Our Team

Help shape the Future of OTAT PDX – Board Members Wanted!

OTAT PDX is seeking passionate and skilled individuals to help us strengthen our foundation for sustainable, lifesaving work as members of our Board of Directors.

We are actively seeking board members with expertise in finance (CPAs also welcome) or law.

If you are interested in joining our board, please fill out this form.

The OTAT Team will review all applications and get back to you regarding next steps.

Staff

  • Juli Zagrans

    FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

    Juli is an Illinois attorney who moved to Portland in 2013 to earn her Animal Law LL.M. from the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark Law School. Having volunteered with OTAT Chicago since 2010, Juli wanted to bring its mission, passion, and policies to the PNW so that even more dogs in need could be saved. She founded OTAT PDX in 2015 and has been our Executive Director ever since. Juli leads OTAT PDX, ensuring our strategy is aligned with our mission and that our program activities continue to further our goals.

    To date, Juli has fostered around 100 dogs and, briefly, Kevin the pig. Aside from wanting to improve the lives of animals, humans, and the environment in which they live, Juli loves getting lost on her motorcycle somewhere in nature or doing just about anything with her own OTAT PDX alumni, Magpie.

  • Emi Harmon

    OPERATIONS & PROGRAMS DIRECTOR

    Emi began volunteering for OTAT PDX in 2018, serving as the Adoption Counselor Coordinator, a member of the Associate Board, and a member of our Strategic Planning Committee along the way. Hired on in 2020, Emi initially provided support to the adoption and foster programs, eventually managing those programs. Now in her 6th (!) year working with OTAT PDX, Emi has recently taken on more administrative/operations work for the organization and is proud to now be in a Director-level role, while still supporting our Programs team.

    Having made nine moves through six states, Emi feels most at home in Oregon, where she has lived since 2007. When not at work, Emi is at home with her partner, their cat, and their OTAT PDX rescue, Devo, who “helps” with her crosswords, cooking, watching Jeopardy, and obsessively trying to beat her own score at Tetris.

  • April Saban

    PROGRAMS & INTAKE MANAGER

    April started volunteering with OTAT PDX in 2015 after she adopted her OTAT PDX pup, Oats. She worked in veterinary medicine for 8 years before shifting to the legal field. Desperately missing working full time with animals, she was thrilled when offered a position as our Community Engagement Manager. Over her time with OTAT PDX, April has worked closely with our veterinary partners, adopters, fosters, volunteers, and all other members of the OTAT PDX community. Now in the Programs Manager role, she runs day-to-day adoptions & foster programming alongside our Adoption Center Manager and a small army of volunteers, while also overseeing OTAT PDX’s intake efforts.

    When not helping rescue dogs in need, April spends her days with her partner and dogs, Oats, Teddy, and Walter (*all* OTAT PDX alums!), who are happy to hang outside with her while reading a good book or listening to Taylor Swift on repeat.

  • Adyn Wood

    PROGRAMS & ADOPTION CENTER MANAGER

    Adyn is a certified CPDT-KA positive reinforcement/force-free trainer who recently moved to Portland from Los Angeles, where she was born and raised. She grew up with rescue dogs and cats her whole life and started working in the world of rescue with Best Friends back in 2019. Most recently she was on the dog training team at Pasadena Humane Society in Southern CA. She initially joined OTAT PDX as a Programs Coordinator and is now our Adoption Center Manager. Adyn still supports day-to-day foster & adoptions programming, and also manages daily operations at our Adoption Center, overseeing daily volunteers, managing supplies, coordinating in-kind donations, & so much more.

    When she's not geeking out about dogs and dog behavior, she is indulging in her roots as a former student of theater/musical theater, and spending time with her two rescue dogs, Milo & Harley.

Executive Board

  • Nicole Brodeur

    EXECUTIVE BOARD PRESIDENT

    Nicole joined OTAT PDX in 2016 as a foster, created the Foster Coordinator position in 2017, served as Associate Board President from 2018-2021 and joined the executive board in 2022. She has over fifteen years of non-profit administration experience in a variety of sectors, including the arts, education and animal welfare. She specializes in operations and strategic planning. She is proud to report that both of her human children had the same first word: “Dog”.

  • Hilary DeCourcey

    BOARD MEMBER

    With a lifelong love of dogs and the animal rescues that do right by them, Hilary first connected with OTAT as an adopter. That experience—before, during, and after the adoption—deepened her desire to commit more of her time and energy to helping OTAT continue its work and achieve its mission. Now, as a board member, she brings her expertise as an HR executive in the tech industry, where she has spent over 20 years helping startups scale and thrive.

    Outside of work, Hilary enjoys hiking with her wife, Laura, and their rescue pup, Wynonna, as well as playing pickleball, fly fishing, and cheering for the Mets and Thorns.

  • Maureen Minister

    BOARD MEMBER

    Maureen, who started volunteering with OTAT PDX in 2017, has done a little bit of everything, from fostering to adoption counseling to events and fundraising. She also participated in the relief trip to Puerto Rico. She spends her days working as the Conservation Manager for the Port of Portland. In Maureen’s free time she enjoys traveling and hiking and camping with her two rescue pups.

  • Roberto Novo

    DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVS

    BOARD MEMBER

    Roberto, who is a veterinary surgery specialist, first connected with OTAT PDX through a referral for a dog that needed surgery. A dog named Rest was the first, and then there were Marcona, Clove, Davos, Emerald, and Stout. He was immediately impressed by the organization’s dedication to doing whatever was needed for their dogs. What began as a professional relationship grew into a personal one as he continued supporting OTAT pups in need of specialty surgical care. After losing their last dog, Corneliuz,  they were ready again to bring new members to the household — and OTAT happily introduced them to two “little scruffies” from the Old Fashioned Pups. Wallace and Loretta joined the family in April 2025 in what was clearly meant to be a foster fail.  

    When he’s not in the operating room, Roberto enjoys woodworking, photography, painting, gardening, and exploring Portland’s local microbreweries, food carts, and outdoors.

  • Lucy Weberlein

    BOARD MEMBER

    Lucy has been an animal lover all her life. She grew up alongside numerous rescue dogs, cats, and even a few frogs & fish! In 2021, Lucy and her now husband traded one weird city for another, and are happy to now call Portland home.

    When not wrangling projects & clients (a.k.a working as a Project Manager), you can usually find this native Texan chasing waterfalls or going on pup-friendly adventures with her OTAT alum, Molly.

  • Stacy Westbrook

    BOARD MEMBER

    Stacy and her wife adopted OTAT alumna Dracula, of Puppy Bowl XVI fame, in the fall of 2019. While her early childhood dream of becoming a veterinarian wasn’t to be, living in a household of three large rescue dogs with varying medical and behavioral needs during a pandemic scratched that itch.

    Professionally, Stacy brings decades of brand strategy leadership, change management, and organizational development experience to her board service. She’s also become a pro at cleaning puppies on New Dog Days!

  • Alexander Case

    BOARD MEMBER EMERITUS

    Alex is a Midwest transplant whose love of nature, mild weather, vegan comfort food, music, and dog culture brought him to Oregon. He began volunteering with OTAT PDX early on, fell in love with the mission, and has stuck around ever since. When not devoting his talents to OTAT PDX, Alex is a musician who works for local record label, Tender Loving Empire. Alex loves to camp with his pups, ride bikes and motorcycles, and volunteer with other local nonprofits.

  • Amy Dunn

    BOARD MEMBER EMERITUS

    Amy’s work with OTAT PDX began with five of the most powerful words in the English language: “Can I pet your dog?” A lifelong dog lover and repeat rescuer, she’s been fostering, volunteering, and advocating for OTAT PDX ever since that chance encounter. Amy believes there is no greater joy in life than a dog on a freedom ride (probably in it for the selfies) and no better place for a pup to find a forever home than Oregon (typical native Portlander). Amy spends her workdays at a local tech company, her evenings and weekends rescuing dogs, and every spare moment with her foster-failure hellhound, Warby.