Our Team
Chris Olinger - President of The Gwen Fund
I have been involved with animal welfare and rescue for much of my life—my earliest experiences dating back to cleaning kennels and walking dogs at the clinic where my grandma worked for 48 years! (Happy retirement, Grandma!) Since then, I have volunteered with rescue organizations in Ohio, served on the board of Directors for a lab rescue in Atlanta for 8 years and have fostered and rehomed many dogs – and a few cats.
My husband, Jonathan, and I live in Decatur, GA with our three pups. Grant (10) a foster failure from Atlanta Lab Rescue, Jackson (6) adopted from Atlanta Lab Rescue and Stevie (6 months) adopted from Great Pyrenees Rescue of Atlanta.
Contact: Chris@thegwenfund.org
Shelley Tokish - Board Member
I am an Atlanta native and have loved animals my entire life. I cemented that love in high school after taking a trip to Zoo Atlanta with my Fernbank Mammals class, in which I got to pet and feed a black rhino. I decided then and there that I wanted to work with animals.
I got degrees in Anthropology and Zoology from the University of Michigan and began my career as a zoo keeper at Zoo Atlanta. I’ve also worked at the San Diego Zoo. During my almost 2 decade long career I’ve worked with large mammals, small mammals, reptiles, and birds, including flying a hawk at the Atlanta Hawks games and a falcon at the Atlanta Falcons games. While I no longer work professionally with animals my passion continues through my work with The Gwen Fund.
My husband, Sean, our daughter, Nora, and I live in East Atlanta Village with our three rescue dogs. Pam, an 11 year old Chihuahua Dachshund mix, was adopted from the Atlanta Humane society. Leon, a 5 year old American bulldog mix, was rescued from a kill shelter. And Tommy, a 5 year old Black mouth cur, a foster fail from Lifeline.
Contact: Shelley@thegwenfund.org
Summer Edge Williams - Board Member
I have a wide range of experience in the non-profit sector with 20 years in development and marketing. I have joined The Gwen Fund knowing how important it is to help animals when they are in critical need. For the past 10 years, I have worked at Common Ground Montgomery as the Director of Development. I have two undergraduate degrees from the University of Tennessee in Communication and Spanish.
I have worked closely with Atlanta Lab Rescue, Bama Bully Rescue, Montgomery Humane Shelter, and have performed independent rescue efforts and foster failures. She lives in Montgomery, Alabama with her son, Ford, and their 3 spoiled dogs - 2 blue nose pit bulls and 1 lab mix - all of which are rescues.