Board of Directors and Staff

Board

Matt Mackall - President

Matt Mackall is a long-time activist for animal issues and a co-founder of CAA. He has served as both CAA's treasurer and president. He is a self-employed software developer of open source software, and serves on the Technical Advisory Board of The Linux Foundation.

Ivan Martino

Ivan joined the Board of Directors in October 2008, having been involved with CAA since Fall 2006, helping coordinate a multitude of events. He is currently a Psychology major and hopes to one day become a dentist.

Casey Nielsen

Casey joined the board in October of 2008. She is a student at the University of Minnesota, and has been involved with CAA since late 2007.

Lisa Kimball

Lisa joined the board in February of 2009. Lisa has been active with Bridges of Respect for many years. She has also helped with fundraising and events.

Dave Rolsky - Treasurer

Dave Rolsky is one of the co-founders of CAA, and currently serves as Treasurer. He created the VegGuide.Org site, and tries to keep the CAA computers working, as well as helping with fundraising. He has worked as a professional computer programmer since 1999.

Suzy Sorensen, RD - Secretary

Suzy joined the board in November of 2007. Suzy has also been active as a volunteer, organizing CAA's book club. She has degrees in education and nutrition, and currently works as a registered dietitian.

Staff

Unny Nambudiripad, Development Coordinator

A CAA co-founder, Unny oversees development and fundraising for the organization. He has worked and volunteered for more than twelve years at local non-profit advocacy organizations. He has extensive experience in volunteer leadership development, public outreach, event planning, and fundraising. Unny enjoys camping, juggling, and cooking food with friends.

Gil Schwartz, Director of Volunteer Programs

A Minneapolis native, Gil Schwartz has been involved with social, environmental, and animal issues from an early age. During high school he started volunteering with Compassionate Action for Animals where he garnered leadership and organizational skills for effective grassroots activism. Gil studied philosophy, sociology, and communication studies and holds a degree in Bachelor of Individualized Studies from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He has has received certification from the Minnesota Association of Volunteer Administrators (MAVA) and Sustainable Progress Through Engaging Active Citiezens (SPEAC).

After graduating in 2005, he was hired as Director of Volunteer Programs for CAA. At CAA he focuses his efforts on empowering volunteers to get active on behalf of farm animals through recruitment, training, and leadership development. In addition, he presents with CAA's humane education program Bridges of Respect, which offers presentations on a variety of animal and environmental issues to Minneapolis/St. Paul area high school and college students. Gil is an avid bicyclist, and enjoys listening to music, doing yoga, foraging for wild edibles, and kicking back.