Pets Are Loving Support names seasoned nonprofit professional as Executive Director, adds to board & elects new Board Chair

Pets Are Loving Support, Inc. (PALS), a nonprofit that enables pets to remain at home with seriously ill and elderly Atlantans,has named Katherine Cummings as Executive Director. The board of PALS also elected Ann Vitale as its Chair and added a new board member for a two-year term.

“Katherine is a creative thinker and collaborative team leader with a strong background in community-based initiatives and healthcare advocacy for underserved and marginalized communities,” says PALS Board Chair Ann Vitale. “Her invigorating presence is already helping shape PALS’ next client-centric chapter.”

Prior to shifting to nonprofit leadership roles in 2004, Cummings edited a weekly newspaper, owned a small market radio station and taught college history in a state women’s prison. Her nonprofit work includes rural healthcare programming, environmental justice advocacy, managing an arboretum and serving as Executive Director of the Thanks Mom and Dad Fund, which supports elders across Georgia.

“’To be of service’ is the foundation of PALS’ mission,” Cummings says. “That value, to serve people in our community so their lives, and those of the pets and service animals they rely on, are better, is why I am so excited about joining PALS. I look forward to growing our client numbers and occasionally getting to pet really cute dogs.”

A graduate of Guilford College, Cummings is a founding member of the Alumni and Friends of Guilford College. She earned a Master of Arts degree from Oregon State University. Away from work, the grandmother of four lives in Virginia-Highland with her Boykin Spaniel.

Career coach, trainer and group facilitator Ann Vitale was recently elected Chair of the Board of PALS, where she has served for three-plus years. Vitale is the former Co-president of the PFLAG Atlanta Board, currently co-chairing that board’s Community Engagement Committee. She also is the facilitator for Atlanta Gender Variations: Parents supporting parents of transgender children and has been an LGBTQ ally for 25-plus years. In addition to an MBA, she holds a master’s in counseling psychology.

Joining the board of the 33-year-old Atlanta 501(c)(3) is Hannah Jarrells, a litigator with Baker Donelson, representing companies of all sizes & many industries in employment law disputes & business disputes. She also advises clients on regulatory and compliance issues. Jarrells earned a bachelor’s degree and law degree from the University of Georgia. She enjoys spending time with her husband and her their dog (Sassy) and their two cats (Winston and Luna). She also enjoys playing tennis with her neighborhood team, the Pangborn Piranhas.

Other members of the PALS board are: (Treasurer) Mike Anderson, Controller and CPA with Carter Real Estate; (Secretary)Michael Edwards, community volunteer and a retired banker; (Bingo Chair) Joel Feuer, a longtime Realtor; Bill Golden, a longtime intown Realtor; (Vice Chair) Jim Marks, the alter ego of long-time HIV/AIDS activist BUBBBA D. Licious, who has hosted PALS Drag Queen Bingo since 1997; Steve Parker, a semi-retired hospitality professional; and Jeremy Tarlow, a veterinarian and founder of Best Friends Blood Bank, an animal blood resource. Tarlow is an integral part of PALS’ monthly no- and low-cost vaccine clinic