WBI team members represent a page out of our business plan – very talented with relevant specialized knowledge; collaborative, congenial and effective team members; uses, integrates and leverages technology to maximize impact; and very committed to the WBI mission. WBI is privileged to have them as team members.
Josh Coefer
GIS and Database Professional
Tyler Flockhart, PhD
Population Ecologist and Conservation Biologist
Laura Gosse
Communications Lead
Stevan Harnad, PhD
Professor of Cognitive Science
Haytham Nakhleh
Finance Director & Partner Support
Wynne Levine
WBI Studies Repository
Rahul Sehgal
Global Dog Management Expert
John Boone, PhD
John D. Boone received his PhD in Ecology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was on the research faculty of the University of Nevada, Reno, for ten years and then moved to the Great Basin Bird Observatory, also in Reno, where he has led or contributed to nearly 100 applied conservation initiatives and population monitoring programs. In 2012 Dr. Boone began consulting for several animal welfare and rabies control organizations to support their dog and cat management programs through collection of survey data. To date, he has contributed to over forty of these programs worldwide.
Josh Coefer
Josh Coefer is a spatial data and software professional with over 15 years of experience in technology management and hands-on geographic information systems (GIS), database, and programming work. He has led GIS, data, and software efforts of many types (needs assessment, requirements analysis, design, development, implementation, maintenance, support, etc.) for a diverse array of clients, including governments, utilities, businesses, and nonprofits. Josh has started a spatial data and software solutions firm, EquipGIS, where he leads efforts ranging from data processing and map making to full-scale enterprise GIS implementation and management. EquipGIS is an official partner of Esri, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services. Josh has experience with the leading established GIS platforms, such as Esri ArcGIS, MapBox, and Carto, and custom and open-source alternatives, such as OpenLayers, Leaflet, GDAL/OGR, PostgreSQL, PostGIS, GeoServer and QGIS, on-premises or in the cloud.
Tyler Flockhart, PhD
Dr. Tyler Flockhart is a population ecologist and conservation biologist. His interdisciplinary research seeks to understand the factors that influence changes in animal populations and using decision-theory to design optimal management strategies for species of concern in the face of global change. He uses sampling data and statistical models to estimate animal abundance at landscape scales, animal monitoring data to estimate survival and reproduction, and mathematical models to understand population dynamics across space and time. He is interested in developing evidence-based population models for dogs, cats, and birds to make optimal decisions to improve animal welfare, mitigate environmental impacts, and minimize human-animal conflicts at the lowest possible cost.
Laura Gosse
Laura is a hands-on, creative marketing professional specializing in email and social media. Tapping two decades of expertise, Laura founded LRGWORKS in 2009, after eight years with then start-up, now industry email marketing leader, Fishbowl Marketing. Leading client success as Fishbowl’s first creative director and head of its award-winning creative team, Laura served as Fishbowl’s marketing director and oversaw key industry partnerships. Laura has provided marketing services to B2C, B2B, and nonprofit organizations – big and small. She joins WellBeing International’s team, combining her marketing skills with her passion for the cause.
Stevan Harnad, PhD
Stevan Harnad is Professor of cognitive science at Université du Québec à Montréal and the University of Southampton. His research is on category learning, language evolution, consciousness, and open access. He is the founder and former editor-in-chief of the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences, and the current editor-in-chief of Animal Sentience. Harnad is becoming increasingly active in the problems of animal welfare, animal rights and animal law.
Haytham Nakhleh
Haytham is a University of Texas at Dallas graduate with an M.S. in Management and a B.A. in Business Administration, with a minor in accounting. He is an expert in providing accounting and administrative support for small and medium businesses since 2007. Haytham has been involved in the operations of a U.S. nonprofit organization providing medical services in the Middle East since 2015. His responsibilities included, among other things, overseeing the finances of the organization, compliance and reporting, human resources, and managing an overseas regional office in a most challenging environment.
Wynne Levine
Wynne Levine is a business development professional with expertise in building and sustaining strategic relationships, community leadership, and outreach initiatives. With an MBA from Northeastern University, Wynne has focused on providing forward thinking, creative and innovative approaches to her clients and partners. Wynne was a Pet Partners Therapy Dog Team with her golden retriever Brady. Wynne is now enrolled at the Institute for Human-Animal Connection at the University of Denver and will be starting a Master’s in Social Work at the University of New Hampshire in 2021. Wynne is working towards a career that specializes in connecting people, animals and the environment through holistic practice and community engagement.
Rahul Sehgal
Rahul Sehgal graduated from Gujurat University in 1998 with a BA in sociology. In 2000, he launched the Animal Help Foundation in Ahmedabad. In 2006, Rahul received a municipal contract to conduct a high-volume street dog sterilization project (sterilizing 45,000 dogs in ten months). He joined Humane Society International and oversaw their street dog management projects in Asia the following year. He persuaded the Royal Government of Bhutan to launch a successful dog sterilization program in 2009 (that continues today) and subsequently launched street dog projects in Nepal and the Philippines.
Andrew Rowan
Andrew Rowan, DPhil, Global Program Sponsor – Dr. Andrew Rowan has more than 40 years of experience in animal welfare science and animal and environmental advocacy. He has served on many government and corporate consultative committees, on numerous Boards of national and international NGOs, and most recently served as the CEO of Humane Society International (HSI) and Board Chair of the HSUS Wildlife Land Trust. He launched and oversaw HSI’s street dog projects in Asia and Latin America. Dr. Rowan was a professor at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. He established the Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy, launched an academic journal on human-animal relations, and was Chair of the Dept. of Environmental Sciences. Dr. Rowan has authored or co-authored numerous books and over one hundred academic papers on animal research and alternatives, companion animal and humane wildlife management, and human-animal interactions. He is a recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship, graduated from Oxford University with a DPhil in biochemistry, and received numerous awards for his work.
Kathleen Rowan
Kathleen Rowan, MPA, CPA, Global Program Manager – Kathleen Rowan has over 40 years of experience in the nonprofit arena, serving on nonprofit boards and executive positions (both CEO and CFO). She has managed diverse global teams and projects in many different countries, cultures, languages, and religions. Her posts required her to travel widely, including to some of the most troubled countries in the world. Ms. Rowan has experience in project design, implementation, management, and compliance in challenging locations worldwide. She is very conversant with the regulations and requirements of grants and contracts offered by governments and international funding agencies. Ms. Rowan is a CPA and a Chartered Global Management Accountant. She received her master’s degree from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
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