About Mercy For Animals

Leah Garcés is the CEO and president of Mercy For Animals and author of Grilled: Turning Adversaries into Allies to Change the Chicken Industry. With more than 20 years of leadership experience in the animal protection movement, she has partnered with corporations, communities, and governments on her mission to build a better food system.

She is the founder of our Transfarmation program, working to transition factory farmers from industrial animal agriculture to production of specialty crops, such as mushrooms and hemp. Leah oversaw international campaigns in 14 countries at the World Society for the Protection of Animals and launched Compassion in World Farming in the United States. Her work has been featured in national and international media outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, BuzzFeed, VICE, and the Chicago Tribune. She has presented at global forums, including TEDx, RIO+10, and the World Health Organization’s Global Forum for Health Research.

Lucas Alvarenga is chief strategy officer at Mercy For Animals, a role that combines his marketing expertise with a deep commitment to the animal protection movement. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Lucas played a pivotal role in launching Mercy For Animals in his home country in 2015. The team there has grown and is now one of the largest in the farmed animal movement. His background in marketing, coupled with extensive experience in spearheading programmatic initiatives across various countries, has been instrumental in Mercy For Animals’ strategy worldwide.

Lucas also contributes his insights and expertise as a board member at Faunalytics, further emphasizing his dedication to animal protection and data-driven strategies.

Shahid Maqsood is chief financial officer at Mercy For Animals. He is responsible for all of the organization’s financial functions, including accounting, reporting, balance-sheet management, financial planning and analysis, auditing, corporate finance, and grant management.
Shahid has more than 18 years’ experience in finance and operations. His experience and leadership have focused on internal controls, simplified reporting, reducing low-value work, improving processes, and overall budget and forecast management. Shahid is known for leading high-performing teams that build strong relationships with stakeholders, including board members and external partners, to drive success and create long-term value.
Shahid holds a bachelor’s degree in public health and a master’s in business administration in finance. Shahid currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky, with his wife and three children. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, and listening to music.

​​Jodi Medoff is chief operating officer at Mercy For Animals, overseeing legal matters, people operations and culture, technology, operations, risk management, and board and business functions. She also serves as corporate secretary. Jodi previously served as Mercy For Animals’ general counsel, leveraging her legal expertise to drive operational excellence, mitigate risk, and ensure regulatory compliance.

With more than 18 years in legal and operational practice, including 13 years of in-house counsel work, Jodi brings a breadth and depth of corporate and transactional experience along with success in executing business and operational strategies. She also brings experience in law enforcement as a former federal special agent. Jodi is a strategic business partner, sustaining a culture of operational efficiency and managing and mitigating risk while guiding legal strategy and compliance.

Jodi received her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, her MBA from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, and her bachelor’s in psychology from Brandeis University.

Travis Sitzlar is vice president of technology at Mercy For Animals. He leads a team of developers and PMOs dedicated to helping Mercy For Animals achieve its vision through information technology. With over 20 years’ experience creating and managing high-performing technology teams around the globe, Travis has supported organizations ranging from local, regional, and international mission-driven nonprofits to emerging startups and multinational corporations backed by private equity. He is delighted to see technology play a role in transforming people’s perception of plant-based foods and looks forward to a world where plant-based eating is the norm. Travis and his wife, Stephanie, live in the Tampa Bay area in a home ruled by their two dogs, rescue bird, and cat.

Luiza Schneider serves as vice president of investigations at Mercy For Animals. She works with our brave investigations team to expose the cruelty at factory farms. Luiza joined Mercy For Animals in 2017 as investigations manager. Previously, she had worked for years as an animal welfare expert and inspector in Brazil, visiting and reporting animal abuse at hundreds of slaughterhouses, factory farms, puppy mills, and vivisection labs.

Sage Evans is vice president of development at Mercy For Animals. She brings over 20 years of progressive experience in fundraising leadership and strategy with nonprofits and local government agencies. A graduate of Grand View University with a degree in philanthropic studies, Sage has focused her career on improving donor relations and mission alignment through stewardship, annual giving, prospect research, and development operations. Sage resides in Des Moines, Iowa, with her husband, Jon, and their three rescue cats. She has a passion for travel and enjoys searching for hidden locations and treasures around the globe.

Paula Cardoso is LatAm general counsel at Mercy For Animals. She joined the organization in 2017 as a staff attorney and now oversees legal affairs and advises on all legal matters that arise concerning the organization’s programs, operations, compliance, and corporate governance in Latin American countries. Paula has many years of experience in legal practice, having worked at law firms and as a pro bono attorney for activists from various social justice movements. She holds a law degree from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo and an LLM degree in animal law from Lewis & Clark Law School. Paula is also a specialist in business contracts and certified in digital law by Fundação Getúlio Vargas.

Nikunj Sharma is chief executive officer of Mercy For Animals in India. Based in New Delhi, Nikunj provides strategic leadership and guidance for our work in India, including building and managing teams, maintaining collaborative relationships with stakeholders, setting goals, and implementing short- and long-term plans and policies to further the organization’s mission. Nikunj has over 12 years of rich experience in strategizing and leading policy and advocacy initiatives for animal protection campaigns in India and has been part of some of the landmark victories for animals in the country. Nikunj has worked with key influencers, such as parliamentarians, bureaucrats, think tanks, corporations, senior lawyers, and civil society leaders to build strong formal networks. For his extensive work in animal protection, Nikunj has been featured by the BBC, the Newsmakers, NDTV India, Aaj Tak, Times Now, and many more top news outlets.

Fernando Gallart is managing director of Mercy For Animals in Latin America. Based in Mexico with experience building high-performing teams, he provides strategic guidance for our Latin American operations and oversees a growing team of passionate professional activists. Before joining Mercy For Animals, Fernando worked in international business expansion and marketing, helping companies increase their revenue in France, Spain, and Latin America.

Kelcey Meadows-Lucas is a senior philanthropy officer at Mercy For Animals, helping our donors fulfill their dreams of ending farmed animal cruelty. Adopting a feisty terrier 18 years ago opened her heart to all animals. Kelcey soon dedicated her life to helping animals. She brings more than a decade of fundraising experience to her position. Kelcey shares her home with her husband and son, rescued dog, and rescued fish.

Caitlin Oates is a philanthropy officer at Mercy For Animals, helping donors make the greatest impact with their giving. Caitlin has concentrated her professional career on her lifelong passion, animal welfare. For the past decade, she has dedicated her life to raising funds to help animals both locally and globally, with a focus on bringing supporters closer to the causes they love most. Caitlin has impacted a wide range of animals in need—from local homeless domestic dogs and cats to lions, tigers, and other exotic animals in abandoned roadside zoos around the world. Caitlin is beyond excited to use her years of expertise to help farmed animals and build a compassionate food system with Mercy For Animals. A graduate of Boston College, Caitlin resides in Watertown, Massachusetts, with her husband, Jeff, and their 12-year-old rescue wheaten terrier, Liam.

Jen Wessel is a philanthropy officer at Mercy For Animals, where she helps supporters deepen their connection to Mercy For Animals’ mission and achieve their philanthropic vision. Jen is committed to improving the lives of farmed animals and building a sustainable food system for our planet. She has helped a wide range of animals in need—from wild animals in war-torn zoos to dogs and cats in the meat trade—and is thrilled to concentrate her efforts on industrial animal agriculture. She is most excited to develop strong personal connections with the incredible people driving Mercy For Animals’ mission forward and is honored to work together to bring positive change. A graduate of the University of Dayton, Jen resides in Westerville, Ohio, with her husband, Michael, their son, Theodore, and their pups, Fletcher and April.

Rachel Koretz Caughlin is a philanthropy officer at Mercy For Animals. She loves connecting with donors, learning about their passions, and helping them fulfill their philanthropic goals. Rachel has dedicated much of her career to helping farmed animals and previously served as a development manager at Mercy For Animals. She is very excited to partner with supporters to create a more just food system and a kinder world for animals. A graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, Rachel resides in Los Angeles with her husband, Rich, and their pup, Ro. She enjoys spending time by the water, exploring new nature trails, and trying out all the delicious plant-based food spots in town.

Mikael Roldsgaard Nielsen serves as Mercy For Animals’ director of leadership giving, overseeing the Compassion Collective and ensuring supporters are updated on and engaged with the organization’s work. Mikael has been active in animal protection since 2002 and a part of Mercy For Animals since 2006. He volunteered for six years and has spent the past 11 in key positions for various programs, including corporate engagement, volunteer coordination, veg support, and fundraising.

It was in college when he researched factory farming for a speech class that Mikael learned just how bad things were for animals in our food system. He went vegetarian overnight and vegan a few years later. That was over 24 years ago, and he’s never looked back.

Mikael was born in Aarhus, Denmark, and moved to the United States when he was 10. He double-majored in mathematics and economics at Indiana’s Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, where he graduated with honors. Today he resides with his partner and her daughter in Tampa, Florida. Outside work, Mikael enjoys snowboarding, hiking, paddleboarding, and camping. He is always on board to exchange cute pictures of fur babies, as he also lives with a very photogenic rescued Great Pyrenees named Ralph.

Kathryn Hohmann is Mercy For Animals’ director of foundation relations. She holds a bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Minnesota. She joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a technical writer and then moved to Washington, DC, where she spent more than a decade as an environmental lobbyist, focusing on wildlife, public lands, and pollution issues. Kathryn created long-standing connections with people in fenceline communities near large industrial plants, which enhanced her understanding of environmental justice. She was instrumental in negotiating legislation on clean air, mining on public lands, clean water, and toxic waste remediation.

Kathryn then relocated to Montana and transitioned to fundraising, building support for great causes. She has raised money for animal rescues and disaster response at American Red Cross and worked in higher education at Montana State University.

Kathryn enjoys writing about animals and nature and is a co-author of a textbook on climate change and disaster response and co-author of a book on women and horses. She is the human half of Team Pied Piper, with her Australian shepherd, competing in disc-dog and agility trials at the national level.

Patrick Sarsfield serves as general counsel at Mercy For Animals, overseeing legal affairs and advising on all legal matters that arise concerning the organization’s programs, operations, compliance, and corporate governance. Patrick earned his undergraduate degree and law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Cristina Mendonça is managing director of Mercy For Animals in Brazil. She brings more than 20 years’ experience in local and global sustainability. This includes mobilizing people and financial resources, as well as leading, facilitating, and engaging national and international stakeholders in change processes that amplify impact for NGOs, governments, and companies.

Before joining Mercy For Animals, Cristina worked for the Clinton Climate Initiative and C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group for almost 11 years in various capacities, including advising Eduardo Paes, the chair of C40 and mayor of Rio de Janeiro, and designing the theory of change for C40’s consumption prototype program that aims to foster sustainable lifestyles.

Cristina holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, a master’s in urban and environmental engineering, and an executive MBA in administration. She has also completed leadership trainings in personal, social, and cultural transformation processes.

Interested in joining our team? Click here to see our current job openings.

Mercy For Animals also invites people to join us as volunteers and interns. Please visit our Action Center and internship program pages for more details.