Board of Directors
Founder
Jenna Close
Jenna’s love for the bird world began when a lost ringneck dove landed in her backyard. She was smitten and built him an aviary, then adopted him a wife. Two years later a pair of lost racing pigeons arrived, and she built THEM an aviary and adopted them a flock. Since then she has given 33 rescued pigeons a home and caught countless more as a volunteer for Avian Underdogs Rescue Association. She currently serves as Board Treasurer for Palomacy and as a moderator on their international Facebook Help Group. She is also Director of Media and Fundraising for Great Lakes Pigeon Rescue. Jenna is a commercial photographer & filmmaker by profession and spends her free time traveling the world, usually solo.
Medical Director
Dr. Athena Gianopoulos, DVM
Dr. Athena Gianopoulos (Dr. G for short) is an avian specialist and the founder of Feathers and Fur Animal Hospital. Dr. G received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 2016, followed by a two-year working residency at The Medical Center For Birds in the Bay Area under the mentorship of avian specialist Dr. Brian Speer. Dr. G’s ultimate dream is to support the avian community of Southern California and San Diego by opening an avian teaching hospital and advancing animal science while advocating for humane medical treatment of birds. Dr. G shares her home with a rescue pigeon named Tofu, his wife Bon Bon and 2 chihuahuas. Her parrots Pappy and Norton are residents in her clinic.
Director
Jeffrey Jones
Jeffrey Jones is a photographer based in New York. His work has been exhibited at Pinakothek der Moderne Museum in Munich, Germany, 303 Gallery in New York, as well as numerous publications like Italian Vogue and National Geographic, to name a few. His love for birds began quite early as a child having parakeets around the age of 7. He is currently a volunteer and photographer for the Wild Bird Fund in New York City. His work with pigeons has helped raise funding for the non-profit as well as rehabilitating birds in the clinic. Jeffrey has a rescued pigeon named Ghob that he adopted about 3 years ago.
Secretary
Monika Sokolowska-Birch
Monika discovered her passion for birds during the Covid-19 lockdown. Her daily visits to a local nature preserve inspired her to learn more about the avian world, and when she saw a pigeon for adoption at a local Humane Society, she knew she wanted to bring her home. Jagoda, a beautiful black female pigeon, stole her heart from day one. That love motivates Monika to care for a local flock of feral pigeons, advocate for them, and spread positivity about these often underappreciated and misunderstood species through her Instagram platform. She is a lecturer of rhetoric and English at SDSU and MiraCosta. Outside her academic pursuits, you will find her with a pair of binoculars on a nature trail or at a thrift store.
Treasurer
Chris Arvanitis
Chris has been a lifelong lover of underdog animals. His passion and love for pigeons came after a little lost racer arrived exhausted at his home eight years ago. With the help and guidance provided by Palomacy and Avian Underdogs, Chris soon adopted a mate for Pete named Penny. Before long, he constructed a large aviary that now houses 26 rescued pigeons. Chris believes that these often minimalized birds deserve a fair chance at a safe and secure life. Chris is a General Manager for a senior living community, a hobbyist wood and metalworker, and enjoys photography in his spare time.
Director of Educational Outreach
Chula Rappold
Chula has been teaching elementary school for over 20 years. She has two children and 2 rescued dogs.
Advisors
Great Lakes Pigeon Rescue
Chava Sonnier
Chava is a clinical informatics nurse, pigeon rehabber, and bird nerd who lives with her husband, Zach, and the many birds who rescued them and now run the household. Inspired by the work of Palomacy and the great need for pigeon rescue in all geographic areas, Chava co-founded Chicago Pigeon Pets Rescue (now Great Lakes Pigeon Rescue) with 6 close friends in 2018. Now based in Washington DC, Chava and Zach continue to focus their bird rehab efforts on helping pigeons through GLPR in Chicago and their satellite office in DC.
Avian Underdogs Rescue Association
Terry Whatley
Terry has been involved in bird rescue in Southern California for more than 25 years now. Her first bird adventures entailed rescuing domestic ducks and geese that had been abandoned at parks, lakes, and ponds throughout the area. The waterfowl were quickly followed by domestic doves, pigeons, parrots, and all types of non-native wild birds. Terry is the founder and a director of Avian Underdogs Rescue Association (AURA), a 501 (c)(3) registered charity. AURA rescues, rehabilitates, and rehomes between 700 and 1000 birds annually. Terry shares her home with a rescued dog, several rescued cats, and a constantly changing number of rescued birds.
Palomacy Pigeon & Dove Adoptions
Elizabeth Young
Elizabeth grew up in Las Vegas, graduated with a degree in English from UC Berkeley, worked 13 years on the front lines of the war on poverty as a nonprofit director to reduce poverty and develop self-reliance, spent 6 years making educational toys and in 2007 became an accidental pigeon rescuer. Elizabeth has always loved all animals and had no special interest in pigeons when she began volunteering at the San Francisco Animal Care & Control shelter except concern when she learned they were coming into shelters but not getting out. They were the only animals who had no one helping them. All the others, the dogs and cats, rabbits and rats, parrots and snakes, farmed animals and wildlife, all had at least one rescue to help them. The founder of Palomacy, Elizabeth has saved the lives of thousands of pigeons directly while helping countless others across the country and beyond through Palomacy’s online Help Group.