Meet the Team
West Place is made possible by a long list of talented, kind, and generous Board Members, employees and volunteers.
Each individual plays an important role in the day-to-day operations of the sanctuary.
Wendy Taylor began West Place in memory of her beloved animals who perished in a house fire. From that traumatic experience, she gained strength and focus and West Place was born. She left the practice of law after twenty years and has dedicated her life to improving the lives of animals who have been victims of cruelty, abuse or neglect.
Wendy Taylor
Founder &
Executive Director
Board of Directors
Thomas has worked in various engineering, sales and management roles at APC/Schneider Electric for the past 20 years primarily in electrical and mechanical aspects of the data center business. Currently the Business Development Manager for Modular Data Centers and Design Services he is responsible for strategy development and implementation for Prefabricated Systems for Data Center, Edge Compute and non-IT applications.
Thomas is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a B.S. in Civil / Environmental Engineering, and the current chairman of the board of West Place Animal Sanctuary.
Thomas D. Humphrey
Board Chair
Elle O'Haire
Board Treasurer
Avia Yudalevich
Board Member
Peter Rodriguez
Board Secretary
Nathan Silva
Board Member
Melissa Heilborn
Board Member
Christopher McKenna
Board Member
Administration
Patrick Cole
Director of Development and Communications
Kelly Rogers
Operations Manager
Head Volunteers
Pam Dow
Green Thumb Supervisor
Tom Freitas
Handyperson Supervisor
Jesse Dufault
Videographer
Katie Rose
Technical Operations
Karen Orsi
Educational Tour Guide