April Plemons, LWHA Co-Creator and Program Director

April Plemons, Ph.D, ABD is an Aggie at heart (Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of '08!), a sociology professor "by day", and a rescuer in her soul. She is responsible for running the day-to-day Long Way Home Adoptables' branch operations, handling all media outreach, creating fundraisers, overseeing animal care, and managing all volunteers.

April gives her heart and soul to saving the lives of discarded and unwanted animals, and we are proud to have her on board! The loves of her life, 13 year old littermate Chihuahuas, Bronty and Vargas, were rescued as puppies in 2003 and changed her life forever. She also recently adopted two LWHA rescue kittens, Beedle and Goldfish, who have made her home complete.

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Kellye Speaks, Business Manager

Kellye has been an animal lover since childhood, always having a family dog and cat. Kellye became educated and involved with animal rescue upon meeting April Plemons in January 2011 – this was the beginning of an amazing friendship and rescue partnership! As the LWHA Business Manager, Kellye manages corporate sponsorship contacts, finances, and volunteers, and is just the general organization nerd that we need!

Kellye is a proud member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Class of 2010 with a degree in Business Management. She is married to her husband of three years, Chris, and the mom to three fur babies – Lady (8), Ranger (6), and Moose (3). She also enjoys reading, traveling, camping, and anything related to the Texas A&M Aggies!

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Dr. Valerie Hartwick, Veterinarian

Dr. Hartwick opened Tabor Road Veterinary Hospital in August of 2014 with the goal of providing her patients and clients with the highest quality of veterinary care without losing the small town feel. LWH quickly scooped her up and created incredible relationship with "Dr. Val". Our adopter, fosters, and staff love how genuine and kind she is, and she provided premium care for rescue babies. Dr. Val is a long term foster for our program and even adopted two of her pug fosters, Milo and Petey. She makes herself available to our program at all hours and goes above and beyond doing "her part" to help local pets in need. We strongly recommend you check out her clinic, and her very kind staff, at www.TaborVet.com!

Kim Baker, Applications Processor

Kim has been involved with Long Way Home since she and her husband, Jorge, took in their first foster, Thatcher, in 2014. They have fostered four dogs for LWH and adopted one of them, Lao (Einstein). With their son off at College in Boston they try to fill the empty nest with dogs: Duffy (12), Luna (4), Linus (3) and Lao (3). Kim has been a psychologist for 30 years and is semi-retired. She works part-time as a psychologist in nursing homes and trained Luna to be a therapy dog for the elderly. In her work, Kim has seen the profound potential for emotional healing through the canine-human relationship.

Kim is the "front line" for Long Way Home Adoptables, as she is the primary contact person for the potential adoptive families. Her diligence, organization, and commitment is invaluable for LWHA, and we are so blessed to have her!

Nicole Gray, Shelter Coordinator

Nicole is our shelter representative. She is the first point of contact for many shelters, when they desperately need an animal to be rescued. She coordinates with shelters, fosters, donates, volunteers, and represents for our organization, and we are proud to have her! Nicole has a long history in rescue, and she is a perfect fit for LWHA. She is pictured with her LWHA adopted baby, Lizzie.

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Debbie Murillo, Graphic Designer

If "Jack-of-all-trades" was an official title, that would be Debbie! Debbie is the "right hand man" for LWHA, stepping into many roles. She fills in for our Program Director for radio and television interviews, transports, fosters, donates, and volunteers. Debbie helps do all things digital such as designing our business cards, heading up the coloring book project, and so much more. She lives with her wonderful rescue babies, Gracie, Ernie, LilBit, and LWHA adopted baby, Sweetie (aka Verona). Debbie is a strong animal rescue advocate and an invaluable resource for our team.

Suzy Pryor, Website Administrator

Suzy is a fantastic dog mom and all around animal lover. She and her husband have done independent rescue for many years, but Suzy recently joined our LWHA team! She is a wonderful foster mom for the program and handles any website changes we need. She's a foster, donor, website administrator, blogger, and volunteer for LWHA, and we are glad to have her on board!

Aaron Schekorra, Event Planner

Aaron is a member of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of '14 with a degree in Leadership Studies and is currently working on his Graduate Certificate in Non-Profit Management at Texas A&M. Since graduating, he spent 3 years working with non-profits in the Brazos Valley, before relocating to Springfield, MO in August 2017. Aaron is responsible for coordinating fundraisers, as well as planning brand new events with Long Way Home's amazing community partners. He and his husband, Daniel, are the proud puppy parents of two pit bull mixes, Jasmine (pictured) and Aeris!