats – Moe, Lola, and Mike D.
Cherri Gillmore

Cherri moved to Truckee from the Bay Area in 2007. Her love of animals led her to become a volunteer at the shelter that spring. She is a tireless advocate for the animals, and works as an adoption counselor, specializing on the cats and kittens. She lives with her husband Rob, two dogs – Abby and Shadow, and two shelter cats – Elvis and Bee. When she is not at the shelter, doing follow-up calls, or participating in HSTT events, she works full time for Hewlett Packard as their Global Privacy Policy Manager.
Karen Holm

Karen’s generosity can be counted in many ways, not the least of which is her gift of time. She spends many hours at the kennel helping with the animals and, as an adoption counselor, works tirelessly to find “forever homes” for our cats and dogs. Karen was born in San Francisco, raised in Orinda and spent her career in banking as a commercial lender for Wells Fargo. Karen and her husband Greg, retired Battalion Chief for Moraga-Orinda Fire, moved to Truckee in 2004 where they now live with their three rescue dogs. Karen says that her volunteer work at the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe is the most rewarding work she has ever done.
Carol Huckins

Carol Huckins grew up in a large family that adopted any stray animal who wandered into their lives. As a result, animals always outnumbered people in the house. Carol currently resides in Truckee with her husband Todd and pets Daisy (an HSTT alumni), Alex and Ivy. She holds the position of Senior Manager for Siemens Medical Solutions.
Pete Kristian

Pete moved to Truckee in the winter of 1999. He adopted his dog Flip, with the help of current board president Georgia Smith, from HSTT the following year. Pete lives in Truckee with his wife Kacey, daughter Maeve and his dogs Flip and Olive. He enjoys spending time with all the animals at HSTT and is excited about working towards a new shelter. Pete has worked for the Truckee Donner Recreation and Park District since 2004.
Pattie Lesser

Pattie Lesser and her husband, Hartley, own High Sierra Media Group providing multimedia services to their clients. She works to pay for the doggie cookies, toys and kibble for their three rescued dogs, Yukon, Sasha and Noelle. Currently Pattie is the editor of two magazines MilsatMagazine and SatMagazine, and provides daily worldwide satellite, military satellite, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, outer space and digital news at SatNews.com. Pattie’s friends and pets will tell you it’s a perfect fit as they always thought she was from another planet!
Joyce Taylor

Joyce Taylor has more than 24 years of success in business development and sales management with technology companies such as Foundry Networks, Bay Networks, Xyologics and Tri Data. Prior to joining A10, she was a successful entrepreneur and served as founder and president of Jetlites, Inc., an award-winning maker of high-performance sports lighting technologies.
Gary Wood

Gary Wood is a VP Sales and Marketing at a bay area software company, who moved to Truckee in 1996. Gary became interested in helping homeless animals after adopting his best friend Scout, and has been actively involved with the HSTT for several years as a volunteer. Gary’s other interests include photography, skiing, cycling, and spending time outdoors with his wife Karen, a local dentist, son Justan, and their two adopted dogs Buddy and Anabele.