PAWS Officers and Directors

Pat Derby
Founder, President
Pat Derby’s advocacy for animals developed more than 35 years ago when she began working with captive wildlife in movies and television commercials.  While working on television series such as Gunsmoke, Lassie, Daktari, and Flipper, she witnessed the neglect and abuse prevalent in animal training.  Determined to initiate better standards of care and handling for performing animals, Pat chronicled her adventures in a Book-of-the-Month Club autobiography, The Lady and Her Tiger.  The first exposé of the treatment of performing animals, The Lady and Her Tiger won an American Library Association Award in 1976. More»

Ed Stewart                                                                                       Cofounder, Secretary Treasurer

After graduating from the University of Tennessee’s College of Communications, Ed Stewart worked in marketing and advertising until he met Pat Derby in 1976 when he managed the Auto Show in Cleveland,Ohio. Pat Derby was the national representative for Lincoln Mercury and trainer of the live cougars used in the car commercials. Ed joined Pat as a representative for Lincoln Mercury at national auto shows and later became book promotions coordinator for the national book tour of The Lady and Her Tiger. 

In 1978 he and Ms. Derby opened and operated the Howling Wolf Lodge and Wild Animal Sanctuary in Leggett, California. Ed soon became involved with captive wildlife management and quickly developed his skills in design and construction of large-animal enclosures. He also became a tireless advocate for animal welfare at the California State Legislature and the Department of Fish and Game – working to ensure better care for exotic animals for entertainment.

In 1984 Mr. Stewart and Ms. Derby founded the Performing Animal Welfare Society -- PAWS.   As leaders of PAWS, they introduced legislation to set higher standards for the care and handling of captive wildlife.  The bill was signed into law in 1985. More»

Ed Minghelli
Chief Financial Officer / Treasurer
Mr. Minghelli has been on the PAWS Board for nearly a decade. Utilizing his skills as a financial planner, his strategic approach to organizational development has been instrumental to PAWS’ recent growth and for plans for future funding and long-range financial viability. His executive oversight provides important leadership to the organization.

Carol Haft
1st Vice President
Carol retired in 2005 from the California Department of Justice after 28 years of public service – where she served as an Administrator. Prior to her appointment as Administrator, she was a Latent Print Analyst – processing crime scene fingerprints for law enforcement agencies throughout the state and for the US Treasury Department and the US Immigration and Naturalization Service. Carol has testified as an expert witness in criminal cases in Superior Court for the State of California.

For nearly 2 decades, Carol has been actively involved with PAWS as a volunteer and currently as a member of the board.

Juli Gumbiner
2nd Vice President
A PAWS volunteer since 2004, Juli Gumbiner joined the Board of Directors in 2005. In addition to her work on the PAWS board, Juli also serves as an Animal Care and Stranding Rescue volunteer at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California and supports a variety of other animal welfare organizations.

Juli works for PDI/DreamWorks Animation SKG, where her team is responsible for the continuous operation of several thousand computers working in concert to generate some of DreamWorks' most beloved animated films. Her past technology career includes roles as Manager of the Service Operations Center at Microsoft's WebTV Networks, Director of Network Operations at Healtheon/WebMD and Systems Administrator at the University of California, Berkeley's Western Consortium for Public Health. She attended the University of Iowa and the New College of California.