The Humane Society of the United States competitors

Following her magna cum laude graduation from Southern Utah University, Julie Castle and some friends made a brief stop at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary while on vacation in the mid-90’s. Forever transformed, Julie decided to forgo a career in law for a low-paying, high-demand job working in a remote Utah canyon helping animals in need. As employee number 17 at Best Friends Animal Society, Julie worked her way up the ranks to become the organization’s first female CEO in March 2018. In between she helped build the organization into a $130M, 800-employee strong national leader in animal welfare. Julie started her tenure as CEO with the bold commitment to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters by the year 2025. Prior to her CEO role, Julie served as Best Friends’ Chief Development & Marketing Officer, doubling the organization’s revenue and support within a four-year span. Under her leadership, Best Friends earned the Harris Poll EquiTrend “Non-Profit Brand of the Year” four times, including most recently in 2018. Julie has championed the concept of multiple non-profit organizations, private and public municipalities and the corporate foundation sector putting aside competitive interests and joining forces to publicly tackle a shared social problem. Named by InStyle magazine as one of the “Badass 50 Women Changing the World” in August, 2018, Julie has spoken at TedX in Salt Lake City, Columbia Business School, the BUILD Series in NYC, and headlines the closing session at the Best Friends National Conference every year. Julie lives with her husband Gregory Castle, a Best Friends’ founder and CEO-emeritus, and their two dogs in Kanab, Utah.

Diane Regas is Senior Vice President for Programs at Environmental Defense Fund, where she is responsible for providing overall vision, strategy and leadership for current and new program development.Prior to joining EDF in 2006, Diane spent 20 years developing and supporting scientifically sound responses to environmental challenges at Environmental Protection Agency. Today, her extensive management and policy experience is driving success throughout all of EDF’s programmatic efforts in the United States and beyond. The solutions EDF seeks require a commitment to strong science and bi-partisan solutions, both of which Diane has demonstrated time and again throughout her career. As a senior policy analyst for President Clinton, she advised the president, through the Domestic Policy Advisor on environmental and natural resource issues. Award-winning work protecting and strengthening our rivers, lakes, bays and oceans defined her tenure at EPA, and she also chaired President George W. Bush’s interagency task force on Oceans. She’s been equally productive at EDF. Among numerous accomplishments, thanks to Diane’s teams and their partners, protecting one of the largest ocean areas in history—more than 195,000 square miles—bigger than the state of California; and one out of two fish caught in U.S. waters is from a catch share-style fishery.With the unmatched expertise EDF staff bring to all of our program areas, she’s confident that even greater successes are yet to come. Prior to joining EDF, Diane spent 20 years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where she served during four presidential administrations in some of the agency's highest positions, including Deputy Assistant Administrator.Her EPA accomplishments included: receiving the Presidential Rank Award for ''exceptional long-term accomplishments,'' and leading a path-breaking monitoring strategy, establishing the first-ever scientifically valid national report card on fresh water quality. Diane is a member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar and California Bar.Diane received her BA in history, her MS in environmental science and her JD at the University of California at Berkeley. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including one of the most prestigious, the Presidential Rank Award.

Adam Vanek is the chief executive officer of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Throughout his career, he has built a portfolio of transformational achievements in private, public and nonprofit corporations. He has extensive nonprofit experience, previously serving as National General Counsel for MADD and, more recently, Susan G. Komen in Dallas. During his previous tenure at MADD, from 2011 to 2017, Vanek led efforts to overhaul many core practices, policies and procedures. He also played a high-profile role in strengthening MADD’s public image and influence, helping further MADD’s mission through legal advocacy, jurisprudence and serving as legal expert in drunk driving and traffic safety. A motivational, results-driven leader who seeks the best in his team, as well as himself, Vanek is known for his practical legal mind and sharp business acumen, tearing down department silos and uniting staff to achieve shared goals. He is a graduate of Wake Forest Law School, where he served on the Honors and Ethics Board. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas A&M University, where he was named a College of Business Administration Fellow and awarded the Buck Weirus Spirit Award for student service. Vanek is licensed to practice law in Texas and Washington, D.C. He worked in private practice for almost 13 years before joining MADD in 2011. Beyond his career achievements, Vanek is committed to community service. He is a member of the North Texas Crime Commission, Dallas Bar Association, Leadership Dallas Alumni Association and the Dallas Junior Chamber of Commerce Foundation. He has also served as national legal counsel and board member of the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce, and as president and board member of both the Texas Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Dallas Junior Chamber of Commerce. Vanek lives with his wife and four children in Dallas, where they are active members of Trinity Church.