Board of Directors

MELANIE LOVELL, PRESIDENT LYNNFIELD, MA

Melanie grew up in Gloucester and has been a member of the Cape Ann Animal Aid Board of Directors since 2014. She is a member of several shelter committees, including among others the Personnel, Development and Winter Ball Committees. She is an attorney at Doherty, Cella, Keane & Associates, a law firm in Beverly exclusively dedicated to the process of obtaining Social Security disability benefits. She graduated from Washington and Lee University and received her law degree and MBA from Suffolk University. She has been a member of the Lynnfield Conservation Commission for the past five years and is also a member of Lynnfield’s Tree Committee. In her free time she enjoys gardening, travel, escape rooms, and spending time with her husband Scott and their three rescue dogs, Feta, Papaya and Picasso.

DEBORAH ELIASON, VICE PRESIDENT GLOUCESTER, MA

Deborah is a long time resident of Gloucester and has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2005. She is a current member of the Development, Personnel and Governance Committees and previously served as co-chair of CAAA’s New Shelter Building Committee. Deborah is principal and founder of Eliason Law Office, LLC ("Eliason Law"), located in downtown Gloucester. Eliason Law advises clients regarding residential and commercial building projects and real estate transactions. With more than thirty years of legal experience, she has been involved in a wide variety of projects and transactions and has represented clients throughout Massachusetts. She graduated from Salve Regina College and received her law degree from Suffolk University School of Law. In addition to her involvement with CAAA, Deborah is also on the Advisory Board of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (seARTS) and is a member of the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce. She spends her free time with family and friends and her senior rescue dog, Zoe, kayaking on the Annisquam River and working on her house and garden.

BRANDI BONDS, TREASURER GLOUCESTER, MA

Brandi grew up in Gloucester and Danvers and has been a member of the Cape Ann Animal Aid Board of Directors since 2015. She is a member of the Finance, Personnel, and Winter Ball Committees. She is CFO at Next Level Now, Inc, an outsourced financial services firm dedicated to helping businesses reach their desired success by offering fractional CFO services and outsourced accounting services. She also enjoys her second job as an adjunct professor for Endicott College teaching business classes. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, chilling around or in the ocean, traveling, and spending time with her three rescue dogs, Lulu Belle, Savannah Marie, and Mona Fiona.

LAURA O'NEILL, SECRETARY GLOUCESTER, MA

Laura has lived in Gloucester since 2004, and began volunteering at Cape Ann Animal Aid after adopting her beloved cat, Butterbean (she volunteers with dogs to get her 'dog fix'). Laura joined the Winter Ball Committee in 2014, and the Board in 2015. She also serves on the Development Committee. Laura has worked in development for 20+ years, for a variety of organizations including the Museum of Science, the USS Constitution Museum, and many other consulting clients. Today, she serves as Major Gifts Officer for Pathways for Children. In the summer, Laura is often on the water, and in the winter, traveling to find water. Her recently adopted fur baby, Little One, provided the editing for this entry as he enjoys 'working' with her when she insists on doing so at home.

CAROLYN BENSON, BOARD MEMBER GLOUCESTER, MA

Carolyn grew up in Cleveland, OH and moved to Gloucester in 1984, after she was married. Carolyn and her husband Kirk have four daughters. She has her own Architectural Design business in addition to owning a Gloucester Land Surveying company with her husband. Carolyn joined the board in 2019 and has been a volunteer since 2013. Carolyn is a member of the Building Committee and is heading the new procedure room project planned for the shelter. Carolyn also volunteers as a coach for the Cape Ann Special Olympics, judges the Gloucester Horribles Parade every year, has volunteered as a Parent Mentor for Pathways, and the Light Up Main Street project, as well as many other civic organizations and events. She has three cats, all of whom were adopted from CAAA! She enjoys spending time with her family and traveling.

TESSA BROWNE, BOARD MEMBER GLOUCESTER, MA

Tessa has been a member of the Board of Directors and Building Committee since 2017. Her first involvement with CAAA was when she joined the Winter Ball Committee in 2015 to help with décor and the rest is history. Her love for animals has been a lifelong passion. She received her Bachelor of Science from the University of New Hampshire and her MBA from Endicott College. Her post undergraduate years were spent working for her family company in the Boston Flower Exchange and continuing her education. In the spring of 2017, she started her own wholesale lobster and bait operation, Cape Ann Lobstermen, in Gloucester, which she currently owns and operates. When she isn’t working, she enjoys spending time with her husband Ryan, a commercial lobsterman, and spoiling her three rescue dogs Bower, Scupper and Storm, and two rescue cats Buoy and Olive. They all love spending time out on the water or in Maine. 

CINDY DUNN, BOARD MEMBER GLOUCESTER, MA

Cindy moved to Gloucester 20 years ago after graduating from Vermont Law School and immediately fell in love with the city. She has served as Assistant General Counsel to the City of Gloucester and is currently the Director of the Danvers, Middleton and Rowley Housing Authorities. Cindy has been a member of the Board of Directors of Cape Ann Animal Aid since 2002 and is a past President and Vice President. Cindy was the co-chair of Capital Campaign to raise funds and build the new shelter at 4 Paws Lane, and she currently sits on the Personnel, Governance, Community Outreach and Development Committees. Cindy enjoys walking the beaches and wooded trails with her spouse Sandy and their 2 rescue dogs; Thurston and Rosey, and their new grand dog, Millie. She is equally in love with her 2 rescue cats, Panda and Adrian. Cindy is currently a member of the Gloucester Dogtown Advisory Committee and has served on two ad hoc committees that worked to increase the number of off-leash areas in Gloucester for dogs.

SUSAN KRUPANSKI, BOARD MEMBER GLOUCESTER, MA

Susan has been a member of the Board of Directors and the Governance and Community Outreach Committees since 2017. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Emmanuel College, her Juris Doctor from New England School of Law, and a Master of Laws in Taxation from Georgetown University School of Law. She embarked on her legal career as a Judge Advocate General for the United States Coast Guard at USCG Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and worked closely with the US Department of Justice enforcing the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and Admiralty laws. She later was assigned to the 1st District Legal Office in Boston, specializing in port security and drug interdiction. She worked closely with the United States Attorney's Office, and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander after 8 rewarding years. Not wanting to leave her Massachusetts roots, she departed military service and joined the General Counsel's Office of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority as Assistant General Counsel specializing in procurement and contract law. Her outside interests include twice monthly CAAA shelter puppy visits to the Den-Mar Health and Rehabilitation Center in Rockport, boating, gardening, fine dining and taking care of Maddie, her rescue pup from Puerto Rico, and rescue kitty Lucy.

KIRK MANSFIELD, BOARD MEMBER LYNNFIELD, MA

Kirk is a lifelong resident of Lynnfield and joined the Cape Ann Animal Aid Board of Directors in October 2019. He is a member of the Winter Ball Committee. Kirk is the Venue Manager at the Back Bay Events Center in Boston and has been in the event planning industry for over 30 years. When Kirk is not working, he dedicates time to his hometown by serving on several town committees (Conservation Commission, Tree Preservation, and Historical Commission). However, he is most proud of his dedication to the Brian E. Colbert Memorial Golf Tournament, an event designed to provide scholarships to college bound students in memory of his nephew, Brian. In his free time, Kirk enjoys traveling, photography, and spending as much time as possible with his rescue cat Beans and his West Highland Terrier, Frank.

KARIN O'DONNELL, BOARD MEMBER GLOUCESTER, MA

Karin is a lifelong resident of Gloucester. She has been a member of Cape Ann Animal Aid Board of Directors since 1993 and has previously served as the Board’s Secretary. She has also served on many Board committees, including the CAAA New Shelter Building Committee where she was involved in the cat and dog enclosure design, and paint and fixture selection. As a past member of the Education Committee, she conducted tours of the shelter for Pathways for Children and local girl scout troops. She is currently a member of the Personnel Committee. Karin previously volunteered with New England Pekingese Rescue for over fifteen years and also worked independently in the animal rescue community for eleven years, including running a low cost vaccination clinic with the help of a local veterinarian. She is employed by the City of Gloucester and also works as a real estate agent with Holly C. & Company.

MARISSA GOODWIN, BOARD MEMBER GLOUCESTER, MA

Marissa grew up in Beverly and Gloucester and joined the Winter Ball Committee in 2017 and the Board of Directors in 2020. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Endicott College and works in Commercial Lending at Bank Gloucester. Animal welfare has been a lifelong passion. Marissa is an advocate for senior animal adoption and has adopted many senior animals throughout her life as well. Ensuring that these animals have a wonderful end of life experience is very important to her. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Mike and their two rescue dogs, Novi and Johnny. They all love going out on the boat and going to the beach.

CRISTOPHER PETERSON, BOARD MEMBER GLOUCESTER, MA

Cris has served as CIO with large corporations and consulted to smaller enterprises navigating significant change. He co-founded Cardinal Group, a software development company and has co-taught graduate level computer science courses in Harvard University.

Cris holds degrees in Computer Science and Economics from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts with his daughter Lea and three cats, Desi, Sam and Oliver. He’s an avid sea kayaker and cyclist embarking on his sixth Pan Mass Challenge this year, riding 192 miles from Sturbridge to Provincetown.

KATE GLIDDEN, BOARD MEMBER GLOUCESTER, MA

Kate joined the Board of Directors in 2020 and serves on the Winter Ball Planning Committee. She graduated from the University of Vermont and studied at the University of Economics in Prague. She is a financial advisor with Compass Point Retirement Planning in Wakefield. She is an avid traveler, loves exploring New England, and is a fan of live music. Kate also volunteers by serving community meals at St. Peter’s Church in Beverly and is a member of North Shore Women in Business. She likes living on Cape Ann and spending time on the water and at the fantastic beaches. She lives with her significant other, Jesse, and their three rescue cats; Willy, Agnes and Stanley and rescue pup, Dixie.

EMERITUS DIRECTORS

LINZEE COOLIDGE GLOUCESTER, MA
CAMILLA RICH SOUTH HAMILTON, MA