Ries is so happy to be back in animal welfare work after seven years in other community betterment organizations. She has a bachelors degree in Animal Science and Microbiology from Iowa State University and has worked at the Animal Humane Society and the ASPCA. She leads HSNEI ensuring that we are a trusted resource to provide temporary shelter for animals waiting to find forever homes. In her words, "This is my passion, the mission is so dear to my heart." She uses her people care and organizational culture skills to build and maintain a high functioning team that is dedicated to exceptional animal care and genuine engagement with community members. She is a workaholic but also makes time for gardening, kayaking, and spending time with friends and their animal kids. The human kids are pretty cool too, especially her two grown daughters and young grandchildren. She and her husband enjoy having friends and their dogs over for bonfires and outdoor movies. Also living on the estate (a small acreage) are Beylix (a 140 lbs dog), 10 cats (the calico has claimed her husband but Ries is only a little jealous), 3 chickens, and two horses. She grows, preserves, and shares much of her family's food. She aims to serve and eat as much farm to table food as possible and is a customer of the many wonderful market farmers we have in our region. Ries is grateful for the generosity of this community that supports the important work HSNEI does every day.

Sarah has been involved with HSNEI for years through fostering or bringing in stray cats. She has always wanted to help animals on a bigger scale and working at HSNEI makes that possible. At home, her house is full, with a dog, three cats, multiple foster kittens, a tortoise and two kids who are also animal lovers. She enjoys living in Decorah where she loves hiking with her dog, Rosie, exploring and being an amateur paleontologist. When not busy taking care of animals or kids, she enjoys reading, knitting and spending time with family.

Brian is recently retired after 31 years with ISU Extension. He has had pets throughout his life, with the most recent being a cat adopted a few years ago from HSNEI. Now with retirement, Brian looks forward to spending some of that time working at the shelter helping critters find their forever homes.

Evan grew up on an acreage near Vinton, Ia. where he spent countless hours fishing and hunting with his best friend, Bonnie, a Golden Retriever - Black Lab mix. He moved to the area 14 years ago and recently retired from golf course maintenance. He has an Associates Degree in Parks and Natural Resources and enjoys spending time outside on trails and in parks with his best friend, Tonka, a Boxer - Bully mix rescue. He has always felt animals are an amazing blessing and am excited about being able to spend time at HSNEI and help care for the critters there.

Andrea grew up on a farm with lots of cows, pigs, a few chickens, cats, and 2 dogs. The animals were their best friends and source of inspiration for art and stories. These days Andrea still makes art and writes (including poems at the farmers market on a few occasions), with fancy rats being another frequent muse. Andrea has lived in Decorah since 2011 and is a trusted pet sitter for clients with dogs, cats, and other animals. Andrea is happy to be giving care and socialization to all the cats and dogs at HSNEI and giving them the best quality of life possible.

Grace currently lives in Waukon, Iowa with her small lap dog and her cat she adopted in 2022 from HSNEI. Growing up, Grace always had a love for animals, small and large, and was happy to care for them. A recent graduate from the Northeast Iowa Community College(NICC) with her Associate Degree in General Education, Grace is currently deciding what she would like to go back to school for to continue her future career goals and plans. Grace is deciding between a couple of majors, one of the major’s she is interested in is becoming a Vet Tech, so she is eager to have the opportunity to work with the animals at HSNEI. She is also very thankful for the experiences and the amazing staff members at HSNEI. She is delighted to be able to dedicate her time with each animal as much as possible so they are ready to go to a loving home!