Our Staff

WILMA MELVILLE: FOUNDER

A retired Physical Education instructor and grandmother of six, Wilma was one of the FEMA-Certified Canine Search Specialists deployed to the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995. Convinced that America needed more highly trained teams to respond to disasters, she founded the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) to address this gap in our nation’s disaster response network. She partnered with renowned dog trainer Pluis Davern, and together they created a new methodology for training Search Dogs. Still active within the Foundation, Wilma serves as the Chair of the Program Committee and is involved with the planning of the National Training Center. In 2007 Wilma revisited one of her former passions: flying her experimental airplane, an RV10, out of her hangar at Santa Paula Airport.

DEBRA TOSCH - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

With 15 years of experience in Search and Rescue, Debra Tosch served as a FEMA-Certified Canine Search Specialist with her SDF-trained Search Dog Abby (Wilma’s dog Murphy’s pup) as a part of California Task Force 1. She was deployed to the World Trade Center on 9/11, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the La Conchita mudslide near Santa Barbara as well as other urban and wilderness emergencies, all while acting as SDF Program Director. In 2005, Debra retired from active service to succeed Wilma as SDF’s Executive Director. She currently serves on the FEMA Canine Sub-Group and is a FEMA Search Team Testing Evaluator.

DENISE SANDERS: PROGRAM SUPERVISOR

After receiving her degree in Telecommunications/Broadcast Journalism from Pepperdine University, Denise decided TV news was not her true calling. She worked as a Communications Dispatcher with the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department between September 2003 and August 2008, where she came to realize her heart was in public service. After deciding her efforts were best used in the nonprofit sector, Denise joined SDF’s staff in September 2008. As Program Supervisor, Denise is responsible for overseeing the Search Team benefits program, the Canine Training program, Search Team case management, the Lifetime Care program, FEMA documentation and SDF training events.

SERENITY NICHOLS: EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Serenity holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice from San Diego State University and served as an Executive Assistant to the Port of San Diego’s Police Chief for six years. Serenity has a passion for helping people and animals and enjoys working for an organization whose mission aligns with her personal values and mission. Serenity is responsible for assisting the Executive Director, maintaining the organization’s financial and human resources programs, and liaison for the National Training Center project and Board of Directors.

KATE HORWICK: PROGRAM MANAGER

Kate began working in the nonprofit sector in 1995 at the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2003, she earned an MBA in Project Management at Colorado Technical University. Kate returned to Ojai and joined the Program Team at SDF in January 2011. Kate oversees SDF’s canine recruitment and training and the Lifetime Care program.

REVA FERGUSON: OPERATIONS MANAGER

Originally from Asheville, North Carolina, Reva is a gemologist and jewelry designer by trade. Reva moved to California in 2005 to complete her gemologist certification at GIA in San Diego. After working in the jewelry business in Los Angeles for six years, Reva moved to Ojai, joining the SDF staff in March of 2011. She utilizes her expertise in customer service and business administration to manage SDF’s daily operations and also coordinates our volunteer program. Fueled by her passion for animals and desire to be of service to society, Reva has found her home here at the Search Dog Foundation.

SONJA HERITAGE: SDF CANINE TRAINER

Sonja joined the SDF Training Team in 2012 after serving for 15 years with the Fairfax County Urban Search & Rescue Team in Virginia. As a FEMA instructor, trainer and handler, Sonja brings a wealth of experience to SDF. Her numerous deployments to national and international disasters include the U.S. Embassy bombing in Kenya, the earthquakes in Turkey and Taiwan in 1999, the 2001 Pentagon attack, the Space Shuttle Columbia explosion, Hurricane Katrina, and the Haiti earthquake. Sonja is now training new Search Dog candidates at our Southern California training kennel and overseeing Search Teams training, locally and nationally.

JANET REINECK, PH.D. - DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

An anthropologist by trade with a PhD from UC Berkeley, Janet lived in Kosovo for eight years, conducting research and coordinating community development programs for Oxfam, International Rescue Committee and George Soros’ Open Society Foundation. She returned to the U.S. in 1997 just before the war broke out in Kosovo and became the fundraiser for Direct Relief International, a Santa Barbara-based medical aid organization. As SDF’s Director of Development since 2002, she is responsible for a $1,560,000 operating budget and oversees the Estate and Sponsor programs, media relations, publications and national outreach, as well as the National Training Center Campaign.

LYZ GREGORY: SDF CANINE TRAINER

Lyz began her animal career at Magic Mountain's Animal Farm in 1998 as an animal care attendant. In 1999, she attended the Exotic Animal Training and Management program at Moorpark College. Since graduating in 2001, she has utilized her skills in animal care and management to tend to numerous species of animals, working as a zookeeper and veterinary technician. Lyz joined SDF as a Canine Recruiter in 2010, and now as a Canine Trainer, training with both Search Dog candidates and Lifetime Care dogs awaiting their forever homes.

RHETT MAUCK: DEVELOPMENT AND ESTATE MANAGER

Rhett graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in English Literature and a secondary education teaching credential. After four years of restaurant consulting and internal auditing, Rhett felt the need to get into an organization that deals with his true passion: rescuing dogs. In December 2009, he joined the Search Dog Foundation as the Development and Estate Manager, overseeing the SDF database, income processing and donor relations.

SHARON HANZELKA: SDF CANINE TRAINER

Sharon grew up working on a cattle ranch in the coast range hills of California. She was introduced to SDF in 2004, as a volunteer, and then hired as a trainer for SDF in 2006. Sharon travels throughout the country and works with new and existing SDF fire fighter/handler teams, educating them on how to work through any training issues with their new canine partners.

CELESTE MATESEVAC: COMMUNITY RELATIONS MANAGER

After leaving a corporate career with Southern California Edison, Celeste moved to Ojai. After working with nonprofits for eight years in the Ojai area, she joined the SDF team. As the Community Relations Manager, she works with corporations, sponsors, and estate guardians, as well as community groups throughout the country.

PLUIS DAVERN: LEAD CANINE TRAINER

A well-known figure in the canine coaching community and AKC-approved judge, Pluis has accrued 45 years of dog training experience including obedience, field trials, agility, and search and rescue. In 1995 she began working with Wilma Melville to train Search Teams for SDF at her Gilroy, CA kennel. Says Pluis: "The world of dogs has given me lifelong friendships around the world, entrance into every imaginable venue (since the love of our K9's is universal) and a career that continues to intrigue, delight and get me out of bed with the greatest anticipation each and every day." Pluis was honored as both 2011 American Kennel Club Breeder of the Year and 2011 Trainer of the Year by Dog Fancy.

CLARE E. BLAND: FOUNDATION RELATIONS MANAGER

Clare completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Leeds, and a Master of Science degree from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom before relocating to the United States. Clare has 20 years of project management, fundraising and grant writing experience, first in the private sector, then in the nonprofit sector beginning in 2000. She has developed funds for a major medical center, a state university, and an animal shelter and advocacy group in Washington State. She relocated from Seattle to California in early 2008 to join the SDF team, which combines her love for mission-based nonprofit work, animal welfare, and rescued dogs.

HEIDI MILLER: CANINE RECRUITER

Heidi is a 14-year volunteer in the Labrador Retriever Rescue community on the Central Coast. She has a long affiliation with SDF and her efforts have turned a number of rescued dogs into rescuers for SDF. Heidi joined SDF in 2010 as a Canine Recruiter, responsible for locating, evaluating and transporting potential Search Dog candidates from shelters and breed rescues throughout California and beyond.

JOAN MORLEY: DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

After earning a B.A. in English Literature and an M.B.A. from UCLA, Joan worked in corporate finance for several years. She relocated to Ojai and founded a company that helped small business clients in the areas of finance, accounting, and marketing for more than 15 .years. In 2010, following the promptings of heart and spirit, Joan signed up as a volunteer at SDF and soon after accepted a full-time staff position. Joan is a happy member of the SDF team, assisting with grants, media, income processing, and communications.