Hello, friends! We’re a-waggle with excitement to share a little bit about ourselves with you. As many of you may know, we're a small and close-knit team, and we work from home, usually with our furry family members by our sides. Without further ado, meet the amazing members of Team MUTTS.
Ali, Marketing Director
What I Do: I manage our communications calendar, write and edit copy, and collaborate with the rest of the team to plan marketing campaigns, charitable giving initiatives, and product launches. I also take most of the photographs for the site.
Favorite MUTTS Character: Guard Dog. My family rescued a couple of our own sweet “guard dogs” when I was younger, so I have a very special place in my heart for gentle giants who deserve better.
Ali’s Animal Companions: I’m a pet parent to a cat named Ava, a pitsky named Ziggy, and a blue heeler mix named Holly. You can read more about Ziggy in this blog post! My world pretty much revolves around my pets, so I love taking them to the park, to the beach, and on road trips.
More About Ali: As a former member of the FFA (Future Farmers of America), I also enjoy studying agriculture and growing vegetables in my backyard garden.
Alison, Designer
What I Do: I’m new to the MUTTS team, and I help with creating comic strip posts for Instagram and Facebook, designing emails, and more.
Favorite MUTTS Character: I am a cat lover, so of course my favorite character is Mooch! Fun fact: my personal email address actually includes “catlover515,” which I figured was helpful when we were being considered for a cat adoption two years ago to get our Cora.
Alison’s Animal Companions: I am a pet parent to a cuddly kitty named Cora. She’s three years old and such a mush! She loves to snuggle, be by any of her humans, and SLEEP.
More About Alison: I am an avid gardener and have started growing tomato plants, peppers, basil, and golden honeydew melons from seeds since February. I love sharing my results with family and friends, plus cooking!
Amanda, Content Manager
What I Do: Words, words, and more words! I am also the keeper of our digital storefront.
Favorite MUTTS Character: Mooch — yesh!
Amanda’s Animal Companions: We have four cats who run our household: O'Malley, a floofy white and orange sweetheart; Wick, a jet black, high-energy rascal; Maui, a rare female orange tabby who is a formerly feral housecat; and Mia, a senior grey calico who will hunt you down if she smells peanut butter.
More About Amanda: We recently bought a house and have been spending a lot of time beautifying our backyard by planting pollinator-friendly plants. But I love it as much as the bees do — I spend a lot of time working from out there.
Ashini, Director of Growth
What I Do: My role is to help MUTTS grow into the best version of itself across various areas of the business, including products, design, sourcing, social responsibility, customer growth, communications, and more.
Favorite MUTTS Character: Earl
More About Ashini: I’m a mum to three little kids, and I love teaching them about animals and the environment! I am also vegan and prioritize donating to various animal support groups.
Jo, Project Manager
What I Do: I wrangle all the things! I help keep our team organized and on task by helping us clarify priorities, set deadlines, and hold each other accountable.
Favorite MUTTS Character: I’m new to the team and still learning about the cast, but as a cat lover, I have to say Mooch!
Jo’s Animal Companions: I have two kitties, Pipi and Smudge. Pipi is my elder gentleman, and he turns 15 in May. We adopted him from a shelter in 2008 along with his brother, Mr. Pants. Mr. Pants unfortunately passed away last year. Pipi is a very gentle, friendly, and affectionate cat. He loves belly rubs, taking naps in his heated bed, and playing with his toy fish. Smudge joined the family in November, and he’s six months old. A friend of mine found him in rural Indiana when he wandered into an Airbnb she was staying at with some friends. After confirming he was indeed a stray through some local research, she convinced me to take the little cutie in. Smudge is rambunctious and playful, full of curiosity and energy. He loves playing fetch and napping in my husband’s laundry hamper.
More About Jo: I’m a vegetarian, and I love visiting animal sanctuaries! To be kind to the planet, I try to either walk or take the bus everywhere I go, especially since Champaign has an excellent bus system.
Nikki, Designer
What I Do: I translate Patrick’s art into products, marketing materials, social media posts, and the MUTTS website.
Favorite MUTTS Character: Speedo aka Little Earl (the snail) or Shtinky
Nikki’s Animal Companions: I’m a pet parent of three! Moose is a 12-year-old Corgi and Jack Russell mix, Pryor is a three-year-old Maine Coon mix, and Smudge is a one-year-old rabbit that we found dumped in a park. Check out this blog post to learn about how we found Pryor at an Airbnb in Georgia.
More About Nikki: I eat mostly plant-based, and we have a worm farm to compost all our food waste and use it for gardening. I do pro bono design work for like-minded organizations, and I am a member of Cedar Run Wildlife. I am also a lifelong equestrian! In 2023, I am doing a personal challenge to not buy any fast fashion and to focus instead on second-hand or sustainable brands.
Sarah, Copywriter
What I Do: I write the copy for MUTTS emails, plan social media posts, and create content for blogs (like this one!).
Favorite MUTTS Character: Woofie — he’s just so loveable!
Sarah’s Animal Companion: I’m a pet parent to Leo, a one-year-old toy poodle. Leo is a sweet, funny, and playful guy, and he constantly makes us laugh. He loves his toy raccoon, enjoys fetch with a dryer ball after we’ve done laundry, and shares Mooch’s obsession with socks.
More About Sarah: You can almost always find me on a walk with my pup, reading a book on the porch, or trying a new recipe.
Karen, Brand Manager
What I Do: I ensure that all campaigns, products, communications, and initiatives align with the values and goals of MUTTS.
Favorite MUTTS Character: It feels impossible to choose a favorite. I love Shtinky – he is always trying to make the world a better place. Earl reminds me of my own dog, Earl. And I love Mooch because he makes me laugh.
Karen’s Animal Companions: My dog, Amelie, is an adopted Jack Russell Terrier, now 15. She sleeps most of the time and has become gentle, although she has a cranky side. My cat of a dozen names was trapped, along with his mom and siblings, in my own backyard. He is the least feral cat I have ever met, friendly and confident, and came into my life when he was five months old.
More About Karen: I am active in several animal and environmental charities. My current obsessions are to get these two guys adopted and to convince my community to adopt an ordinance to stop rat poisoning. Rat poison causes secondary poisoning to wildlife and pollutes our waterways, and there are alternatives that eliminate suffering to sentient beings. Ask me about either of these obsessions!
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