Nonprofit News

Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter Welcomes Three New Board Members

Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter Welcomes Three New Board Members

In 2024, Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter continues to expand its impact in animal welfare, with new initiatives and stronger community partnerships. We’re excited to welcome three passionate advocates to our board: Dr. Peyton Aaronson, Linda Talley, and Kiereth Jones. Their unique expertise will help further our mission of supporting animals in need.

DR. PEYTON AARONSON

Dr. Peyton Aaronson was born and raised in Palm Springs, CA. She graduated from Palm Springs High School and was accepted into UCLA, where she received her undergraduate degree and was named Bruin Senior of the Year in 2016. She went on to receive her veterinary degree (DVM) from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, where she developed an interest in pet nutrition, chronic pain management, and soft tissue surgery. Shortly after graduation she moved back to her hometown to care for the greater Palm Springs community. She was awarded Palm Springs Life’s 40 Under 40 for her contributions to the community and career achievements. She works full-time at VCA Desert Animal Hospital, and aids in relief at other veterinary hospitals in the desert impacted by the veterinary shortage. She enjoys volunteering her time in surgery and preventative care at the Palm Springs Animal Shelter, then seeing those animals in their new families when she becomes their primary veterinarian.

LINDA TALLEY

Linda Talley has spent many years advocating for animals and volunteering at shelters, rescues, sanctuaries and other animal rights organizations, working with companion animals, farmed animals and wildlife. This work has been her passion and she feels strongly that all creatures deserve equal and humane treatment. Linda has volunteered for the Palm Springs Animal Shelter, Palm Springs Wildlife Advocates, PAWS Wildlife Center, and Pasado’s Safe Haven. She strongly believes in PSAS’s mission to provide extraordinary animal care to all animals. She has been involved in starting up the new Desert Wildlife Center.

Linda has an undergraduate degree and MBA from the University of Washington. During her working career, Linda worked in customer service, operations and marketing management positions in Seattle, San Jose and Taiwan. She served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate at Family Law CASA in Seattle for over 10 years, advocating for children from low income families in custody cases. Linda also served on the Board of Directors of the Service Education and Adventure organization on Whidbey Island and Book-It Theatre in Seattle. Linda and her partner, Ron Norris, live in Rancho Mirage and Seattle with their senior dog Pretzel. They love to foster puppies and senior dogs.

KIERETH JONES

Kierith Jones, as The Head of Strategy and Innovative Finance at Thruline Networks, serves as a Thought Partner and Special Advisor to purpose-driven businesses and entrepreneurs, providing guidance for sustainable growth planning, organizational development and capital stack optimization. She also serves as a Special Advisor to individual investors, private funds and foundations focused on values-based investing for social and environmental impact. Prior to that, she led the Innovative Finance Program at Criterion Institute, a global non-profit think tank working to advance gender and social equity by addressing power dynamics in financial systems and transactions.

Kierith is a veteran human rights attorney and community organizer with decades of experience in reproductive justice, LGBTQ+ rights, environmental justice, voting rights and election protection initiatives for major organizations including: the ACLU, Brennan Center for Justice, Center for Reproductive Rights, DNC, Empire State Pride Agenda, Greenpeace, Human Rights Watch, Lambda Legal, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and OFA. She serves as a Pro Bono Arbitrator for the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (WRRAP), the largest independent abortion fund in the United States.

Previously, Kierith was an international corporate finance and governance attorney, for Cleary Gottlieb (NYC and Paris) and later, Wilson Sonsini (Palo Alto, CA), where she worked for over a decade representing major institutional investment firms and multi-national corporations on complex financial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, securities regulatory and compliance matters. She also advised Boards of Directors of public, private and nonprofit institutions. Kierith is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, L’Université Paris, La Sorbonne and New York University School of Law. She is a member of the Bar of the State of New York.

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