Furry Friends Adoption, Clinic & Ranch, an animal shelter and community hub, today announced it has appointed Mary Martin as Chief Operating Officer. Martin rounds out a management team led by Executive Director Jason Gluck that also includes Director of Behavior and Training Kirsten Tourville.
Palm Beach County, Fla., August 10, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Furry Friends Adoption, Clinic & Ranch, an animal shelter and community hub, today announced it has appointed Mary Martin as Chief Operating Officer. Martin rounds out a management team led by Executive Director Jason Gluck that also includes Director of Behavior and Training Kirsten Tourville.
"Since I took office in January, my focus has been on building a team of the best and brightest in our field," said Gluck. "We are excited that Mary has joined us as COO to help advance our vision of a more humane Florida, where no shelter dog or cat is euthanized due to a lack of space. Mary's extensive background in increasing live release rates, managing large scale programs to address the root causes of pet homelessness, and overseeing sanctuary care is a game changer for our organization and our region."
Martin's career in animal welfare spans three decades. She has served as director of some of the largest animal care and control organizations in the country, including New York City and Maricopa County (Phoenix), and led Santa Fe Humane Society through a major expansion. Most recently, Martin was Executive Director of Sanctuary at Best Friends Animal Society, one of the largest national humane organizations. Martin's successes in the field are many and far-reaching, and her policies are responsible for saving millions of animal lives.
"I am so excited to join Jason and Furry Friends at this period of transformational change in the animal care field," said Martin. "Furry Friends has a vision to change the landscape in animal welfare in this state and beyond. I am ready to get working on a slate of profoundly impactful initiatives, including a game-changing canine behavioral program, that we will roll out in the coming weeks and months. The organization is perfectly positioned to work with fellow progressive animal care organizations and to assist under-resourced shelters throughout Florida."
Furry Friends' new canine behavior program is led by Kirsten Tourville, who has joined the organization as Director of Behavior and Training. Tourville was previously Director Of Operations at Dogs Playing For Life (DPFL), one of the world's preeminent canine behavioral rehabilitation programs led by Aimee Sadler. DPFL's highly skilled team has had incredible success using playgroups to save the lives of dogs who were previously deemed "unadoptable. At Furry Friends, Tourville will oversee the implementation of playgroups for the benefit of the organization's animals but also for behaviorally challenged shelter dogs across the region.
"I am thrilled to bring this transformative model to Furry Friends," Tourville said. "Playgroups have the potential to save and greatly improve the lives of thousands of dogs in our region each year. In just a few short days, we've seen wonderful progress here in Jupiter, and we will continue to expand our efforts to our 30 acre ranch in Palm City. The wagging tales and smiling faces tell the story: playgroups save lives."
"It's an honor to have Mary and Kirsten on my team as we help usher in this groundbreaking new era for Furry Friends," said Executive Director Gluck. "While our field has many challenges ahead, the future for Florida's dogs and cats has never been brighter."
About Jason Gluck
Jason Gluck joined Furry Friends as Executive Director in January 2022. Prior to entering the nonprofit world, Gluck was an entertainment and media executive with a diverse range of clients including Disney, Viacom, Nielsen Media Research, and various high profile entertainers. He was instrumental in the team that catapulted Miley Cyrus and the Disney Channel Original Series "Hannah Montana" to international fame, building one of the most successful and recognizable brands in recent history.
About Furry Friends
Since its inception in 1981, Furry Friends has rescued, rehabilitated, and rehomed animals across Palm Beach and Martin Counties. This year, we are excited to introduce a slate of new programs aimed at saving lives by helping pets and people. Those initiatives include providing free pet food to needy shelters, pairing senior pups and people, training life-changing service dogs for veterans, transporting animals from overcrowded Florida shelters to eager adopters across the US, helping keep pets in their homes by providing financial and behavioral resources, caring night and day for bottle-fed kittens and pediatric puppies, and encouraging a more compassionate future through our humane education program.
Media Contact:
[email protected]
SOURCE: Furry Friends Adoption, Clinic & Ranch
Media Contact
Jess Grand, Furry Friends Adoption, Clinic & Ranch, 1 561-486-0785, [email protected]
SOURCE Furry Friends Adoption, Clinic & Ranch

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