Board of Directors

Doug Abel and Jenny Brown

Founders Jenny Brown and Doug Abel moved to Woodstock as full-time residents in May 2004. Doug is a film editor and Jenny previously worked as a producer, director and post-production supervisor. They met while working for the filmmaker Errol Morris in Boston, while Doug played a key role in editing the Academy Award award-winning documentary The Fog of War. Other recent credits of Doug’s include Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, NBC’s TV series 30 Rock, and Louis CK’s show Louie.

Jenny’s credits include work on the PBS series Frontline and Nova, ABC’s 9/11 special Report From Ground Zero, and most recently she produced and directed a show for Discovery Channel’s Extreme Engineering series, A Trans-Atlantic Tunnel.

Since the early 90′s, Jenny would occasionally volunteer her time working undercover as a videographer for PETA and Farm Sanctuary. After her last week-long trip undercover visiting stockyards in Texas, she decided to give up her TV career and dedicate her life to helping these animals that society seems to have forgotten. Jenny moved to Watkins Glen, NY, to live and work at Farm Sanctuary and learn all she could about shelter operations. It was that essential experience that gave the couple the confidence to open up a sanctuary of their own.

Doug has a condition known as Prosopagnosia or “face blindness” wherein he has a lot of trouble recognizing people, so don’t be offended if you’ve visited a few times and he greets you as if for the first time (for him, it is!).

JL Fields was first attracted to WFAS because of our goat Clover and her crazy YouTube video, but then she saw how serious our mission is and the impact we’re making.  She has served on numerous nonprofit boards over the years and brings tremendous experience in the area of charity management, and in fact even teaches several courses on the topic at a local university.  Her frequently-updated blog JL Goes Vegan is a great resource on things vegan.

Cynthia King has been a dedicated activist as well as a supporter of the Sanctuary for many years. She founded and runs the Cynthia King Dance Studio.  A vital part of Brooklyn’s rich dance culture, the school promotes traditional training and innovative live performance. Its spacious studios house a fertile training ground for dancers of all ages and abilities. Combining her passion for dance and compassion for animals, Ms. King developed ready-to-wear cruelty free, vegan ballet slippers. The slippers are popular worldwide and are the required slipper for two of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s innovative camps. Vogue Magazine used a pair of these slippers in Oscar winner Natalie Portman’s (The Black Swan) cover shoot.

In 2011 Ms. King was honored by an official proclamation from Council Members of the City of New York and has been recognized for effective leadership and services to her community by the Committee for Effective Leadership.

Dawn Ladd is the founder and director of Aurora Lampworks, a New York City based company serving the design and architectural communities. The company has earned its reputation specializing in the restoration and conservation of antique lighting fixtures. Dawn brings her business and organizational skills to WFAS’s table as well as her compassion for animals.

Eva Orlowski is a consultant in the world of Ecommerce/Online development. She has worked for a number of major retail companies since starting her career at Booklight, Inc. (now Lantern Media), where she acted as Internet Director. Eva’s long-time activism led her to support various organizations including the Humane Society, Peta, Farm Sanctuary and (of course) Woodstock Sanctuary. She is delighted to bring both her corporate experience and commitment to animal advocacy to Woodstock Sanctuary.