THE PEOPLE OF PAWS NY

Garry Buff, Chair, is an attorney and banker who served as a senior administrative manager at two commercial banks. Presently, his focus is on the nonprofit community. In addition to serving on several boards and assisting various organizations, Mr. Buff also administered the Charles H. Revson Foundation Law Students Public Interest Fellowship Program at NYU Law School. Mr. Buff is a passionate animal lover and supporter of animal rights/rescue organizations. He and his wife are proud pet parents to Isabelle, a beautiful tabby cat who is the center of their universe. Mr. Buff was attracted to the mission of PAWS NY because he understands the incredible bond between a pet and its parents. He received his B.A., with honors, from St. John Fisher College, a J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law, and an M.B.A. from NYU.

Danielle Mazandi, Vice Chair, has several years of experience in the nonprofit sector including several years specifically in planning fundraising events. She currently serves as the Associate Director of Special Events at New York Public Radio. Ms. Mazandi has been a lifelong animal lover and became introduced to PAWS NY first as a volunteer prior to joining the Board. She supports PAWS NY and their mission to promote the human-animal bond. Originally from Boston, Ms. Mazandi graduated from Boston University with a degree in Hospitality Administration. She lives in the West Village with her husband, her Persian cat Poombah, Lab mix Sunny, and Border Collie mix Melvin. In addition to volunteering with PAWS NY, Ms. Mazandi and Melvin are proud to serve as members of the Caring Canines team at a New York City hospital, visiting patients in need of a smile!

JR Hernandez, Treasurer and Founding Board Member, brings an expertise in financial management to the PAWS NY Board. Mr. Hernandez has an extensive background in corporate finance and consulting, with 18 years' experience including investment banking, public and private equity investing, small-business management, strategic advisory, and business development roles. Mr. Hernandez loves languages, with fluency in Spanish, French, and Italian, and varying levels of Portuguese, Japanese, and Arabic. As a child, he had a cat named Mishu, a cocker spaniel named Pepe, and two parakeets named Pee Wee Herman and Tina Turner. Currently, he shares his home with one cat big enough to count as two. Mr. Hernandez received a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he specialized in Finance and Global Analysis.

Karin Magnuson, Secretary, is the founder of Magnuson Coaching. As an executive coach she partners one-on-one with her clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that raises their self-awareness and inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. Ms. Magnuson worked at Google from 2006 to 2020 in a variety of people-related leadership roles (Executive Coach, HR Business Partner, Founder and Director of a Global HR Operations team, Director of Performance Management Design and Delivery, and Organizational Development Consultant). Prior to Google, Ms. Magnuson spent six years at McKinsey & Company where she spent three years consulting to healthcare clients and then three years in a professional development role. She also spent four years as a growth strategy management consultant at Corporate Decisions Inc (CDI). Ms. Magnuson has her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Brown University, her M.B.A. in Healthcare Management from the Wharton School of Business and her coach certification from The Hudson Institute of Coaching. Ms. Magnuson lives in Westchester with her two rescued cats (Eli and Penny) and her rescued dog (Lucy) and has had a lifelong commitment to volunteering with animals. While living in NYC before relocating to Westchester, she was an active volunteer with both PAWS NY (walking guide dogs for two clients each week) and with Best Friends Animal Society (co-leading the volunteer program in the Kitten Nursery).

Shane Artis is a technical leader in Finance with over 30 years of experience in software and strategic architecture. He currently manages programs at a global financial organization where he holds the title of Distinguished Engineer, and also serves on several firmwide governance programs including the firm's Machine Learning steering committee. Mr. Artis has deep experience leading teams of software developers, managing multi-million dollar budgets, vendors, staffing, mentoring, and campus recruiting. Mr. Artis received his B.S. and M.S. in bioelectrical engineering and computer science from MIT.

Growing up on a small farm in the Midwest and later the Pacific Northwest, Mr. Artis has been around animals of many kinds his whole life and they are deeply valued companions. He currently shares his home with Balto, a doggy friend with talents for napping and chasing squirrels. Mr. Artis finds inspiration in PAWS NY’s mission and successes after seeing his own family members struggle to care for loved companion animals in their later years, and wanted to take part in their work enabling animals and people to thrive together through hardship with dignity and security.

Shari Gold has spent the last 15 years working in development in the nonprofit sector, writing grants and organizing fundraising events. Currently, she serves as part-time program manager for The Blue Card, supporting needy Holocaust survivors, and also works for the New York Foundation for Eldercare awarding grants to programs helping seniors. Prior to her nonprofit experience, Ms. Gold worked in corporate marketing positions at Novartis and Unilever. Her love for dogs goes deep and includes volunteering / fostering for a dog rescue, as well as being part of a pet therapy team visiting hospitals and nursing homes. She also saw first-hand how important the bond between pet and human was by watching her elderly dad and his dog Benji navigate the last few years of their lives together. When she moved to NYC three years ago with her four-legged roomie Cassie, a rescue terrier, she became involved with PAWS as a volunteer. For over a year she visited Sam and walked Ophelia and witnessed the importance of the pet and owner bond and how the visits by PAWS volunteers made such a difference. Since her daughter Carly has moved to the city, she has also embraced the PAWS mission and currently walks Che Che during her lunch break. Ms. Gold received her B.A. from Bucknell University and her M.B.A. from Northwestern University.

As Founder and Executive Director of PAWS NY, Rachel brings her passion for protecting the welfare of both animals and people to the organization. She has worked in the nonprofit sector for more than 15 years, and prior to transitioning to PAWS NY full-time in January 2012, she worked in Development at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

During her time at PAWS NY, Rachel has been named “New Yorker of the Week” by NY1, “Holiday Hero” by The New York Times, “40 Under 40 Rising Stars in the Nonprofit World” by NYN Media, and most recently, “Young Social Impact Hero” by Thrive Global. Rachel received her B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Crime and Justice from the University of Michigan and her Master of Public Administration from NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where she specialized in Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy.

Rachel lived in NYC for 17 years (the last 13 in Brooklyn!), but recently relocated to Connecticut with her husband, two young daughters, and their cat Milo. Rachel’s six-year-old is already excited to work for PAWS when she grows up, and both girls clearly love cats as much as their mom.

Minji Kim is a lawyer with extensive litigation experience in New York. She is also passionate about legal issues involving animals and treatment of animals. Ms. Kim received a B.A. with honors in Art History from Brown University and J.D. from University of Iowa. Currently, she shares her home with her best buddy, Marco, a 11-year-old Cockapoo. Thanks to Marco, she understands the unbreakable bond that pets and their guardians have and strongly believes in the mission of PAWS NY. 

Janey Place came to PAWS NY first as a volunteer and then as a Board Member in 2020. She taught at the University of California Santa Cruz after receiving her Ph.D. in Systems Theory from UCLA. After marrying Michael Hiles, a businessman, she took his advice and went into business, working in energy, aerospace, and then banking for 14 years and consulting for 16 years. They’ve been married for 43 years. Ms. Place volunteered in hospice for 10 years and teases Michael with plans to open a cat hospice. She volunteers at the Central Park Zoo and is a life-long animal lover. Growing up in Hawaii, Ms. Place was the go-to person for injured/sick/orphan birds and rarely lost a patient. She has always had dogs and cats, plus a Mynah bird, guinea pigs, hamsters, and a horse who loved the beach but not the ocean. She is a volunteer at Best Friends’ kitten nursery in NYC and currently has three cats, (Yusuf, Tariq, and Gordy), two of which were adopted from the last litter she and her husband fostered.

Julie Stahl brings over 25 years of creative marketing, content creation, storytelling, and education to PAWS NY. She is the founder and creative director of Blonde + Co, a full-service creative agency serving some of the biggest beauty brands worldwide. She recently launched "BLONDE.cares," a philanthropic arm of Blonde + Co to provide affordable or pro-bono services to nonprofits. As a young girl growing up in Australia, Ms. Stahl has always been a strong advocate for animals, people in need, and our environment. Her mission is to affect human behavior to help make our world a more beautiful place for all living things. "BLONDE.cares" has created campaigns for several nonprofit causes, including helping prevent domestic violence and creating education for women diagnosed with breast cancer. Ms. Stahl is teaching others to care, and with her daughter Athena, they are regular conservation travelers for animal causes around the world. At the dog-friendly House of Blonde in Manhattan, Ms. Stahl instills a sense of responsibility to the planet at every level, from lessening paper waste in the office to banning plastic water bottles and straws on set. She lives in Upstate New York with her partner Grey, her daughter Athena, their two rescue pigs and goats, rescue poodle, and two Cornish Rex cats.