Meet Our Executive Director
Erika Pratte / Executive Director
Erika has a devotion to animal welfare and working with community members to help keep pets with their families. Innately organized and always seeking improvement opportunities, Erika leverages her personal strengths to help create a bigger and better future for Partners for Pets and the animals who need the organization most. Born an animal lover and raised in Madison County, IL, Erika recognized and appreciated Partners for Pets' dedication to the community and has aligned herself with the organization for almost a decade.
Partners for Pets Board of Directors
Mandy Marquis / Board President / HR Committee
Mandy is the owner of Secure Insurance and Financial Services and proud mother of two daughters. For
the past twenty years, Mandy has been involved in animal rescue in Madison County and serves as both a
foster and the Partners for Pets foster cat coordinator. Mandy is also on the board of Mercy Hospital and
works to raise awareness for blood donations.
Elena Graber / Treasurer / HR & Finance Committee
For the past four years Elena has been invested in fostering both cats and dogs for Partners for Pets. In addition, Elena has created significant fundraising programs with local businesses including the St. Louis Cardinals. As the co- founder of Sterilization Nation, Elena has also made an enormous TNR impact in St. Clair County. Outside of animal rescue, Elena works as an accountant with a public accounting firm and spends her free time with family and pets.
Julie Fleck / Board Member
Julie has lived in Edwardsville since 2000 and is a Realtor/Broker with Remax Alliance. Also, as the recipient of the Remax Lifetime Achievement award, Julie has been recognized for her charitable acts in and around the GlenEd communities. Julie is proud to be a board member for Partners 4 Pets and loves to help with fundraising projects and fostering senior dogs. Serving on the board of Restore Decor is another way Julie gives back to her community. As the mother of three grown children, twin sons and a daughter, Julie spends her free time with family and friends.
Patty Barney / Board Member / HR Committee
Patty earned her BS at University of West Florida and is also a graduate of Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville’s MPA program. With a concentration in nonprofit organization, Patty has long been involved
in community projects, especially those centered around children and pets. For over a decade, Patty has
occupied numerous Partners for Pets volunteer positions from board activity to fundraising to fostering.
Advocating to give abandoned pets a second chance is truly one of her greatest passions.
Kathleen Nolan / Board Member
Kathleen lives Alton with her two pit-mix pups, Axl and Basil, and two cats, Mumford and Doctor Whiskers.
Kathleen works in the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office and heads the child abuse and sexual assault
division. In Kathleen’s free time, she enjoys traveling to new places and eating new things. Kathleen has always
had a passion for animal rescue, the ethical treatment of animals and she is excited to be a part of Partners for
Pets.
Katie Mondy Hughes / Vice President / HR Committee
Katie has enjoyed volunteering with Partners for Pets in various capacities for over ten years. Katie holds a BA in
Music Performance and Spanish from the University of Iowa, an MA in Management and Leadership from Webster University, and is a certified Project Manager. Katie currently works in supply chain in the life sciences industry and enjoys caring for her two dogs and two cats, as well as a community of cats in her metro east neighborhood.
Kea Baker / Board Member
Kea is a mother, pet mom and a realtor-partner in the Big River Realty group with Keller Williams Marquee. As board secretary, Kea serves Rebuilding Together Southwestern Illinois working with
homeowners to ensure safe and healthy housing including handicap accessibility for disabled veterans. When not working or volunteering, Kea loves spending time with her family both human,
furry and feathered. Mom to a 13-year-old son, Kea loves watching him play baseball. Over the years, Kea and her husband have adopted multiple furry babies. Kea has recently added ten chickens
which has been a new experience, but lots of fun. Animals are one of Kea’s passion and she is excited to be involved in helping animals find loving forever homes.
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Kate Vernor/ Board Member
Kate graduated with a BA in Psychology from the University of Illinois Springfield and an MA in Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She has worked professionally in the IT industry for close to 15 years and owns her own web design and IT consulting business in Wentzville, Missouri. Kate is also a yoga instructor and has been teaching for almost a decade. Kate started fostering cats and kittens for Partners for Pets in December 2020 after losing her beloved dog, Gizmo, and joined the board in January 2022. Kate continues to foster and loves all animals, but especially her sweet pups, Ollie and Smitty, and her crazy cats Sophie, Marge, and Violet.
Dr. David Hall / Board Member
David graduated from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine in 1987 and started his career as an associate veterinarian at Creekwood Animal Hospital (CAH) in Collinsville. In 1989 David bought a small animal practice in Quincy, Il where he worked until 1993 when he returned to CAH. In 1999 David bought CAH and renamed it Horseshoe Lake Animal Hospital, where David has practiced until his retirement in 2021. David also served as the Madison County Animal Control
Administrator from 1993 until 2016. In these various capacities David has worked closely with numerous humane organizations throughout his career. David is married to Kathy Hall and they have three grown children, Tristan, Rhiannon, and Dylan, and a daughter-in-law, Sam. David and
Kathy currently share their home with their cats Oliver and Vienna, as well as their dogs Olive and Dexter. David is a musician (guitar, drums) and an avid pro sports fan. David’s favorite activities include traveling, biking, and drinking wine and he plans to do a lot more of these activities now that
he is retired!
