Our Board of Directors
President
Shelby Escourt
Realtor, Wife, Mom
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Shelby Escourt is a passionate Realtor® with the Premiere Group at Real Brokerage, devoted to helping families and their pets find the perfect place to call home. She is a proud wife to Todd and mom to two wonderful children, Blaze and Phoenix, who inspire her every day.
Shelby recently stepped into the role of President of the Board for Familiar Hearts Animal Society, combining her love for animals with her dedication to helping those in need. Her own home is filled with rescue animals, including three cats—Lexus, Semira, and Pumpkin—a curious bearded dragon named Daisy, and Jasmine, a senior Bichon Frise lovingly rescued by Familiar Hearts.
Her passion for animal rescue has also inspired her son, Blaze, who brought Familiar Hearts to Henry Houston School through his “Paws for a Cause” campaign, encouraging his classmates to embrace kindness and empathy toward animals. Shelby also gives back through her real estate work, donating a portion of every home bought or sold to support Familiar Hearts’ mission of finding loving homes for both people and pets.
When she’s not working or volunteering, Shelby loves spending time outdoors with her family, cherishing quiet moments together, and exploring new ways to make a meaningful difference in her community.
Accountant
Marcia Piccione
Drummer, Artist, Mountain Climber
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Marcia has been involved in animal rescue since at least 2002. She was one of the founding members of People Pet Partnership which eventually went on to become Philly Paws. Marcia was an active volunteer at ACCT over the years and a volunteer and foster for Tiny Paws Rescue. She has taken in many dogs over the last decade, focusing on seniors, her favorite kind. The more messed up, the better.
Outside of animal rescue, Marcia is a software engineer who enjoys drumming with an adult performance group at School of Rock, doing pencil drawings of animals and climbing mountains.
Secretary
Madison K. Mendivel Metzger, M.S.
Bilingual Research Interviewer at UPenn, Wife, Mom
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Madison is a proud dog mom to two adorable pups and a toddler mom to one amazing little human! Fully bilingual in Spanish and English, she brings a love for connection and communication to everything she does.
Winter and fall are her favorite seasons, and in her free time, Madison enjoys playing video games and making cherished memories with her family.
Her absolute favorite part of animal rescue is witnessing our furry friends get matched with their perfect forever homes!
Our Volunteer Staff
Executive Director
Aminda Edgar
Peaceful Pet Care Dogwalking & Petsitting
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Growing up, while other children played “House” or “School,” Aminda imagined herself as other animals. She and her best friend would play at being cunning and loyal dogs or embody the wild strength of horses. She grew up with two cats, Big Kitty and Frieda. She begged her parents endlessly for a dog. When she was ten, her parents brought home a little dog named Tootsie for the family from a neighbor. She spent every spare moment outside of school and extracurricular activities devoted to her canine friend, spending hours exploring the woods, river and meadows surrounding their Wisconsin home with her. Aminda cannot imagine life without a dog and at least two cats.
As she entered her teens, she became increasingly aware of the dire fate of animals who enter the shelter system and vowed to one day open a sanctuary to help. As the daughter of educators, she also began to see how educating people about animals was as important as rescuing them and finding them forever homes. She strongly believes that the crisis of homeless and suffering animals can only be solved by empowering and educating caring people.
After 25 years in various positions in animal rescue, welfare advocacy and direct care-giving, she is building the organization that she has always dreamed. Familiar Hearts is not just a rescue, it’s a society to bring together people with just this quality: Familiar Hearts for animals! If you have a heart for animals, we are your family!
Familiar Hearts Animal Society is on a mission to not only swoop animals in need up and into the hearts of people who will love them forever but to offer those who love their animals resources to be better caregivers and help animals stay where they are already loved.
Aminda lives with two rescued dogs, a dozen rescued cats and two rescued ferrets in a small home in Northwest Philly. She dreams of a sanctuary space for Familiar Hearts Animal Society so the organization can help more animals!
Foster Agreement Navigator
Leah Edgar
Music Lover, Adventurer
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Leah was the proud dog mother of the beautiful Maybellene, who she lost to cancer. She is able to keep her life and heart full of canine companions by helping orient new dog fosters as well as by caring for her client’s family dogs.
Digital Content Creator
Emily Wavrek
Music Lover, Storyteller
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Ever since she was young, Emily has always been a dog lover. After she and her husband adopted Tootsie Pop, a pittie mix puppy, that love grew immensely and she felt like there was so much more she could be doing to help animals in need.
With a history of creating social media and digital content for rock stars, musicians, bands, and more, she decided to combine her love for animals with her skills in digital marketing to take over Familiar Hearts’ social media channels.
When she’s not at the Wells Fargo Center working as the Event Marketing Manager, she is helping us tell these animals stories, creating fun and engaging content with the goal of finding all of our rescues forever homes.
Outreach & Events Coordinator
Cheryl Holtkamp
Bridge Builder, Community Connector
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Cheryl joined Familiar Hearts in 2024 as a transportation volunteer, taking on a variety of roles within the organization. She now serves as the Outreach and Events Coordinator, working to build connections throughout the Philadelphia community and amplify the need for fosters, volunteers, and adoptable pets, while supporting Familiar Hearts’ broader mission.
Originally from Minnesota, Cheryl spent five years in Memphis before relocating to Philadelphia in 2022. Her dedication to animal advocacy and rescue spans all three states, where she has contributed in both professional and volunteer capacities.
In her career, Cheryl works in marketing and communications within the nonprofit sector. Outside of her career and volunteer work, she enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time at home with her three pets and her partner, Dave.
Cheryl is passionate about advancing Familiar Hearts’ mission to end the unnecessary suffering of homeless companion animals and looks forward to helping the organization grow and deepen its impact in the community.
Pet Pantry Manager
Josie Crist
Community-focused Animal Advocate
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Josie joined Familiar Hearts in 2024 after approaching the organization with a proposal to establish a pet pantry serving the Northwest community. Her initiative was driven by a noticeable increase in local residents seeking assistance with pet food and supplies amid rising living costs and financial insecurity.
With over five years of experience in cat rescue, Josie has been actively involved in fostering, trapping, and maintaining community cat colonies. In addition to her rescue work, she assists neighbors in accessing low-cost veterinary services and supports fellow caretakers in managing and rehabilitating injured or newly discovered cats. Josie strongly believes that caring for community animals requires collective effort and collaboration among pet owners, caretakers, and both animal and human welfare organizations.
Professionally, Josie works in financial systems and development. Beyond her career and volunteer commitments, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, practicing yoga, and caring for her own group of beloved pets.
Be sure to check out our Pet Pantry webpage for ways to get involved.
Operations Alchemist
Diane Ludeking
Energy Medicine Weaver, Rural Revivalist
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Diane is the behind-the-scenes force that keeps Familiar Hearts running smoothly. As the Operations Alchemist, she weaves together big-picture vision with the intricate details of day-to-day rescue work. From designing new webpages and maintaining the overall website to building essential databases, streamlining communication, and supporting the volunteer team, she creates systems that help people help animals.
Her passion for animal well-being extends beyond Familiar Hearts. With a background in Horse Science and a lifelong dedication to intuitive animal communication and energy medicine, she also runs SoulPlaces Oasis, where she helps pets and their humans navigate healing and connection.
Whether organizing rescue logistics or working one-on-one with an animal in need, Diane is dedicated to fostering harmony between humans and their four-legged companions, one thoughtful connection at a time.