Meet the team
Because of the nature of our organization almost everybody is a campaigner as well as their official title.
Because of the nature of our organization almost everybody is a campaigner as well as their official title.
Network for Animals is a non-government, international animal welfare organization crusading for animals around the world.
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Founder
Brian’s many achievements include bringing to an end the annual killing of baby whitecoat seals in Canada, major contributions to ending hunting with hounds in the United Kingdom, the dog meat trade in the Philippines, elephant culling in South Africa, providing help to street dogs and cats around the world and fighting for an end to the Chinese donkey skin trade. Brian is now 86, but his crusading spirit still drives NFA, which today has 40 animal welfare projects in 26 countries.
Writer / Campaigner / Social Media Manager
Debby is a writer, cat wrangler and head of social media for Network for Animals (NFA) and Animal Survival International (ASI). She’s passionate about both social media and animals, which means she’s managed to turn two of her favorite things into her full-time work. She strongly believes in the power of social media for raising awareness of animal welfare issues and helping effect change for those in critical need around the world. In her free time, Debby can be found reading, writing, hiking with her rescue dog Cody, and filming TikTok videos of her cats.
Executive Director / Campaigner
David Barritt, is our Executive Director, has worked in animal welfare for 30 years. He established the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s (IFAW) South African office before becoming IFAW’s Africa director. After a break running a successful public relations company, he joined NFA in 2014. He was made executive director in 2019, overseeing all our activities. He is based in South Africa and Greece.
Chief Fundraiser/Campaigner
Paul Seigel, NFA’s chief fundraiser has 45 years of experience in the field, first as a political fundraiser and then as chief fundraiser for several $100-million-plus international children and animal protection-focused charities, including Operation Smile, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Animal Survival International (ASI).
He has implemented campaigns credited with raising more than one billion dollars in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia.
Paul attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and earned a Master of Arts degree from Western Michigan University.
Chief Financial Officer
Based in Greece, Katherine, our chief financial officer, is a chartered accountant and part of the senior management of Network for Animals (NFA). She monitors every cent that goes in and out of the organization and is famous for being extremely strict! However, when it comes to helping animals, suddenly the budget becomes a lot more flexible!
Campaign Director
Luke is our Campaign Director. He oversees all campaign activities and the development of new projects in 26 countries in Africa, Europe, and North America. He says that treating animals and the environment with kindness and respect was instilled in him from birth. He grew up in South Africa and as a child, his animal activist father took him on trips to Africa’s remotest regions to help animals. These trips laid the basis for Luke’s lifelong mission to improve the welfare of animals.
Head of Production / Campaigner
Andrea is the Production Manager at Network for Animals (NFA) and Animal Survival International (ASI). Her role involves overseeing the teams of both organizations in their communication with supporters. Andrea lives in Cape Town, South Africa, with her husband and three fur-children Caramello, Loki and Benji. She loves cappuccinos (almost as much as her fur-babies!) and enjoys spending time at the beach with her family.
Production Editor
Taylor is part of the production team. Her main responsibility is to raise awareness about animal welfare. She works on the creation of email newsletters to our supporters and is part of the team who design and manage our websites. Her bouncy personality infuses the team with energy.
Research Writer / Campaigner
Shannon is a researcher and writer. She holds an Honours degree in Journalism and Media Studies. As both an ambitious storyteller and compassionate animal lover, Shannon feels very fortunate to have secured a job that merges two of her greatest passions into one. Shannon’s role involves researching animal welfare issues and potential campaigns, writing appeals and news items and liaising with partner organizations and shelters. When she’s not at work, Shannon can be found hiking, watching horror movies, reading, drinking red wine or daydreaming about how much she misses her black cat, Salem, back in her hometown.
Researcher
Nicolette is part of the production team at Network for Animals (NFA) and Animal Survival International (ASI). In addition to editing and captioning photographs that appear on our website, Nicolette is also a gifted researcher. In 2016, she graduated from the University of Duisburg-Essen with a Master’s Degree in Development Studies. In the same year, she completed another Master’s Degree in Political Studies awarded by the University of the Western Cape. Her hobbies include reading, hiking, and learning how to improve her photo editing skills.
Campaigner
Fiona Sawney, is NFA’s Balkan campaign manager, based in Tivat, Montenegro. She has worked in animal welfare for 11 years and is the co-founder of Friends of Dogs of Montenegro. In partnership with Montenegrin group Korina, she has produced two animal welfare reports on local strategic actions and standards for municipal dog shelters.
Fiona has two master’s degrees in the fields of Public Health Promotion (Brunel University, graduated 1997) and Global Health Policy (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, graduated 2021). She has many years of experience in nursing and public health, project management, budget management, volunteer community projects and training – both in the non-governmental and public sectors
Production Researcher
Taryn is passionate about animal welfare. She coordinates meetings, travel arrangements, schedules and logistics, and she also works as a campaigner. Taryn is passionate about animal welfare and the preservation of our world for future generations. She says she feels honored to be a part of our dedicated team and hopes to one day live in a world where the unnecessary suffering of animals and the annihilation of living species is no longer a reality.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
Assistant Social Media Manager
Tayler, our Social Media Manager, has a passion for wildlife and large-scale conservation efforts. She holds an Honors degree in Strategic Brand Communications and Management. Tayler’s responsibilities stretch across all social media platforms.
Company Secretary/Accounts Assistant
Agnieszka is Network for Animals’s company secretary, based in London, United Kingdom.
Video Editor / Campaigner
Byron Seale is our in-house video editor and videographer. He is responsible for the creation of short documentaries and social media videos, which are used to spread awareness about animal welfare issues.
Photo Archivest
Hailing from a family of conservationists and with a background in molecular biology, Kendal is the newest member of the NFA production and visual media team. Kendal spends most (all) of her free time wrangling badly behaved dogs and badly behaved toddlers. Her interests include chai lattes and obsessing over her own pack of four unruly hounds.
Senior Communications Editor
Silvia is senior communications editor. She deals with hundreds of supporter emails each week and interacts with our social media community. She is a German-speaking Namibian who lives in Windhoek with her husband, four children, three cats, two dogs and Smokey, a quarter horse.
Communication Editor
Justine is a communications editor. She handles social media responses, interacting with the online community and website changes. A few of her favorite things are dancing, baking and reading. A lifelong ‘crazy cat lady’, Justine lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her clowder of six cats and her husband.
Information Systerms Manager
TJ is the head of IT at Network for Animals (NFA) and Animal Survival International (ASI). His main responsibility is maintaining the organizations’ databases, evaluating the functionality of systems, managing security and backup procedures, and ensuring that all systems always run smoothly. He is also responsible for implementing new software programs and computer technologies. He holds an honors degree in Information Technology.
Human Resources / Financial Assistant
Carla is the Human Resource Manager and Financial Assistant for both NFA and ASI, she also manages the Cape Town office. After completing a Bachelor’s degree in Education at Cape Peninsula University in 2015, she worked as an elementary school teacher for five years. Carla has always had a great love for animals, and in 2021 decided to pursue her passion for helping to make a difference in their lives by joining our team. In 2022 she completed a HRM course at the University of Cape Town. In her free time, she enjoys being out in nature and spending time with her dog, Luna.
Co-Founder/Chief Executive Officer/Campaigner
Gloria is of Italian heritage and was born in Brooklyn, New York. When she was 22, she volunteered at the Cousteau Society, a marine conservation society in Manhattan, and was subsequently hired to work in the membership department. In May 1976, Brian Davies met Gloria when he visited the office on business. It was love at first sight. Six months later, Gloria left the Cousteau Society and has spent the subsequent 48 years working alongside Brian helping animals. They married on January 2, 1981. Gloria became Chief Executive Officer in 2016 but continues to campaign vigorously around the world.
