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February Newsletter: Meet our Executive Director!

Your generous support in 2023 kept us afloat in extremely challenging times, and we are now pleased to reveal some of the big behind-the-scenes changes that will ensure a prosperous 2024, not only for Heaven on Earth, but for hundreds of Los Angeles cats and kittens who need our shelter, care, and love. 

This month, a box of five kittens was unceremoniously dumped on our doorstep without warning.

Before they can be adopted out, these kittens need a series of standard medical interventions, including vaccinations and spay or neuter, as well as “room and board.”

Can you chip in and help us care for these orange beauties? The care and treatment we provide over the next few weeks to help these kitties become adoption-ready is expensive — and we want to be able to say YES to as many needy cats and kittens like these as possible throughout the year. 💙

Any support you can provide will go a long way. Thank you!! 🐾

We are extremely proud to announce that Leandra Lawrence is stepping up as our new Executive Director! In her prior role as Heaven on Earth’s Operations Director, Leandra weathered the storms and advocated for Perry’s Place residents successfully and with skill and dedication. Her decade of experience in management and in the medical field as well as her deep knowledge of shelter systems and broader rescue trends make her a perfect fit for the executive director role.

In more big Perry’s Place news, we are proud to announce our new Board of Directors — a blend of familiar faces and new friends — who are graciously stepping into their roles to bring growth and opportunity to our community.

Full-length bios here >

Pam Allison, Chair 

Pam, a lifelong cat lover, started rescuing cats accidentally over 10 years ago when ferals showed up at her building. After TNR’ing several and finding homes for those who were surprisingly tame, she fell into fostering, rescue, and advocacy for homeless cats.

Pam’s day job involves strategy and innovation projects in the media and entertainment sectors. She lives in West Los Angeles with a bunch of cats including Wally, Casey, Tabor, and Bandit. Having served on the Kitten Rescue of Los Angeles Board since 2019, she is proud to join the Heaven on Earth board this year.

Suzanne Lofland, Treasurer

Originally from Alabama, Suzanne grew up rescuing animals — turtles, rabbits, cats, dogs, and fish to name a few. She became involved with cat rescue while living in Phoenix, Arizona in 2004 when a pregnant cat from a parking lot moved into her bathroom. The experience of caring for the mom and eventual kittens kicked off a lifetime of saving cats. 

Suzanne now resides in Valley Glen with her wife, two kids, and two cats. Suzanne has been with the organization in many different roles since 2010, rejoining the Board in 2020.​

Jennifer Parsignault, Secretary

Growing up with cats and horses, Jennifer found her way to rescue through a neighborhood colony of feral cats and never looked back. She joined the Heaven on Earth Board in 2006 and founded the SpayShip Transport Program in 2009. SpayShip, a TNR program which is free to the community, is designed to help facilitate the spay and neuter of Los Angeles stray, feral and community cats. As the program’s unpaid Director, working in partnership with FixNation, she is responsible for facilitating over 11,800 spays and neuters to date. 

By day, Jennifer is the Audit Director of a multi-employer Taft Hartley Trust Fund benefiting an entertainment union. She is also an artist and singer/songwriter with several independent albums to her credit. She lives in the San Fernando Valley with cats Bailey and (Heaven on Earth alum) Christopher, along with an ever-changing census of fosters.​

In the world of animal lovers, John Gregory says he’s aligned himself with the feline folks, having come to appreciate cats’ curious, independent, and mysterious natures and their uncanny ability to make their agenda everyone’s agenda. John is retired from Sony Pictures Entertainment, where he worked in finance. There, in 2010, he was introduced to Heaven on Earth during a project to relocate a dozen feral cats to temporary safe harbor from the studio lot. He and his wife, Kathy, live in Westchester with their four rescue cats Rocko, ZZ, Tuxy and Tiny. John joined the Heaven on Earth board in 2011.​

Blasko (Rob Nicholson), globally renowned as the electrifying bass player for icons Rob Zombie and Ozzy Osbourne, harmonizes his rock star prowess with a deep commitment to feline welfare. His dedication to feline advocacy earned him the prestigious Kitten Rescue Advocacy Award in 2019, underscoring his significant contributions to the cause.

Beyond musical achievements, Blasko serves on the Kitten Rescue Board, leveraging his influence and network to further the mission of cat welfare and rescue. His commitment extends to the pavement; he is a stalwart participant in the LA BIG 5K, raising over $50,000 individually to support KR's vital work. As Blasko joins the Heaven on Earth Board, his leadership and passion for cat rescue are poised to inspire and effect meaningful change within the community.​

Pat Tazzara litigated medical liability cases for over 30 years in both Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles before retiring from the legal field and immediately embracing her other passion — cat rescue. Quickly learning her true talent was “foster failing,” she adopted many of her black cat fosters and then stepped up to serve on a local cat rescue’s Board of Directors, heading up their social media team. Her pride and joy are her newest boys, Eddie and Chunner, black kittens with mild cerebellar hypoplasia. Pat lives in Studio City, where she enjoys reminding friends and family back east about the beautiful SoCal weather.​

Susan Romaine began fostering cats and kittens over three decades ago. After moving to Los Angeles, she became determined to combat the city's high rate of euthanasia for underage kittens. Susan founded Kitten Rescue in 1997. 

Over 26 years, Kitten Rescue has grown from its one-woman origins to become one of the largest feline-focused rescues in Los Angeles and the nation, rescuing nearly 3,000 cats and kittens a year and placing them in new forever homes. Susan currently serves as the Vice President of Kitten Rescue and is honored to bring her experience and knowledge to the Board of Heaven On Earth.

Jeremiah Runyon's extensive experience in business operations at Superior Logistics and Off the Leash Modern Pet Provisions offers practical knowledge of executive management, human resources management, accounting, and financial matters including financial oversight, risk management, HR compliance, and alignment of financial and strategic initiatives.​

Jeremiah and his husband Mathew live in Los Angeles with their dogs Foxworth and Daisy and cats Stretch and Babette.

The Board relays that they are honored to take on the challenges of Los Angeles cat rescue and expand our mission in new, courageous ways. It is thanks to your consistent support that we are still here fighting for the cats and kittens who need us. Together, we can rebuild and bring even more compassion and care to the work, (re)connecting community and saving lives. 

We look forward to introducing everyone at upcoming events — more on that below!

Save the Date! Saturday, March 9

It has been too long since we’ve opened the doors of Perry’s Place for celebration. We’d love to introduce you to the new team — and a few sweet kitties!

Join us on Saturday March 9 to mix and mingle! We’ll turn on some tunes, provide snacks, and ring in a bright new season with our leadership team and YOU — our volunteers, staff, adopters, donors, and dear friends of Heaven on Earth from throughout the years. 

Let's bring everyone together — to reminisce and look ahead. We may even have some fun cat-themed prizes and goodies to share! 😉

This is a FREE event! Time TBD / More details to come! ❤️ 

Did you know that Heaven on Earth's Spay/Neuter Clinic completed 4,022 spays and neuters last year?

We directly address the cat overpopulation crisis every day by providing low cost, accessible spay/neuter surgeries and supportive medical care to shelter cats and dogs, community pets, and a number of local rescues.

Rescue and adoption are critical components to addressing overpopulation but they alone will not resolve the crisis. With ever-increasing costs and widespread veterinary care shortages, more hurdles stand between animals and health care than ever before. But we are determined to keep spaying and neutering as many cats and kittens (and dogs/puppies) as possible.

Our work is crucial to the community. It takes a skilled surgical and medical team and specialized equipment to maintain operations. You support helped us serve 4,022 animals last year, preventing tens of thousands of births. Imagine what we can do together this year!

Donate today and make a direct impact on the cat overpopulation crisis.

We're scaling operations back up and need hands-on support!

Email volunteer@heavenlypets.org to get started. We're looking for assistance in the following areas:

• Perrys Place facilities: a variety of important hands-on projects at the sanctuary, including helping staff, moving / refilling supplies, and reinvigorating our rooms

• Adoptions: on-site support and communications, appointments, cat familiarity

• Data and fulfillment: reports and data support, thank yous and outreach

• Marketing and comms: strategy and development, campaign support, street team

• Social media: content creation and collection, distribution and support / response

• Grant writing: research and support

More opportunities are available — and we're open to your ideas! Former / current volunteers, please reach out so we know who is currently available.

THANK YOU!