Who We Are

Jenny Pierson is an editor at an independent journalism nonprofit organization and a freelance book publishing consultant. She lives in Hell’s Kitchen, New York.

She is TNR-certified by Neighborhood Cats. She volunteered at the cat shelter Ollie’s Place while attending New York University.

Her rescue cat is a gray tabby named Churro. She’s excited to engage New Yorkers about how wonderful it can be to care for cats like Churro—and so that more cats like her can feel safe, secure, and loved.

Read Churro’s story on Girls and Their Cats.

Jenny Pierson and her rescue cat Churro

Reynard Loki has been supporting the health and well-being of non-human animals for more than two decades, as an animal activist, wildlife rescuer, and animal rights journalist. He is the editor of Earth | Food | Life, a journalism project covering animal rights and the environment at the nonprofit Independent Media Institute.

He is TNR-certified by Neighborhood Cats and has participated in three spectacular feline “foster fails.”

Reynard engages in a variety of intersectional animal causes to promote healthy ecosystems for all species—including felines, avians, and humans—in the local urban environment and throughout the world.

He volunteers with New York City Pigeon Rescue Central to help rescue, rehabilitate, and release injured or sick pigeons and other birds across the city’s five boroughs. He has also worked with the New York Police Department’s Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad to help bring an end to the illegal netting and capture of New York City’s pigeons for pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania.

Reynard’s senior rescue cat Beans

Susan Steshko was born in East New York and grew up in the East Village. She adopted her first rescue cat, Tina, a former resident of North America’s first pop-up cat café by way of North Shore Animal League, in 2014. Her second rescue cat, Mirchi (Hindi for chili pepper, alluding to her spicy past) hustled her way into Susan’s home by way of showing up on her doorstep.

Susan has worked in operations for a wide range of industries, including small businesses and the public sector. Her experience includes serving as the assistant manager of a gourmet food business in Park Slope, Brooklyn. For 12 years she volunteered with local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) sites, including coordinating deliveries of farm-fresh food and educating the public about the New York State Farm Share program. She was a purchasing assistant with the NYC Department of Transportation doing vendor and contract management for the Staten Island Ferry before moving to Jersey City, where she now lives with her husband Kunal, Tina, and Mirchi.