Our Mission: Stop “convenient” euthanasia!
We are a small but mighty group of volunteers committed to one goal: save hundreds of animals each year. It breaks our hearts that almost one million shelter animals are euthanized in the US each year because shelters are overcrowded, and we’re working our hardest to reduce that number by saving as many pets as possible with each donated dollar. Remember: adopt, don’t shop! Your next best friend is waiting for you right now in a shelter and we encourage everyone to open their hearts to an adorable, adoptable animal.
To find out a bit more about how we operate, please check out our “details” page!
Meet the Amelia Air Force!
Founder / Pilot - Dean Heistad
Dean has been a long-time aviator and life-long animal advocate, and a career technologist. His passion for animals began in his childhood when the local university research hospital allowed his family to rescue a “subject” that wasn’t viable for their animal research, so Rosie the family mutt was rescued. Dean found a deep passion for aviation as a teenager, and once successful in his career, he wanted to give back so he started flying charitable flights to provide free transport to ambulatory patients for Angel Flight and flights to rescue animals for Pilots n Paws. Seeing a gap in both funding and logistics, he rallied some very smart and passionate people around Amelia Air with the mission of saving animals with airplanes.
Co-Founder / Pilot - Petra Janney
Petra heard about Dean’s mission to rescue pets in planes, and decided right away to help him build Amelia Air from the ground up. After growing up in the wilderness of Maine, Petra fell in love with the natural world and has been doing everything she can to save animals ever since. She is also the founder of Mashi, a new platform designed to streamline the way we adopt and care for pets. Petra graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University and received her MBA from INSEAD. Petra is passionate about decarbonizing aviation and leveraging technology as a force for good.
Secretary, Logistics Director - Katy Gardner
Katy is an educator by profession and an animal lover throughout her life. A longtime rescuer of pets, she joined Amelia Air after partnering with Dean and quickly stepped into coordinating logistics for East Coast missions, improving communication between shelters and rescues. She holds dual BAs in French and English from Luther College, an MA in Teaching English and French from the University of Iowa, and a graduate certificate in Reading and Literacy Education from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her career spans teaching, project management in tech, and consulting to help schools equip educators with the training and resources they need.
Director of Audience Engagement - Stacy Schecter
Stacy joined Amelia Air in August 2020 and immediately launched the most successful fundraiser in our organization’s history, raising over $32,000 in two weeks with an incredible West Wing-themed sweepstakes. She now manages Amelia Air’s social media accounts and heads up the ongoing fundraising efforts! Outside of rescuing animals, Stacy is the Senior Supervising Attorney at Safe Horizon’s Domestic Violence Law Project in Brooklyn, New York. Stacy lives in New York City with her husband and young son, Nolan, who loves to help meet the dogs at the airport on rescue mission days!
Director of Data & Analytics - Nicole Mirando
Nicole joined the Amelia Air team at the start of 2021. Her profession is higher education where she serves as assistant dean at a NYC graduate school. Actively involved in dog rescue for about ten years, Nicole is an experienced foster (albeit limitedly because her own dog disapproves) and has been coordinating many administrative aspects for rescue groups before flying into Amelia Air’s mission. She is currently in school pursuing a doctorate of education alongside her other passion of helping save, and unconditionally loving, pets in need.
Veterinary Director / Pilot - Adi Chatow, DVM
Adi joined the Amelia Air team in early 2021. After a few years of working for ad-tech start-ups in the Bay Area and NYC, Adi decided to pursue her childhood dream of helping animals and becoming a veterinarian. She completed her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at UC Davis Veterinary School, class of 2022. She is now a general practitioner working with dogs and cats in New Orleans, and is also interested in animal shelter medicine. In addition to her devotion and passion for animal medicine and welfare, Adi earned her private pilot license in 2013 and has flown dozens of pets to safety. Adi also launched Amelia Air’s spay and neuter program, providing lifesaving veterinary care to hundreds of animals since 2022.
Rescue Partnerships Lead - Veronika Lantseva
Veronika first got connected with Amelia Air in March 2020 when she adopted a scruffy Pekingese mix named Toby (f.k.a. Dumbledog) whom Amelia Air rescued in partnership with DC Paws rescue. She joined the Amelia Air team in the Fall of 2021. Veronika has been volunteering with rescues and shelters since she was 14 years old and has a particular soft spot in her heart for senior dogs, adopting three of them in the last few years. Outside of rescue, Veronika is an HR leader in the banking industry and volunteers at a shelter for domestic violence survivors.
Outreach Lead / Pilot - Paul Sullivan
Paul joined Amelia Air in the summer of 2021 after accompanying Petra, David, and Adi on a three-plane rescue in California. This experience reignited his lifelong dream of becoming a pilot, leading him to earn his private pilot certificate by the fall of 2022. With over eight years of experience as a personal assistant in Los Angeles, and a degree in film and public relations from Columbia College Chicago, Paul brings a creative approach to outreach, operations, and communications for Amelia Air. Combining his passion for aviation with a commitment to animal advocacy, he’s grateful for the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the important work done by Amelia Air.
Donor Engagement Lead - Syd Giller
Syd joined the Amelia Air team at the start of 2025. Growing up with many big dogs, she came to Amelia Air inspired by Amelia’s story and motivated by the critical mission of the organization. Within the team, Syd hopes to help continue growing donor relations and loves assisting with the monthly newsletter. Based out of Brooklyn, NY, she works in higher education for the City University of New York system. She dreams daily of taking one (or two) Amelia Air rescues home and can’t wait to make this a reality when she finishes her Juris Doctor.
Development & Advocacy Lead - Cathy Nguyen
Cathy joined the Amelia Air team in 2025. She has loved animals for as long as she can remember (some may say too much). She is a lifelong animal rescue volunteer and foster, with a soft spot for misunderstood and overlooked animals. Cathy volunteered as a dog trainer and rehabilitator at an animal-assisted therapy center, where she was inspired by the impact of mutually beneficial programs. Through this work, she realized two major barriers to saving animals are funding and broader public understanding. At Amelia Air, she leads development and advocacy efforts, including running the grant program and education initiatives. She is also learning how to be a cat mom to her foster-fail black cat, Ginkgo.
Grant Writer - James Bragan
James is a grant writing professional with over a decade of experience supporting mission-driven organizations across the Washington, DC region. After relocating from Massachusetts to study English at The Catholic University of America, he gained valuable experience at multiple non-profits, including Catholic Charities of DC and The Children’s Inn at NIH. Now, he is focused on strengthening Amelia Air’s impact, grant writing strategy, and foundation relations.James and his partner Renee, adopted their 9-year-old Chow Chow, Boyfriend, into their family in September 2025 in what may have been the fastest “foster fail” in history. Boyfriend diligently oversees household operations, boosts morale in ways only an affable Chow Chow could, and most importantly, is a daily reminder of the power of rescue.
Vet Clinic Coordinator - Annmarie Raque
Annmarie is a New Orleans native currently pursuing her doctorate in veterinary medicine at Louisiana State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine. She became involved in Amelia Air after accompanying Adi at a clinic event where she assisted in performing preventative care surgeries for animals at a small clinic in south Louisiana. Her love for animal rescue started at just 12 years old when she became a volunteer at the Louisiana SPCA, an experience she credits to her profound love and appreciation for shelter medicine. She is dedicated to making veterinary care accessible to all, regardless of socioeconomic status and geographic location, and has hopes to open her own private practice in her hometown. When she’s not pulling all-nighters for school, you can find her running, hiking, gardening, and adding the newest house music hits to her playlist. She is accompanied by her most loyal companion, Taquito, her bearded dragon and best friend.
West Coast Liaison / Pilot - Regi Elliott
Regi is a commercial pilot who is training to be a certified flight instructor, and a proud dog mum to 3 rescues from the streets of India. Regi has a MA in International Human Rights Law from the American University in Cairo, and has lived on 5 continents working in humanitarian aid and animal welfare. Now, at Amelia Air, she is realizing her dream of combining her passions for pet rescue and flying. She joined Amelia Air in 2023 as a volunteer pilot, and assists with fundraising, pilot coordination, and marketing. Regi also teaches Pilates and yoga, and enjoys hiking with her dogs and her human friends, too.
