TOGETHER WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE

BOARD PRESIDENT

Lauren Carpenter

Lauren is an Ohio native who moved to Ocala in 2012. Since living in Ocala, Lauren and her husband, Brice, have rescued several stray animals. Even though Lauren received her business degree with a focus in human resources from The Ohio State University, she found her passion for helping homeless animals after adopting a pair of dogs, Brooks & Claire. She sees the need for rescue and outreach in Marion County and is glad to be here to help bring change to the community. Lauren is proud to be part of a community who cares about their animal friends. She is excited to see the future for pets in Marion County and is proud to be raising three little boys who love animals.

BOARD VICE PRESIDENT

Sarah Myers

Sarah has been a long time, animal lover, growing up riding horses in New Jersey.

After graduating from Rowan University in 2007, she and her husband moved to Ocala, where she spent 11 years as an elementary school teacher before transitioning to work full-time with her husband in their electrical contracting business.

Sarah and her husband became involved with VOCAL early-on through fostering and adopting animals. They even spent a year living on site, caring for the animals and the facility when VOCAL first moved onto their current property in 2017.

Sarah is excited to continue her involvement with VOCAL through her new role as a board member.

TREASURER

Rob Bowman

Joining the board of V.O.C.A.L. is a natural for Rob who is an animal lover and counts his Bull Terrier Willie as a member of the family.

Rob began his career with R+L Carriers in 2007 bringing an extensive background in supply chain and logistics management. As president of R+L Truckload and R+L Global Logistics, he leads all of the non-asset and supply chain firms for R+L Carriers.

He is a veteran of the U.S. Army and was deployed to Desert Shield and Desert Storm. It was during his career in the military that Rob was able to blend his passion for logistics with supply chain management.

Rob is a loyal University of Alabama fan, "Roll Tide". He is also an avid golfer and looks forward to teeing off whenever his schedule allows. Also ranking high on Rob's list of priorities is spending time with his adult children and grandchildren.

FOUNDER - BOARD MEMBER

Linda Norman

Linda is our board President and co-founder. Linda is a CFP and an owner of the financial planning firm, Norman and Furlong, Inc. Previously, she and her husband Gary owned an Allstate Insurance agency, and she was recognized by the Ocala/Marion Chamber of Commerce as the Small Business Person of the Year in 1996.

Linda is well-known in the community as a passionate animal advocate and was recognized as the Governor's Volunteer of the Year in Marion County in 2014 for her efforts on behalf of chained and neglected dogs.

FOUNDER - BOARD MEMBER

Kate Rengel

Kate's passion for animal welfare began over ten years ago when she adopted her first dog, Riley. After graduating with a bachelors degree in Finance from Florida State University in 2010, Kate and her husband, Stephen, settled in Marion County. Kate realized through exposure to community shelters that there were many animals being discarded and euthanized, simply because they had nowhere to go. With a focus on growing VOCAL's community outreach programs, Kate's biggest objective is to keep pets healthy and happy in their homes, and to keep them out of shelters.

BOARD MEMBER

Patti Hitchcock

Patti, and her husband, David, fell in love with Marion County in 1995 while visiting family here. They purchased some acreage in 1999 and were able go relocate from South Florida in 2007. Patti met Kate and Linda after becoming involved locally in animal welfare matters. She is honored and humbled to be a member of VOCAL. Her dog, Jake, is a rescued "Florida Brown Dog" that is living the good life (as all dogs should).

BOARD MEMBER

Rob Carney

Rob graduated from Purdue University with an engineering degree and subsequently opened his floor-covering business, then known as Foxy Carpet, later as Foxy Carpet One. You may recognize Rob by his beloved canine star, Miss Shelby, who was in all of his commercials. Together, they sold a lot of floor covering.

Rob is the current owner of Foxy Rug & Furniture Galleria and is a past president of Ocala Business Leaders. Rob and his wife, Debbie, have many four-legged children. Rob and Debbie have a strong passion for animals and have tried to help clean up the feral cat population in Marion County. They have personally trapped more than 60 cats and after spaying and neutering them, have found them forever homes.

Rob's goal is to educate the public on the importance of spaying and neutering pets so that no animals will have to suffer being alone, hungry and left to fend for themselves, a situation that is completely avoidable.

CLINIC MANAGER

Kayla

LEAD KENNEL TECH 

Alyssa

OFFICE MANAGER

Leah

TNR & WAREHOUSE COORDINATOR

Debbie

CLIENT CARE ADMINISTRATOR

Caleanna

FOSTER COORDINATOR

Ryan

CLIENT CARE ADMINISTRATOR

Chay

KENNEL TECH

Matt

CLINIC VETERINARIAN

Dr. Isaza

KENNEL TECH

Callie

CLINIC TECH

Shelbie

KENNEL TECH

Courtney

CLINIC TECH

Kayla

CLINIC TECH

Serena

CLINIC TECH

Taylor

CLINIC TECH

Rosa

MAINTENANCE

Joe

CLINIC TECH

Hannah

ADOPTION COUNSELOR

Charlene Lowe

ADOPTION FOLLOW-UP TEAM LEAD

Kathleen Medjuck

ANIMAL BEHAVIORIST

Mimi Buendia

PET FOOD BANK ADMINISTRATOR

Ashley Roehner

PET FOOD BANK UNPACKING TEAM LEAD

Joe McCabe

PET FOOD BANK UNPACKING TEAM LEAD

Sarah Podobinski

PROJECT FEED TEAM LEAD

Kathy Bartlett