Dr. Gerry Boss
President
Gerry Boss has a life-long love for animals, and has participated in a variety of animal rescue groups, having fostered well over 100 cats and dogs in his home. He has been a member of the SNAP Board of Directors for over 20 years, and has served as President of the Board for the last five years. He is a faculty member at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), serving as a Professor of Medicine. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers, with his main interest being nutrient regulation of purine synthesis and cell growth. Throughout his career, he has remained clinically active, serving as a primary care physician for adult patients. He received a B.S. in Genetics from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.D. degree from the University of California, Irvine, and then completed an Internal Medicine Residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He subsequently did post-doctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital and UCSD. Gerry has a long history of community outreach, volunteering in free clinics in both San Diego and Mexico, and building houses in Tijuana.
Ian Thompson
Vice President
Ian Thompson has been a member of the SNAP Board of Directors since 2015. He brings 20 years of technical support, customer service and operations management experience to the organization.
He was Vice President of Central Services at Mitchell International, a technology company, where he led the organization to multiple national awards for technical support and service. He also centralized customer service and order processing operations for catalog sales company Maintenance Warehouse, which was subsequently purchased by The Home Depot. He has held management positions at Continental Airlines, The Automobile Club of Southern California and the Institute for International Research, and has spoken on the topic of technical support operations at numerous industry conferences.
Ian received a diploma in education from Loughborough University of Technology in England.
Sid Shapiro, CPA
Treasurer
Sid Shapiro has been involved with animal welfare issues since the early 1990s. He obtained the tax-exempt status for SNAP in 1992 and has been a member of the Board of Directors since that time, serving as Treasurer. He served as a volunteer coordinator for Feral Cat Coalition from 1993 – 2003.
He started his career in the accounting field as an intern for Ernst & Ernst in their New York City office. He then moved to Deloitte in Hackensack to avoid the commute to New York. In 1984, Sid transferred to the San Diego office of Deloitte.
Sid has been self-employed since 1985. He focuses his practice on providing tax preparation and tax planning for his individual and closely held businesses. Sid has been involved in the tax preparation and consulting business continuously to this day. Many of his clients are in the real estate industry – from the individual with one rental property to entities with a large commercial presence. He provides assistance with government tax filings for multiple non-profits on a pro bono basis.
Sid received a B.A. degree from Rutgers College in New Brunswick, and an MBA in accounting from Rutgers University in Newark. He serves as Treasurer for the Rutgers College Class of 1971.
Nicole Donnelly
Director
A lifelong animal lover and supporter, Nicole Donnelly has deep connections in the local animal welfare community. She and her husband Martin have welcomed 2 cats and 12 dogs into their life through foster or adoption, providing a safe and loving home to pets in need. She was introduced to SNAP 20 years ago at a Bowling for the Animals event and took the initiative to call SNAP to see how she and her company Miramar Kitchen & Bath could help. After learning more about the low-cost mobile services we provide, she realized that delivering spay/neuter surgeries, especially to underserved communities, is the best way to reduce unwanted animals from entering the local shelters.
Kristina Hancock, JD
Director
Kristina Hancock has been a member of the SNAP Board of Directors since 2004; serving as Secretary until 2017. Kristina focuses her law practice on representation of tax-exempt organizations and charitable giving. She has extensive experience counseling public charities, large and small family and corporate foundations, social welfare organizations, and trade associations. She has served as corporate counsel to both large and small non-profits for more than 30 years. She taught Animal Law as an adjunct professor at California Western School of law, for 15 years, and co-founded the American Bar Association’s first Animal Law Committee. Before entering the legal profession, Kristina practiced as a critical care nurse for 15 years. She is currently doing graduate work in Climate Science at Scripps Institute of Oceanography.
John Morizi, DVM
Director
Morizi has been healing La Jolla’s cats and dogs for 31 years. He’s the founder of the Animal Hospital of La Jolla, a popular practice until it had to leave its Draper Avenue digs when the building was sold in 2015.
After temporarily practicing in Kearny Mesa with a former partner, Morizi opened Pet Health Center of La Jolla the following year, with a room built specifically for acupuncture, laser therapy and therapeutic massage.
Morizi knew his calling since elementary school, when his best friend was the son of the most popular vet in suburban Pelham, N.Y.
“That put a bug in my ear,” said Morizi, who went on to graduate from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Morizi also had a dog, Coco, an American eskimo mix, who figured largely in that decision. She traveled everywhere with him — sometimes even to elementary school.
“She’d wait outside,” Morizi said. “If the kids went out at recess, she’d run inside and go to every classroom until she found me.”
Morizi said working with animals is “just something I’ve always loved doing, and I still love doing it.”
Cameron Rooke
Director
Cameron Rooke has been a member of the SNAP Board of Directors since 2010. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation and Computers 2 San Diego Kids. He is also Vice President of Trustees of La Jolla Country Day School, and a Professional Partner at Rooke Fiduciary Management, Inc. and Withington Foundation, Inc.
Dorell Sackett
Secretary
“I am proud to be a part of the Spay-Neuter Action Project and empower people to be responsible pet owners. SNAP improves the welfare of pets, people and the community here in San Diego. Reaching 65,000 dogs and cats altered in San Diego County aboard our 38-foot high-volume surgical mobile unit, along with educating scores of families locally on the importance of proper pet care is a milestone for pets in this county.”
Advisory Committee: A supplemental body of the SNAP Board of Directors.
Our Mission: To increase support of SNAPs affordable spay and neuter program and educational outreach program.
Our Purpose
- Devise and execute fundraising activities independent from the Board.
- Engage with current donors and the broader community to bring more visibility to SNAP’s work.
- Serve as advocates for proper pet care to strengthen SNAP’s mission.
Look for events and activities hosted by SNAP Advisory Committee
