​Melanie Gerard, DVM

​Dr. Melanie Gerard graduated from veterinary college with honors in 2001. She worked in private practice and as an instructor at her alma mater, Ohio State University, in the Shelter Medicine Program, later becoming the senior veterinarian in a large humane society in Minneapolis, MN. In 2012, Dr. Gerard started Mission Animal Hospital (still the only charitable non-profit veterinary hospital in Minnesota), providing thousands of animals with medical care. Dr. Gerard moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2015 and with her husband, also a veterinarian, owns two small animal practices in the Seattle area. Dr. Gerard is proud to serve on the board of Seattle Veterinary Outreach as well as the WSVMA's Animal Health Foundation. Dr. Gerard is passionate about animal welfare and focused on continuing her support in a variety of settings.

​John Hayes

​Captain John F. Hayes, Jr. is a 38-year veteran of the Seattle Police Department, encompassing a diverse range of responsibilities and experience, most recently as Captain of the Audit, Research, & Policy Section. Captain Hayes is a graduate of the University of Washington, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Welfare and Women’s Studies and a Master’s Degree in Social Work. Captain Hayes has served as an advisor, instructor, facilitator and guest presenter for the Washington State Bar Association, The King County Bar Association, Seattle University, University of Washington, numerous schools, churches and organizations within the community. He has trained thousands of people, both locally and nationally, in the areas of family and youth intervention services, gang violence, youth truancy and more specifically, in working with high-risk juvenile populations. In 2011 Captain Hayes was recognized as the first recipient of the University of Washington’s Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality Distinguished Alumni award. Captain Hayes holds, with pride, his distinction as being one of the founding members of the Seattle Veterinary Outreach.

Jessica Biondo

Jessie credits the life changing effect her own rescue dogs, #louandchar, had on her for pushing her to get more involved in animal rescue and helping underserved communities. She has been on the associate board with One Tail at a Time in Chicago since 2016, and is a foster for Dog Gone Seattle.  She even (hesitantly) trains for the Chicago Marathon each year with Team One Tail.  Joining Seattle Veterinary Outreach was the missing piece to her life in Seattle and she is excited to help keep people and their pets happy, healthy and together.
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Jessie received her MS in Human Centered Design and Engineering from the University of Washington and has a BA from Marquette University. She has worked in ecommerce, user experience and digital marketing for the last 15 years. ​In her free time, she tends to her growing collection of plants, printing in the letterpress studio or hanging with her dog, Molly.

Harold Odom

Harold Odom has experienced homelessness for over a decade. He once worked in computer repair, but after a loved one passed away, his life emotionally started going downhill. Today, Harold lives in one of the Tiny Home Villages in Georgetown and is a huge advocate for those experiencing homelessness. Harold believes strongly that housing is a human right. Harold is very involved with the Health Care for the Homelessness Network Consumer Advisory Group and serves in a leadership capacity with the Lived Experience Coalition. Harold has played a key role in making sure that people experiencing homelessness were involved in the design of the new King County Regional Homelessness Authority. Harold participated in numerous workgroups working alongside government staff, philanthropy, consultants, and most importantly people most impacted by homelessness to stand up key elements of the new Regional Homelessness Authority.

Solveig Whittle

Solveig Whittle has degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (Systems Engineering), from the University of Chicago (MBA/Marketing), and certificates from the University of Washington (K-8 Teaching and Social Media) and Washington State University Extension (Forest Stewardship). Solveig has had a diverse set of job titles, including Programmer, Software Product Manager, Math Teacher, Social Media lecturer, Lake Testing Volunteer, as well as pop lyricist and singer.

She's lived on a community owned working tree farm in WA State for almost 30 years. She is a lifelong learner, and believes strongly in service to others. Solveig has two dogs (retriever and pug) and two cats (both rescues). She is grateful for the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people and pets.

Kim Blanchard

Kim graduated in 1978 with a degree in nursing. She practiced in labor and delivery as a registered nurse for 42 years, recently retiring. She has always always had a passion for helping the unsheltered population and animals. When she started volunteering with SVO in December of 2019, she knew she had found her people.
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Kim's family makes hygiene and snack packs for the homeless as a result of a 2020 New Years resolution to give back to the less fortunate. They currently have seven rescue goats and five rescue donkeys and plan to start an animal rescue in the future.

Christie Lo

After graduating with a BA in journalism and public relations, Christie was instead drawn to a career in veterinary clinics. She worked for a short time in Olympia and then moved home to Seattle and began working for an emergency and specialty 24-hour vet hospital. She worked in many different roles, eventually becoming the Hospital Administrator, which combined her love of taking care of people and taking care of pets. After spending 11 years there, Christie opted to move to managing a large general practice veterinary clinic and has been doing so for many years now. She has a strong interest in processes, organization and community involvement. 

Volunteering with Seattle Veterinary Outreach is a very fulfilling experience, getting to help to care for people who need to care for their pets. Christie has always had a special love for senior dogs, having adopted many over the years. While the time with them is often short, the love shared is immense. She feels this compassion and understanding of the importance of the human-animal bond is important to bring to the SVO clinics. 
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​In her spare time Christie enjoys spending time with her husband Kevin, Pomeranian mix Maple, 19-year-old cat Jasmine, Herbie the box turtle, Louise the mouse and a very spoiled colony of hermit crabs!