EXECUTIVE TEAM - BIOGRAPHIES.

Dan Rossi, Executive Director

Dan comes to us from Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh, where he led the very successful Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh over 12 years. Dan is a Pittsburgh native and holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Carnegie-Mellon University, as well as a Master’s Degree from Robert Morris University. His extensive nonprofit experience spans not only animal welfare but also human health, having served as CEO of United Cerebral Palsy of Central Arizona, part of the United Cerebral Palsy network which is one of the largest health nonprofits in the United States. Dan’s animal welfare journey really took off in 2010 when he accepted the role of Executive Director at the Animal Rescue League. Under his leadership the ARL experienced unprecedented growth and became the largest animal shelter in the Pittsburgh region, touching the lives of more than 25,000 animals and 30,000 households annually. In 2017, Dan was named CEO of Humane Animal Rescue – the legacy organization of the merged Animal Rescue League and Western PA Humane Society.

Jack Hagerman, Associate Executive Director

 

As a child, Jack Hagerman founded and operated his own make-shift animal rescue – taking in stray cats, injured birds, and the occasional bunny. Clearly not learning his lesson as an adult, he co-founded a critically endangered livestock conservancy on his farm in Wisconsin, where he cared for and rehabilitated more than 400 animals in 17 different critically endangered livestock species. Think Dr. Doolittle meets Noah’s Arc. 

A native Angelino, he moved back to LA to pursue an animal welfare career at Pasadena Humane. He went on to become the CEO of the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society, Northern New Mexico’s largest open admission, No-Kill shelter. Most recently, he ran Albuquerque Animal Welfare, New Mexico’s largest municipal animal shelter. 

For several years, Jack has had a pet column that ran in 11 local newspapers throughout Southern California.  In his spare time, he formulates compelling arguments to convince his husband it’s a good idea to adopt a red panda or fun-loving lemur. Or a raccoon, maybe. Or a potty-trained duck (which he’s pretty sure doesn’t exist, but still).

Bart Verry, Development Director

Bart joined the Palm Springs Animal Shelter as the Director of Development in December, 2021. Bart oversees the fundraising and marketing efforts for the Greater Palm Springs Animal Allies. Bart has been in the development field for over 25 years in Southern California, having worked for a variety of organizations such as Global Green USA, the Make-A Wish Foundation, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, AIDS Project Los Angeles and The Pablove Foundation and serves on the Board of the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce. Bart enjoys volunteering as a small dog walker for the shelter, and lives in Palm Springs with his husband Mark and their dog Roxxy, who they adopted from PSAS.

Dr. Philip Caldwell

Dr. Phil Caldwell graduated from the Canadian Ontario Veterinary College in 1994. After graduation, he moved to Las Vegas and practiced there for twelve years before moving to Los Angeles and then to the Coachella Valley where he currently resides. He has provided nonprofit veterinary care to small animals in India as well as Cambodia. In his spare time, he is the CEO and founder of the Savong Foundation Cambodia which provides scholarships to underprivileged students who wish to pursue professional careers. More information about this philanthropic work can be found at www.savongfoundation.org. One of his passions is writing and he has completed a book called The Pet Doctor’s Shoes which details his adventures in the trenches of small animal medicine and surgery. He is very proud to be a part of the PSAS team where an enormous amount of effort goes into saving lives and adopting out great pets.