Our Amazing Team
Our team is a group of dedicated animal welfare advocates with decades of experience ensuring the well-being of animals. Our experts are committed to fostering compassion and delivering measurable impacts in animal welfare.
Founder & Chair
Sylvia Dolson
Sylvia Dolson’s love for animals began as a child with her guinea pig, Browny, and has since grown through raising kittens, traveling North America with two adventurous cats, and welcoming dogs like Samantha, Brandy, and Kia into her home. Animals have always been central to her life. Professionally, Sylvia spent 25 years as Executive Director of the Get Bear Smart Society, advocating for bear-smart communities and making Whistler a global model for wildlife coexistence. Today, she leads the Animal Rescue Fund, blending her passion for animal welfare with her vast experience in the non-profit world to help provide companion animals with the care, dignity and love they deserve.
Animal Welfare Advocate, Director
Lesley Fox
Lesley serves as the Executive Director of The Fur-Bearers, where she is deeply committed to animal advocacy and social justice. In addition to her professional role, she is a devoted caretaker to numerous rescue animals. Lesley is a certified Humane Education Specialist through the National Association for Humane and Environmental Education (NAHEE) and holds an honours diploma in Public Relations, Marketing Communications, and Non-Profit Management from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). She also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from Royal Roads University.
Animal Advocate, Director
Christine Miller
Christine has always provided a forever loving home for rescued cats and dogs to live out their lives. The most recent addition to the family is Cyrus from Mexico. The joy of enhancing the lives of abandoned animals with love and good care is immeasurable.
In addition to caring deeply for domesticated animals, Christine devoted many years as a wildlife advocate on Vancouver’s North Shore. She focused on preventing unnecessary deaths and promoting co-existence through a variety of education outreach programs.