Our Team
Our core volunteer team is ensuring that clinics are operating smoothly and able to provide free and low-cost veterinary care for our neighbors.
We also have many more wonderful volunteers who donate their time with us! Want to volunteer? Click here for more details.
Bonnie Goldthwaite, DVM
Licensed Veterinarian
(she/her)
Bonnie grew up on a small farm in Wisconsin where she discovered her love for animals, despite being harassed by barnyard fowl and spending her teenage weekends cleaning horse stalls while her friends were at the mall. She studied English Literature at Boston University but eventually found her way back to her dream of becoming a veterinarian. She completed her DVM at the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine. South Seattle has been her home for the past 15 years. Joining the WAHO team has been the perfect opportunity for her to serve both our local community’s pets and the humans who love them.
She enjoys annoying/embarrassing her 3 teenage sons with her “mom jokes,” using her colleagues as guinea pigs for her baking endeavors and finding cool stuff at Goodwill. She shares her home with her pitbull Odie, ferret Bear, leopard gecko Yoshi and Ebeneezer the judgemental bearded dragon.
Emily Dodd, VA
Veterinary Assistant
(she/her)
Emily grew up outside of Seattle, where she fell in love with working with animals. Emily has been a vet assistant for almost 6 years now, working with various veterinary clinics and animal rescues in Washington and California. Just recently, she moved back from California to be closer with family, and is extremely happy to have found WAHO. Emily is at her happiest when she can help provide care to those in need; it can be anything from vaccine clinics, mobile outreach, or on a triage team doing disaster response. 90% of the time, you can find her loading up on coffee and loving on all the sweet animals that come into our clinics. While she loves all animals, her favorite are bully breeds and little scruffy/fluffy dogs! Emily has two little babies, Mashed Potato and Lulu, who love to cuddle together while they watch Disney movies.
Vanessa Skantze
Intake Specialist
(she/they)
Vanessa Skantze is a Butoh dance artist and a teacher of yoga and movement. She has taught in prisons with Yoga behind Bars and Freehold Engaged Theatre for over a decade. Vanessa holds a black belt in Aikido which she also teaches. She is passionate about animals and has lived with cats all her adult life. She currently runs a DIY performance space in south Seattle where she lives with her partner and six beautiful cats.
Brianna Sherman
Client Services Lead
(she/her)
Born in Seattle, Brianna has a deep passion for the welfare of her local community. She has spent years working in social services, focusing on domestic violence survivors, crisis intervention and de-escalation, and adolescent behavioral health. Alongside her work with humans, Bri has spent years fostering and coordinating care for local dogs and cats. To combine her passion for animals and her desire to work alongside marginalized communities is an honor. She believes strongly that every person and pet deserves to be protected and cared for with love and attention, regardless of economic or social status.
On the weekend, Bri loves to be out hiking in the mountains with her partner, baking croissants, and cuddling with her dog, Cerberus.
Anna Luwig
Clinic Lead
(she/her)
Anna is our founder and board president, and she feels incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to lead such an amazing team to connect her neighbors with veterinary, social, and health services. With a strong background in animal welfare and nonprofit management, Anna provides leadership and guidance for our programs. She facilitates partnerships, secures funding, oversees scheduling, orders supplies, solicits donations, manages our social media accounts, and ensures that the team has the structure and support they need to deliver quality care to our clients and patients. When she is not volunteering, Anna enjoys playing softball and spending time with her wife and four pets.
Gill Chang
Volunteer Coordinator
(she/her)
Gill likes being around pets and their owners, listening to their stories and helping to provide care and support. During the clinic, Gill helps and supports the volunteers who come to contribute. Outside of the clinics, she assists with donation pick-up, volunteer inquiries and office support.