Meg Olsen | Chairperson
Meg Olsen joined the board in August 2017. She’s an Associate General Counsel with UCHealth, and is passionate about animal welfare advocacy. Meg is excited to be involved with helping animals experience unconditional love and compassion.
Geneve Huxley | Vice Chairperson
Geneve Huxley is a CPA and the founder of Huxley CPA Consulting, LLC (www.huxleycpa.com), which offers fractional CFO services as well as helping businesses increase their bottom line through process optimization. Previously, she was the Chief Financial Officer of Colorado State University Foundation in Fort Collins, and also worked at the University of Northern Colorado Foundation and the University of Colorado Foundation. She has more than 20 years of experience in accounting, many as a strategic adviser to executive management and leading teams. In her spare time, Geneve enjoys networking, volunteering, skiing, and spending time with her family.
Patrick O’Neill | Secretary
Patrick O’Neill joined the board in October of 2018. He and his wife Stefanie are the third generation owners of Vern’s Toffee House in Fort Collins.
Patrick has over a decade of experience on non-profit boards and is specifically interested in long term planning and fiscal responsibility. He is excited to contribute to the welfare of animals in Northern Colorado.
Wendy Woods | Treasurer
Wendy Woods is a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones. She has lived in northern Colorado since 2005 and currently resides in Loveland with her husband Joe Glaser and their three rescue dogs, Lexi and Bodhi, and Dixie. Wendy was introduced to Larimer Humane Society when she unexpectedly adopted a 10-week-old puppy (Lexi) from the shelter on December 17th, 2007. Since then she has acquired a huge heart for all animals and wants to help those that don’t have a voice to help themselves.
Prior to LHS, Wendy served on the board for Animal House (now known as Animal Friends Alliance) for 4 years. She helped them with a capital campaign to relocate their facility from Vine Road to Taft Hill Road in Fort Collins and with the merger of Fort Collins Cat Rescue in 2020.
Raised in a small town in central Illinois, Wendy’s main contact with animals was the strays that inhabited her small rural community. She was notorious for secretly feeding them the leftover food scraps from her family’s dinner each night and leaving the garage door open, so they had a place to stay warm and dry during challenging weather (this did not make her mother very happy ).
When not busy with work, Wendy can be found playing Pickleball, riding her bike, doing yoga, walking the dogs, and/or drinking good wine with her husband.
Melinda Frye | Member
Melinda Frye joined the board as a member in October 2017. Melinda is an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University and serves as the Associate Dean for Veterinary Academic and Student Affairs. She provides instruction to first-year DVM students on the subjects of pulmonary and cardiovascular physiology.
Originally a critical care R.N., Dr. Frye received her DVM from Colorado State University in 1996. She served as an associate DVM in a mixed animal practice in rural Idaho before returning to CSU to complete an internship and residency in large animal internal medicine and became an ACVIM diplomate in 2001. Dr. Frye pursued a PhD in physiology thereafter, emphasizing vascular biology within the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center Cardiovascular Pulmonary Research Laboratory. She returned to the CSU Department of Biomedical Sciences in 2007, initiating her teaching in the DVM program and conducting research focused on the myocardial response to fatty acids using dietary interventions in rodents.
Cheri O’Neill | Member
Cherí is a newcomer to Larimer County, but not to animal welfare and nonprofit leadership.
Cherí is president and CEO of the Colorado State University Foundation, a $500 million organization that receives, invests and stewards private contributions to CSU. Before moving to Fort Collins in 2018, Cherí was president and CEO of the Ball State University Foundation. Before that, she was CEO of the Alpha Chi Omega women’s Fraternity, Foundation and Housing Corporation. Cherí also served Indiana University for 17 years, working in admissions, alumni relations, international recruiting and development.
As an animal-welfare volunteer, Cherí worked with animals at Bloomington, Ind.’s Pets Alive, and was appointed by Bloomington’s mayor to that city’s Animal Control Commission. She also served on the board of IndyHumane, the leading animal welfare organization in Indianapolis.
Cherí also serves on the Association of Governing Boards Council of Presidents, and the investment committee of the Alpha Chi Omega Foundation.
When she’s not working, leading boards, or volunteering, Cherí and her husband, Bruce Hetrick, can be found with their pup, Ollie, walking near their Old Town home or hiking in the mountains.
Jo Tatti | Member
Jo joined Larimer Humane Society Board of Directors in February of 2022. She returned to Colorado in 2016 after spending most of her professional career in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. She is currently Vice President of Service Operations for a software company focused on employee engagement and retention. Jo also has broad based experience in project management, multi-media advertising, and customer experience. Her professional passion is servant leadership, mentoring & coaching, and growing successful service delivery teams.
Jo is excited to promote the strength of the human animal bond through responsible pet ownership and adoption. In her spare time, Jo likes to travel, enjoy fine food & wine, and spend time with her husband Ian, daughter Maia, and dog Lyla.
Ted Ray | Member
Ted joined Larimer Humane Society’s board in 2022. Ted is a wealth advisor for First Interstate Bank and he enjoys helping his clients plan for a successful retirement by building a sound financial plan. Ted was born and raised in Fort Collins and has lived in Loveland since 2003. Animals have always been a major part of his life while Ted and his wife have three dogs, two of which are Germain Shorthaired Pointers, and a Chihuahua Terrier mix.
Ted is proud to serve on Larimer Humane Society’s board to help ensure all animals get the care they need when they get separated from their family or waiting to be adopted by their forever family.
Jill Grizzle | Member
Jill Grizzle joined the board in 2022. She is a financial advisor at FNBO and has earned her CTFA and AAMS designations. Jill has played various roles in the financial service industry including trust and estate administration, lending, financial planning, and has been in the customer service industry since 1989. She grew up in Montana and enjoys the outdoors, especially when it comes to hiking.
Animals have played a huge part in her life and have been a constant with their unconditional love. It’s important to her that they are cared and provided for and have an advocate.
Kate Belford | Member
Mike Costello | Member
Mike Costello joined the board in January 2023, but has had close ties with Larimer Humane Society for many years. He received his DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) from Iowa State University in 2003 and practiced small animal and emergency medicine in Illinois before moving to Colorado. He then worked for a local veterinary diagnostics company in Loveland in a variety of roles including medical consultation, marketing, product management, and team management. Most recently he embarked on a new adventure of substitute teaching in the Poudre School District.
Mike lives in Fort Collins with his wife, two children and their assortment of adopted cats, dogs, and rabbits.
Gerald Chen | Member
Gerald Chen joined the board in February 2023, and brings a combination of innovative leadership and extensive experience in the financial and legal sectors from his role as CFO for Otter Products. Gerald is charged with directing complex analytics and financial analyses along with managing the credit, treasury, tax, payroll, and accounting functions. He also provides leadership and oversight for Otter Products’s support functions, including information technology; human resources; and data management. Gerald earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Duke University and a J.D. from the Duke University School of Law.
