Our Team & Board
Mentor Trainers
Steve Loy
Steve is an eight-year Navy veteran who served in Vietnam. He was paired with his service dog Merlin on Dec 9, 2015 and was certified as a service team in 2016. Steve was invited to become and mentor trainer and has been volunteering in that capacity since 2016.
Ramon Reyes
Ramon is an Army veteran, OIF/OEF veteran, Ramon served 18 years.
Ramon joined OFP in February of 2017 and graduated from the program in November of 2017. “My service dog Huey turned my life around”. After Ramon graduated, he became a volunteer part-time mentor trainer. It wasn’t until May of 2022 that he finally decided to take on the role full time. Ramon stated, “It brings joy to my life to help others who could benefit from the use of a service dog and see them succeed in life, just like my mentor trainers taught me.”
Janet Wenholz
Mentor trainer, Client Services, Admin Asst, Grant Writer and so much more.
Janet was introduced to OFP in 2011 when Janet took her dog Clover for obedience training. Shortly after that, Janet asked about peanut-alert dogs and asked if OFP could train Clover as her own service dog for a lifelong life-threatening peanut allergy. Training and having Clover with her 24/7/365 improved her life in ways she could never have anticipated. Janet was invited to become an OFP mentor trainer in 2013, She is proud to have been able to share what she has learned on her personal journey, and help others begin their own.
Admin & Marketing
Katie Bailey
Katie came to Operation Freedom Paws in August 2016 for help in training her new dog. As a class participant, she was able to observe first-hand the lives of veterans, first responders, children and other individuals with disabilities who entered the program transform from hopelessness and depression into self-confident individuals with achievable goals, such as returning to school or the workforce. She was so impressed that she wanted to be part of the team that provides lifesaving services to those in need. Katie started as a volunteer and the began her full-time journey with Operation Freedom Paws in 2017.
Pamela Gibson MacDougall
Director of Marketing
Is an Emmy winning writer/producer with over 20 years of experience working with clients such as NBC, Freeform, People, Time, Intel, eBay, and Western Digital. Her experience includes everything from hard-hitting investigative and human-interest stories, to EPKs, image campaigns, short-form documentaries, and event production. She’s a storyteller who is passionate about creating compelling messaging and event experiences that inspire action and grow community. As the daughter of an Air Force veteran who served for over 30 years, Operation Freedom Paws’ mission is near and dear to her heart. Pam first began working with Operation Freedom Paws in 2020 helping the team to pivot and develop virtual fundraising campaigns during the pandemic. She joined Operation Freedom Paws full time as a Director of Marketing in January of 2021. Pam is committed to expanding the reach of the non-profit’s mission and building valued relationships with corporate and individual supporters, sponsors, and donors that continue to empower lifesaving service dog teams.
Scott MacDougall
Director of Marketing
Scott MacDougall is a marketing professional with 25+ years of marketing and senior management experience, having a background in travel, marketing, sales, trade show and event logistics. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Scott’s goal has always been to help create a thriving local community through philanthropic and innovative experiences. Scott joined Operation Freedom Paws as a volunteer in early 2020 during the start of the Covid pandemic in hopes to help Operation Freedom Paws innovate into virtual events and fundraising. As the son of a Navy veteran and the son-in-law of an Air Force veteran, Operation Freedom Paws’ mission was near and dear to Scott’s heart and helping the veterans that proudly served our country was exactly what Scott hoped he could do in the nonprofit world. In 2021, Scott was hired on as the Director of Marketing at Operation Freedom Paws and now works with the marketing team in all aspects of marketing, events and fundraising.
Board of Directors
Mary Cortani
President & Executive Director of Operations
Mary is a US Army veteran and a certified Army Master Instructor of Canine Education, as well as an American Kennel Club Certified Canine Good Citizen© Evaluator. Mary has owned businesses in both information technology and dog training. As both a veteran and a dog expert, she is uniquely qualified to evaluate and match dogs with the veterans who need them. She draws on her extensive experience as a trainer of dogs for military operations, search and rescue to help each client with his/her unique situation.
Mary has accepted over 500 clients and their families into the Operation Freedom Paws program and rescued over 418 dogs who needed jobs. Mary has trained sentry, patrol, narcotics, explosive detection, and search and rescue dogs. Mary has been training service dogs for almost 14 years, has over 46 years of dog training experience, continues as an American Kennel Club K9 Good Citizen evaluator, and has won numerous awards since 2010. She has been named a 2023 California Cal Vet Trailblazer and Morgan Hill “Woman of the Year”, 2022 District 17 State of California Woman of the Year, and a 2012 CNN Top 10 Hero. Mary has further been recognized for the impact of her work with the Red Cross Clara Barton award, Coretta Scott King award, congressional and senate honors as well as KSBW local and national Jefferson awards.
Under her leadership, Operation Freedom Paws has been named the 2021 Gilroy Nonprofit of the Year, the 2024 Morgan Hill Nonprofit of the Year, and received the Purina Visible Impact Awards in both 2022 and 2023.
Mary started with one veteran, which was the beginning of Operation Freedom Paws.
Diane Jimenez
Secretary
Diane is the proud daughter of a U.S. Navy veteran who served 2-tours in Vietnam.
As a child, Diane couldn’t fully grasp what her father was living with as a combat veteran. She just knew he was sad when the darkness came. Eventually, he would reemerge and be himself again—until the next time he withdrew.
As an adult, it became clear to Diane that there was some correlation between the trauma he endured in Vietnam; and what we now know as PTSD. Looking back, she knows her father could have benefited from the services OFP is providing to veterans today. Her commitment to Operation Freedom Paws is rooted in the hope of helping his fellow veterans find the peace they truly deserve.
In 2011, Diane joined OFP as a civilian customer/volunteer and has been a Board Member since 2012. With over 20 years of experience working in Business Operations in High Tech, Diane is very excited to use her work experience, love of dogs, and sincere desire to honor her father’s memory by doing all she can in support of OFP’s mission.
Nicole Martinez
Treasurer
As the daughter of a retired career Marine who served in Vietnam and many tours overseas throughout his 23 year military career, Nicole understands the demands of having a father in the military and the impact of that service on the family unit. Nicole has 25 years of experience in Business & Technology Management and works for a Bay Area Cybersecurity company. Nicole is a founding Board Member of Operation Freedom Paws, serving in many roles over the years.
John Mark Wilson
Director
Raised in rural North Carolina and Georgia, John Mark developed an interest in pursuing a career in the military at a young age. This interest took him to the United States Military Academy at West Point where he earned a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army. During his twenty-four-year career, John Mark served in various postings across the world, including five deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. His final military assignment was at the White House, where he served on the National Security Council.
Since retiring from the Army, John Mark has started a new career in tech, currently serving as the head of strategy and communications at Applied Intuition’s Washington, DC office. John Mark and his wife Mona, a social worker serving in the Washington VA Medical Center, live in Arlington, Virginia.