San Diego Humane Society CEO and leadership

Michael Lowry is a SVP & CFO at San Diego Humane Society.

After a successful career in law enforcement, Bill relocated to San Diego from New Hampshire as San Diego Humane Society’s administrative captain of Humane Law Enforcement in June 2018 before he was promoted to chief in October 2019.

Prior to this, he served with the Salem New Hampshire Police Department for 22 years where he worked his way up through the ranks to the position of deputy chief. He was selected to work as an undercover investigator with the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Drug Task Force Unit and participated in all facets of felony drug investigations. He was later responsible for managing various units within the police department, which included animal control. He served as a member of the department’s honor guard.

Bill earned a bachelor’s in political science from the University of New Hampshire and completed graduate coursework in public administration. He also has completed several law enforcement and leadership programs, including the New England Institute of Law Enforcement Management’s Command Training Program at Babson College, Massachusetts Police Leadership Institute at the University of Massachusetts, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Drug Unit Commander Academy and the inaugural class of Leadership Greater Salem.

He has held leadership roles with a number of nonprofit boards and organizations such as The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salem; Greater Salem Council Against Domestic and Family Violence; Kiwanis Club; Knights of Columbus; Rockingham County Law Enforcement Officers Association; and the New Hampshire Police Association.

Brian Daugherty is a Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer at San Diego Humane Society. He attended the University of San Diego and the University of South Florida.

With an extensive background leading shelter operations, Jessica embodies the culture of care and compassion for which San Diego Humane Society stands.

Jessica is responsible for overseeing campus operations in San Diego, El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside and Ramona as well as the Behavior Center, Rescue, Project Wildlife and Shelter Medicine. Her leadership is crucial to ensuring that both companion animals and wildlife receive the continuity of care they need.

Earlier in her career, Jessica worked for a decade in a private veterinary medicine practice in Arizona, where she worked her way up to hospital manager. She returned to her hometown of San Diego in 2011 to be the hospital administrator at San Diego Humane Society. She has held various positions within the organization, including senior director of the San Diego Campus and vice president of animal welfare.

Jessica graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s in communications.

As chief medical officer, Dr. Zarah Hedge oversees a team 15+ veterinarians who provide lifesaving specialized surgeries, progressive treatments and long-term care and rehabilitation for animal patients in the care of San Diego Humane Society. The Medical Department offers medical examinations, vaccinations, microchipping, diagnostic testing and dental procedures. The program is also equipped to treat animals with allergies, heart problems, basic orthopedic conditions and other injuries. San Diego Humane Society also performs more than 17,000 spay and neuter procedures each year, many at low or no cost. The organization’s Pilar & Chuck Bahde Center for Shelter Medicine includes a pharmacy, evaluation and treatment areas, isolation ward, surgery suite, dental suite and recovery room.

Certified veterinarians in the field of shelter medicine remain quite limited. Zarah is one of fewer than 30 veterinarians in the world who hold the distinction of being certified in shelter medicine by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners. She brings more than a decade of experience and is a graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, where she was also an assistant professor after graduating.

Most recently, Zarah worked as hospital director at WesternU Spay/Neuter Center in Van Nuys. She also continues to serve as a reserve field veterinarian for Rural Area Veterinary Services, a program of The Fund for Animals. Four weeks per year, she travels to provide direct veterinary care to Native American reservations, including spay/neuter surgeries and preventive services.