Lateefah Strickland

Executive Director

Lateefah earned her M.A. in Social Work with a Clinical Concentration from the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in Criminal Justice from Spelman College. Her academic excellence and passion for equity have guided her work in creating opportunities for underserved populations.

Lateefah’s career has focused on empowering vulnerable individuals and families. At Covenant House PA, she supported youth experiencing housing insecurity by addressing critical needs, including housing, mental health, and education. As a Child Advocate Social Worker with the Defender Association of Philadelphia, she worked closely with families navigating dependent court proceedings, ensuring they accessed essential services while providing holistic support.

Her leadership roles demonstrate her commitment to impactful service. As Site Director at the Center for Employment Opportunities, Lateefah led a diverse team to help justice-involved individuals secure transitional and full-time employment. She cultivated partnerships with community organizations, developed workforce readiness programs, and increased local funding opportunities.

Lateefah is a long-time dog owner and animal lover.

Megan Hannah

Director of Operations

Megan is a certified School Counselor who received her graduate degree from Eastern University. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Megan has worked with our city’s youth in various capacities throughout her career, and connected with H2P through a partnership she formed while working in an educational setting specifically for youth involved in the foster care system.

Sara Schwartz

Director of Development

Sara Schwartz is a Licensed Social Worker with 20 years of experience working with adolescents in foster care and experiencing housing insecurity, Latine immigrant communities and survivors of domestic violence. Sara previously worked at Women Against Abuse, Juntos and Valley Youth House. Sara was one of the early leadership team members at C.B. Community Schools, a small high school in Philadelphia for young people in the child welfare system. Sara joined the Hand2Paw Development team in 2021 helping to grow the organization and expand its impact.

Penny C. Ellison, Esq.

Board President

Penny Ellison has been Hand2Paw’s Board President since 2012 and previously served as our Executive Director from 2012 through April 2023. Penny is an Adjunct Professor at University of Pennsylvania Law School teaching Animal Law and Ethics. She supervises the Animal Law Project, a student-run group that performs pro-bono services for nonprofits serving the interests of animals, and serves as Co-Chair of the Board of the Pennsylvania SPCA. She is also an attorney and mediator.

Angela Marcus

Secretary

Angela Marcus is the co-founder of GetYourPet.com, an online community that helps pet owners rehome their animals without going to a shelter. Angela was formerly Director of Operations for the Pennsylvania SPCA.

Colleen Landy-Thomas

Treasurer

Colleen has spent her career working to improve outcomes for youth experiencing homelessness. She has served as a Director at both Covenant House PA and Valley Youth House. She is currently a Director with the School District of Philadelphia where she is responsible for education for all children and youth experiencing homelessness for the District.

Melanie Jumonville Cataldi

After a long career tackling food security as part of the senior management team at Philabundance, Melanie now runs Hygieia Consulting LLC, which links diverse partners from all sectors to generate purpose-driven impact in the community.

Elizabeth Olsen

Beth is an attorney with Sullivan and Cromwell in New York City. She has also saved many animal lives through fostering dozens of dogs until they could find their forever homes.

Donna Marie De Carolis, Ph.D.

Donna Marie De Carolis, Ph.D., is the founding Dean of the Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship and the Silverman Family Professor of Entrepreneurial Leadership at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

As founding Dean of the Charles D. Close School, the nation’s first dedicated and degree-granting school of entrepreneurship, Dr. De Carolis initiated a pioneering approach to entrepreneurship education. Her vision is to empower all university students with the mindset that they are entrepreneurs – by broadly defining entrepreneurship as an attitude that incorporates innovative thinking and doing in all facets of life, career, and profession. She characterizes her strong motivation in both her personal and professional life as “small acts of entrepreneurship “– those decisions that require a leap of faith onto a new path.

De Carolis is an award-winning educational leader. She is a 2024 Recipient of the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Innovation Philly Fire Award, honoring the most innovative people in the region. She is the 2015 recipient of the Distinguished Iris Newman Award from the Alliance for Women Entrepreneurs, given each year to a woman business leader who has demonstrated a strong commitment to helping advance women entrepreneurs. She also received the Ph.D. Alumni Leadership Award from Temple University in 2019 and is recognized as a 2019 Hall of Fame recipient of Cardinal O’Hara High School. She is the recipient of the prestigious Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching and the Distinguished Teaching Excellence Award from Executive MBAs.

As an active board member, she continues to make a highly positive impact on local communities, the Philadelphia-area entrepreneurship ecosystem, and beyond. She currently sits on the Boards of AIM Academy and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Exchange (EIX), which provides entrepreneurship resources to colleges and universities. Dr. De Carolis is a former board member of the Barra Foundation and the Faith In the Future Foundation.

Prior to coming to Drexel, De Carolis served as a strategy consultant and lobbyist. She earned her doctoral degree in strategic management from Temple University and holds an MBA from Villanova University.

Gina B. Gilliam

Retired Federal Government Public Relations Director, Former Zookeeper & Solo World Traveler

Gina B. Gilliam served as the Public Affairs Officer for the National Park Service’s Independence National Historical Park – home of the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. While serving in this role, she directed media relations, communications, dignitary visits, partnerships and special events for the Park. She also managed department directors when temporarily promoted to the Acting Deputy Superintendent position – overseeing 200 employees.

Prior to working for the National Park Service, has served as the Director of Education and Public Programs at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She has worked as an Environmental Education Manager at the Fairmount Park Commission; a Science Educator at the Philadelphia Education Fund; a Conservation Educator at the National Wildlife Federation; and a Lead Animal Keeper at the Philadelphia Zoo.

Ms. Gilliam has been an active volunteer and involved with many organizations over the years. She has served as a member of the Pennsylvania SPCA Board of Directors and continues to volunteer at the organization’s animal shelter as an advanced dog handler. She served on the President’s Leadership Council at Messiah University and was a member of the Alumni Council, serving as Chair. She also volunteered at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center. She is a member of the Philadelphia Zoo’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee which reviews all research requests that involve animals in the Zoo’s collection. Ms. Gilliam has volunteered as a Bird Guide and Instructor for the Fairmount Park Conservancy. Ms. Gilliam serves on the Community Advisory Committee of the Cobbs Creek Foundation, which seeks to create an all-inclusive, state-of-the-art golf campus that unites communities and educates youth. She has mentored many youth and college students and managed a homeless feeding outreach program.

Ms. Gilliam is a native Philadelphian and still resides in her childhood neighborhood. She has visited six continents including over 50 countries. Major travel highlights were meeting her sponsored children and teaching girls English in Tanzania.

Ms. Gilliam earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Messiah University and has completed graduate biology and education courses.

Melissa Resnick, DVM, MPH, DACVPM

Since 2013, Dr. Melissa Resnick has dedicated her veterinary career to transforming the lives of Philadelphia’s homeless animal population. Her extensive work spans several of the city’s key animal welfare organizations, including ACCT Philly, Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), and Morris Animal Refuge.

As a veterinarian, Dr. Resnick has provided critical medical and surgical care to thousands of shelter animals throughout Philadelphia. Her passion extends beyond direct animal care to addressing systemic challenges in animal welfare, including improving access to veterinary services, developing programs that help keep pets with their families, and implementing humane solutions for community cat populations.

Dr. Resnick is a strong advocate for recognizing the important connection between animal health and human wellbeing. Through her work on Hand2Paw’s board, she continues to champion initiatives that strengthen the human-animal bond while creating healthier communities for all Philadelphians.