CATTASTIK EXHIBITOR HALL

Maria first became involved with DF2FM after meeting co-founder Terry Woodfin in 2009. In the early years of the organization, she was office manager, a volunteer position, and helped develop (and name!) the summer and winter recurring fundraising campaigns: Hot & Hungry and Cold & Hungry. As the organization grew, so did Maria’s volunteer role. She was the first Chair of the Steering Committee in 2013, before being asked shortly thereafter to become a member of the Board of Directors. Maria served in the Vice President and Secretary officer roles of the Board.

 

In 2020, Maria accepted the staff position of Operations Manager, becoming Director in 2022. In 2024 Maria’s title was updated to Executive Director to better reflect her integral role in leading DF2FM.

Dusty Rainbolt is past president of the Cat Writers' Association. She's a feline behavior consultant and author of numerous award-winning cat health and behavior books, including:

Cat Scene Investigator: Solve Your Cat’s Litter Box Mystery and Finding Your Lost Cat: The Practical, Feline-Specific Guide to Your Happy Reunion.

 

She also offers a certification course in feline inappropriate elimination and, as an in-the-trenches rescuer, has rescued and rehomed more than 4,500 cats and kittens over the decades. In addition she's the author of award-winning humorous science, fantasy and horror.

Jason was born and raised in North Texas and has been both a cat and dog owner his entire life. He leads marketing and communications for Texas Coalition for Animal Protection (TCAP). TCAP began operating as a nonprofit in 2002 with a mission to end euthanasia in animal shelters due to pet overpopulation by providing families access to free or low cost pet care.

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Since opening our doors, TCAP has performed more than 500,000 free or low cost spays and neuters for cats in North Texas, and approaching 1,000,000 pets in total. More than 150,000 of these surgeries were completed through our free feral fix/TNR program. This program offers free feral cat sterilizations to the first 12 trapped feral cats brought to each of our eight DFW locations every day.

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TCAP believes pet care should be affordable so families can focus on the joy of owning a pet without the stress of veterinary costs. Texas requires both cats and dogs to be vaccinated for rabies, and we have proudly maintained our 5 dollar rabies vaccine price since 2002.

We are a team of pet lovers first, and we treat every pet that walks through our doors as our own. Our team loves what we do, and we are grateful for the opportunity to be part of you and your pet’s family.

Derek Fuentes is a senior Biology major at The University of Texas at Arlington with a concentration in Veterinary Medicine. A member of the UTA Campus Cat Coalition for three years, Derek has spent more than two years hands-on with Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), helping care for and advocate for the cats who call the UTA campus home.

 

As Head of TNR, Derek leads the Coalition’s TNR efforts, organizing projects, coordinating care, and working to improve the health and population of UTA’s community cats. He is especially passionate about educating others about TNR and showing how students and communities can make a real difference for cats through humane, proactive population management.

Dr. Elizabeth Brown graduated from Louisiana State University's School of Veterinary Medicine in 2009. Over the last 17 years, she has worked at emergency clinics, animal shelters, and general practice. Early in her career, she considered pursuing a residency, but loves the great variety of general practice where no two days are the same. Dr. Brown's favorite part of general practice is the bonds formed with clients throughout the entirety of their pets' lives. These bonds are full of laughter and tears, but that is what makes this job so incredible. When not at work, Dr. Brown's favorite hobby is reading (right now the Dungeon Crawler Carl series) and spending time with her family: husband, three kids, two dogs, and ball python. 

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" Being a veterinarian is knowing that if I won the lottery, first I would pay off my student loans but then still come back to work because I don't know what else I would do."