Rachel, a native Mississippian, brings to The Good Dog Foundation her experience
as an entrepreneur and community activist. Prior to creating The Good Dog Foundation,
she was a producer for film and television. Her company, Southern Voices, produced
dramatic adaptations of southern literature, including “The Wide Net,” an adaptation
of a Eudora Welty short story, in 1985. In 1984, her film “Signals through
the Flames,” a
feature-length documentary on the history of Julian Beck and Judith Malina’s
Living Theatre Company, received an Academy Award nomination for documentary
film of the year. It was featured in film festivals, was broadcast on Canadian
and European television, and enjoyed theatrical release in the United States
and in Europe.
Rachel is active in numerous professional and cultural associations, serving as a leader in fundraising, development, event planning, and production efforts. She is an active board and development committee member for the Prospect Park Alliance. She also serves on the advisory board of the Earth Fire Institute. Having been inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame at the University of Mississippi, Rachel is the past chair of the Ole Miss Women’s Council. She is a founder and coordinator of the Way Up North in Mississippi Picnic, held annually in New York’s Central Park. Rachel previously served her community by being a member of the board of New York Methodist Hospital, Project Reach Youth, and the Berkeley Carroll School, where she now serves as a life trustee.
Originally having set out to produce a documentary on therapy dog services,
Rachel fell in love with the work, stopped making the film, and created The
Good Dog Foundation. Under her leadership, The Good Dog Foundation helped change
New York State law to allow therapy dogs into health care facilities. Good
Dog now makes more than 77,000 visits to people in health care, social service,
and community organizations and schools in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut
each year. Good Dog has won awards from the ASPCA and the Red Cross for therapy
dog services given to families of victims, rescue workers, and others after
the World Trade Center disaster on September 11, 2001. After 9/11, Good Dog
created a disaster response course for its volunteers, and it was deployed
by the Mississippi Department of Mental Health to assist families in need in
the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Good Dog has been honored several times
on the floor of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Rachel was named New
Yorker of the Week by New York 1 News in May 2006 for creating and running
The Good Dog Foundation.
Rachel lives with her husband, two children, three dogs, including Fidel, a Good Dog, and a rabbit in New York City.
With more than 7 years experience working in the non-profit sector in arts and community outreach organizations, Christina is in charge of coordinating the fundraising efforts of The Good Dog Foundation. She oversees the yearly appeal efforts, special events and all other donor-related aspects of the organization.
Eric Conley is a native of Lake Charles, Louisiana and a graduate of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. He comes to GDF with more than 10 years of business experience in the areas of customer service, administration, training/teaching, client service systems-processes and outreach experience.
