Jackie (Ott) Jaakola joined EveryCat Health Foundation in January of 2021 after serving as Executive Director of Cat Depot in Sarasota, Florida. With more than 30 years of experience in animal welfare and non-profit management, Jackie dedicated over a decade of her career to Annenberg Foundation where she helped create Wallis Annenberg PetSpace – a unique 30,000-square-foot community facility that features an interactive place for pet adoptions, an education center with innovative programs, and a leadership institute. Prior to that, she directed the Marine Mammal Care Center, a hospital for wild seals and sea lions at Fort MacArthur in Los Angeles, after getting her start with marine mammals at the St. Louis Zoo. Jackie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri. She is an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Association of Animal Welfare Advancement, United States Equestrian Federation, United States Dressage Federation, Alpha Dressage Association, and Animal Grantmakers. Her passion for animals is contagious and sharing that love is what drives her in the non-profit arena. As an energetic advocate for animal welfare, Jackie has been featured in print and media outlets locally and nationally as a webcast participant and host (Kindness Matters and Mewsings with EveryCat), People Magazine, The Jeff Corwin Experience, Los Angeles Times, and The Today Show among other notable outlets. Jackie is an avid equestrian and shares her love of animals with her parents and husband on a multi-acre farm east of Sarasota, Florida that their horses, cats, and dogs (and various area wildlife) call home.