At Whisker Mountain, Everything Starts With Our Heroes, Our Volunteers, Our Communities!
Our KIND core values shape Whisker Mountain’s True North:
- Kindness for all: Universal approach to empathy and compassion
- Idealists who believe we achieve more together: Power of collaboration
- Nurture bonds between animals and people: Foster connections and stewardship
- Dedicated to community centered progress: Focus on positive changes
Whisker Mountain’s grass roots beginnings started when the pandemic was in full swing. Today, we are a non-profit led by animal welfare advocates ranging from AZ, CA, TX, and WY who share the passion for saving lives.
How it Started
It all started when the Koller’s relocated their growing Family to an area where dozens of community cats lived amongst a network of caretakers who provided food, water, shelter, fostering and advocacy.
Shortly after moving into the historic neighborhood, the Koller’s youngest daughter rescued five kittens from a brush pile next to their house. Instinctively, Ariana knew the risks of the busy streets and barking dogs and gathered up the kittens while her parents, Michael and Katina, were trying to find resources to provide advice.
After Ari took immediate action, the Koller’s understood that they would need to figure things out as they went and follow their hearts and rescue instincts, too.
How "One Tail at a Time Rescue" was born.
Realizing that together they can have more impact, Whisker Mountain: One Tail at a Time rescue was born.
Soon after the rescue of the ‘brush pile gang’, a chance encounter with a dedicated caretaker named Jennifer, expanded an established caretaker alliance between Jennifer, Jan and now the Koller’s.
Jennifer educated Katina and the Koller Family on the neighborhood cats, their personalities, and their safe havens.
Bonding over commitment to cats, Jennifer introduced Katina to Jan, Jennifer’s alliance co-founder, who fosters dozens amongst her feline residents that are rescued and sometimes special needs.
The exchange of encouragement (asking the angels and Bob Marley) and love grew as the friends and neighbors rallied together to foster and save as many lives as they could.
While navigating the care of two special needs kittens, Katina serendipitously met veterinarian Dr. Amy and the two exchanged their passion for animals and built on the alliance’s plans for TNVR.
Wherever there is a need, these rescuers and their families worked together to find solutions for animals.
Together, Jennifer, Dr. Amy, Jan and the Koller Family, along with many community members, caregivers and the shelter have TNVR’d hundreds of cats and fostered hundreds of kittens. Believing they can affect positive change, even when faced with the most challenging conditions, this grass-roots rescue has answered the call to save animals.
When a nearby animal hoarder was desperately in need of help to TNVR hundreds of cats and rescue and foster hundreds of kittens, this rescue team responded and forged their mission: “One Tail at a Time”.
Whisker Mountain Board Members
Katina Koller, President
Committed to philanthropy, Katina and her family dedicate their efforts to many notable animal rescue non-profit causes in addition to Whisker Mountain and Board service with Park County Animal Shelter, Board service with Literacy Connects (former Member), Youth On Their Own (former Member) and StartUp Tucson (former Member). As a Commercialization Partner (former) with the University of Arizona: Tech Launch Arizona and an I-Corps Business Mentor thru the National Science Foundation program, Katina continues her mission-driven theme.
Katina Koller—former Chairwoman, CEO and owner—and the Teams she led have been recognized for many awards including the INC 5000 list as one of the fastest growing privately-held companies in America for two consecutive years.
She is a servant leader, optimizing enterprises, teams, personnel and processes to achieve strong and sustainable financial performance while aligning with culture, values and vision. Driven by her purpose to help her clients achieve their highest level of contribution and achieve the best version of their life, Katina lends her operational experience to a wide range of talent from C-suite to executives to multi-generational organizations to PE backed, to early-stage companies.
Building on improvement and service, Katina is a Professional Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS™) Implementer. She works with a variety of growing companies in B2B and B2C fields of retail, service, product, technology, manufacturing and non-profits. Katina also facilitates peer-to-peer advisory groups on the Chief Executive and Key Executive levels as a Vistage Chair and Strategic Advisor. She is also the Vistage Best Practice Chair for the state of Arizona.
Greg Chambers
Greg Chambers is an ex-tech executive turned California winemaker who has resided in Sedona for the past several years with his wife Nancy and their Border Collie Kiva. Both he and Nancy share a love for animals, and at one point in their lives cared for two barn cats, their dog, and 30 Spanish goats. An avid outdoorsmen and traveler, they both share the need for taking care of our four-legged friends who can’t take care of themselves.
Mr. Chambers past experience was with both Silicon Valley start-ups and publicly traded companies in marketing and finance. In his 35 years senior management experience with companies like Logitech, Fujitsu and Acer, he has been responsible for global marketing, logistics, mergers and acquisitions and managing multi-million-dollar budgets. The results of this experience have provided him with the ability to grow global companies from millions to billions. He has been the contributing factor in establishing global brands in Europe and Asia. Mr. Chambers was also on the Board of GC Hopkins, a Wine and Spirits start-up and S3, a logistics technology company. After leaving tech, he and his wife Nancy built a private wine business that was sold several years ago to an investment group.
Greg has taken his knowledge and experience to help organizations achieve their goals. He has been on Cross Creek Ranch’s Board for the past 7 years and was on Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley Winegrowers Board as President for 2 years and Treasurer for 4.
Greg holds a BS from Cal Poly State University and a Masters degree from the University of Southern California.
Shelby Clark Zepeda
Shelby Clark Zepeda is a seasoned human capital leader, who along with her husband Manuel, their Dachshund Quigley and rescue kitty Bruno, split their time between Sedona and Dallas.
Shelby has more than 25 years of experience driving organizational success through innovative talent strategies, leadership development, and cultural transformation in global settings. As Chief People Officer (CPO) at Aligned Data Centers, Shelby is responsible for aligning Aligned’s global workforce strategy with its business objectives, ensuring the company attracts, retains, and develops top industry talent while fostering an inclusive and high-performance environment.
Shelby is an active member of the Women’s Tech Forum, focusing on helping women and diverse groups reach their full potential, and assisting organizations in attracting and retaining diverse talent. She is also a founding member of the Aligned Women initiative at Aligned Data Centers, which focuses on creating a community that supports, develops, and connects women to the tech and data center industries, promoting career development and intellectual growth.
Shelby has served on the Board of several Non-Profits, including Hunger Busters, a Dallas based charity focused on providing a much-needed third meal of the day to food insecure children in the Dallas Independent School District, and the St. Louis chapter of Swim Across America. She is a stroke survivor, and volunteers by speaking with stroke victims to provide them with the support they need during their recovery. She and her husband are also avid supporters of Dallas SPCA, Humane Society of the United States, and Farm Animal Refuge in San Diego.
Manuel Zepeda
Manuel Zepeda is a seasoned global executive with over three decades of experience leading business transformation, operational scaling, growth strategy, and international expansion in the technology and telecommunications sectors. As CEO of Spirent Communications China and EVP of Global Sales & Services, he led a global operational overhaul—driving over 8% revenue growth, scaling cross-regional teams by 25%, and doubling the services backlog by shifting the company from a traditional tech provider to a solution-led, customer-focused enterprise.
Zepeda brings deep boardroom-relevant expertise in global operations, go-to-market execution, organizational design, and M&A due diligence. He has a proven track record of optimizing cost structures while enabling innovation and top-line growth. At Amdocs Inc., as Division President for the Caribbean & Latin America, he delivered 25% CAGR, led a 2,500+ person organization, and was a key member of the executive team responsible for acquisition strategy and integration planning. He spearheaded transformational deals, including a $2.4 billion contract with Sprint, reflecting his ability to align strategic partnerships with long-term enterprise value.
A HITEC 50 honoree and fluent Spanish speaker, Zepeda studied economics at UT Dallas and SMU and executive education in AI from Northwestern Kellogg School of Management. He has nonprofit board experience through United Way.
Nancy Chambers - Volunteer
During Nancy’s childhood in Guam, she frequently brought home stray animals, including dogs, cats, turtles, rabbits, and even a rooster with one eye. Her mother accepted this without issue. Nancy’s interest and dedication to animals is the reason for her desire to start and be a part of Whisker Mountain.
Her background took her from Silicon Valley’s high-tech industry, to establishing a winery and learning the process of wine production in Healdsburg with her husband Greg. Having over 30 Spanish goats on the property, along with barn cats and their Border Collie Kiva.
Starting Whisker Mountain sanctuary is Nancy’s lifelong dream to help save animals that have been abandoned and neglected through no fault of their own. A place where they will receive the love, attention, and care to thrive.
Sharon Penchina - Volunteer
A lifelong animal lover, Sharon has cared for a variety of pets and now volunteers at the Humane Society of Sedona, using social media to help homeless dogs find homes.
Before moving to Sedona, she was Director of Sales/Marketing at a multi-office insurance firm and previously owned a successful jewelry store in New York. She’s also the author of an award-winning children’s book series and now spends time pursuing her passions—animal advocacy and pottery.
Her superpower is making connections and thinking outside the box.