BARBARA DAVIS joined the AES Board in early 2015. Being a ‘horse woman’ vs. us, ‘elephant enthusiasts’, her perspective on so many decisions we had to make over the years truly helped keep us on a better path. Another talent Barbara gave generously of is her ability to develop creative text and graphics for so many of our fundraisers and other articles. AES President, Linda, met Barbara at a Jane Goodall lecture in St. Louis. Their common passion for all wildlife and wild places soon had Barbara volunteering for AES as well as traveling with Linda to Africa and domestic locations for fundraising events.
While Barbara needs more time for her horses and is leaving the Board effective June 2021, she will remain available to help us when needed and hopefully another trip somewhere, someday.
Barbara, thank you – from Linda and the AES Board, and from every elephant you have helped us help over all these years. Our best wishes and Trunks Up!
JANET DRAY was familiar with Asian Elephant Support’s work from her annual attendance at the Elephant Managers Association conferences. AES President, Linda got to know Janet from this venue and our shared passion for things elephant and Africa, led to a couple of awesome safaris during which Janet could not escape Linda’s necessary computer time and talk about ‘those other elephants’ – the Asian ones.
In January 2019 Janet joined the AES Board, helped with the CMU Mobile Vet Vehicle fundraiser and then traveled to Thailand for its dedication, as well as joining Linda at an EEHV Workshop in Houston. In Guwahati, India, Janet did a great job of covering for Linda, who had to cancel attending that workshop….and this was Janet’s first trip to India! When not traveling on behalf of AES, Janet did magic with our filing system and coordinated three fundraisers in her neck of the woods - Rochester, New York.
Although Janet found the need to leave the Board in January 2021, she continues to help AES as we focus on the care and conservation of Asian elephants in range countries.
Thank you, Janet. The AES Board sincerely appreciates all you have contributed to our efforts and wishes you all the best and, of course, Trunks Up!
Tina Torres joined us as the newest member of the AES Board in April, and we are so excited to have her and her talents on the team!
After meeting AES Director, Liz, more than a decade ago via mutual friends, Tina became a volunteer with the Elephant Program at the Santa Barbara Zoo. That kicked off a fascination and love for elephants that eventually took her to Kenya for conservation work and to see elephants in the wild.
Tina's love for animals and conservation runs deep. Besides her plethora of critters that she cares for at home, she is a regular volunteer for the Ojai Raptor Center which specializes in the rescue, rehabilitation and release of birds of prey and various small mammals, along with public education about how to protect and coexist with wild animals in our own backyards.
We look forward to tapping into Tina's skills as a web/graphic designer, marketing manager, talented writer and skilled mathematician on top of her passion for elephants and elephant conservation.
Welcome, Tina. The AES Board looks forward to all of your contributions!