Meet the Team

Ashley Colglazier

Shelter Manager

Email Ashley: AMalone@mcpaws.org

Ashley joined MCPAWS team in August of 2021, and moved into the Shelter Manager position in February of 2023. Ashley has a wide range of experience, but has found her real passion to be working and helping animals in her community. Ashley and her husband Brandon share their home in McCall with their three dogs (Duke, Mira, and Fred Bear) and two cats (Cat and Toast) with two being MCPAWS rescues.

In her free time Ashley enjoys going into the woods shed hunting, foraging for morels and huckleberries, and hiking in the backcountry. She also loves to just snuggle up with her pets and read a good book or watch a movie

Alex Lott

Shelter Assistant Manager

Email Alex: ALott@mcpaws.org

Alex began at MCPAWS in February 2020. She found a passion for learning shelter medicine and technique by working and volunteering at animal shelters in the area. Before coming to McCall, Alex studied Biology at Boise State University and is on her way to becoming a certified veterinary technician. She wants to work for animal shelters for as long as possible!

Carolyn Walpole and Katharina Van Wyk

Front Desk Ambassadors

frontdesk@mcpaws.org

Jessica Sylvia-Clarno, Ariana Ellcey, and Kaytii Brill

Animal Care Technicians

Administrative Team

Amber Kostoff

Executive Director

Email Amber: AKostoff@mcpaws.org

Amber Kostoff began volunteering at MCPAWS in 2010. As a volunteer, Amber was able to fully appreciate the vital role that MCPAWS plays within the Valley County community. It was always especially satisfying for her to witness the many happy endings MCPAWS makes possible for animals in need.  Amber made the transition from volunteer to staff in 2014, and served as the Shelter Manager. In 2017, Amber stepped into the role of Executive Director.

Amber is an avid outdoorsperson and supporter of wilderness and wild places. Before joining the MCPAWS team professionally, she was employed in Recreation and Wilderness Management on the Payette National Forest since 2001. She received her B.A. in Political Science from Utah State University in 2004 and her M.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Idaho in 2013. Amber lives in Lakefork, ID with her husband Patrick and their MCPAWS rescue dogs, Ramey, Warren and Tootsie.

Ashley Lipscomb

Development Director

Email Ashley: ALipscomb@mcpaws.org

Ashley joined the MCPAWS team in 2021. Originally hailing from the Midwest, Ashley moved to Idaho in 2009 to finish her college education at the University of Idaho. She received her B.S. in Conservation Social Sciences from the College of Natural Resources.

Ashley’s education launched her into stints in assisting with research at the University of Idaho and as the Algae Project Coordinator at EcoAnalysts. Although rewarding, she found her passion in the nonprofit world volunteering and working for public lands advocacy organizations in Idaho, Montana, and Kentucky. She is excited to use her skills in nonprofit development to fund the daily operations of the shelter and provide safe, temporary homes for sentient beings until they find their people.

Kayme Backstrom

Development Coordinator

Email Kayme: kbackstrom@mcpaws.org

Kayme joined the MCPAWS team in April 2022. She grew up in Fairfield, ID on a farm where her love for community and animals started and has continued through her whole life. Kayme received a Bachelor’s in Health Education and Promotion and a Nonprofit Management Minor from Boise State University. She has worked for various nonprofit organizations in bicycle and pedestrian safety as well as early childhood systems in Montana.

She always dreamed of living in McCall and this last year her husband and two dogs Annie and Jackie were able to make the dream come true! She is so excited to work for such a community focused organization, continue exploring the vast outdoor recreation opportunities around McCall, and try her hand at gardening in such a short growing season.

Tracy Wamsley

Accounting and Finance Manager

 I love working for an organization that care for animals!

Board of Directors

Duane Coffey

Chair

Duane was raised in Payette, Idaho where he grew up hunting, fishing, hiking and skiing in the McCall area. After graduating from Payette High School Duane entered the military but came back to Idaho to finish his Bachelors degree at Boise State University. Duane then reentered the military and spent the next 30 years serving as an Army Engineer Officer throughout the world.
Duane and his wife Beth decided to live in Idaho upon retirement and bought a home in New Meadows to realize that goal. Duane has always had his “4 legged kids” surrounding him. “I can’t imagine not having dogs and cats in your life”. Duane feels that MCPAWS provides an excellent opportunity to bring people and their 4 legged BFF together for the benefit of both and is excited about working again on the MCPAWS Board.

Tammy Ota

Secretary

Summer vacation in McCall has been a tradition for over 50 years for Tammy Ota and her family. Her mom and dad spent their honeymoon in McCall and eventually purchased a second home here. She retired from Patterson Dental Supply in 2018. As a territory manager, she sold dental equipment and supplies to dentists in Salt Lake City for over 17 years. Prior to that she was a Dental Hygienist for 20 years. Tammy is a graduate of the University of Hawaii where she majored in Dental Hygiene. She is married to Mel Ota and together they own a townhouse on #1 Birch on the McCall golf course. Their Jack Russell Terrier, Cali, was born in McCall and loves long walks along the lake.

Tammy has been a volunteer since 2016 and enjoys walking the dogs and playing with the cats at MCPAWS. Now that she is retired, she is excited to be a part of the McCall community and to spend more time volunteering at the shelter providing loving care for abandoned, surrendered, and lost dogs and cats. Raising funds for the shelter is an important priority. Tammy is also looking forward to utilizing her sales and marketing skills in assisting the MCPAWS Thrift Store.

Becoming a MCPAWS board member has been a goal for several years. “It is important for the area around Valley County to have a clean, up to date, and efficient animal shelter. MCPAWS needs to have a strong board of directors to ensure the shelter provides a safe temporary home for dogs and cats far into the future.” Tammy looks forward to working with other board members to make sure MCPAWS has what it needs.

Pam Wissenbach

Treasurer

Pam has been coming to McCall for many years to ski Brundage and spend time at her parents’ cabin.  Her husband, Mike, had his dream come true to live in the Idaho mountains; Mike and Pam moved to McCall full time in 2013.  Pam is lucky to be self-employed so that she can take advantage of all the great spots to take a walk with their dog Maggie.  Pam and Mike have two daughters that are avid skiers and try to keep their parents in line!  Their animal family consists of a rescue dog, Diamond, and a cat that adopted the Wissenbach’s, Wrangler.

Growing up on a ranch, Pam has a love of all animals.  She has adopted several rescue dogs, each has been a special family member.  Because of her passion of encouraging people to adopt pets, she began to volunteer by walking dogs at MCPAWS.  The Waggin’ Tails loop has been a great place to spend time with the dogs. She feels that MCPAWS is a great shelter because of its policies and all the attention the shelter animals receive.  She is very excited to support all the services MCPAWS provides for the animals in this area. 

Denise Cobb

I’ve been an animal lover since as long as I can remember. I grew up on a small farm in Northern California, the youngest of 5 kids, raising sheep and rabbits for my 4-H projects. The barn cats were my best friends. I went to Humboldt State University where I got a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Management. I took that degree and moved to southern Nevada with my future husband where I had some of the best jobs I’ve ever had. I worked for Nevada Division of Wildlife, The Smithsonian Institution, and the National Park Service at Lake Mead National Recreation Area where I worked mostly with Desert Tortoises. My husband hated the desert so we moved to Idaho in 2001 when we both got jobs with the Payette National Forest.

I spend a lot of time hanging out with our two cats Smudge and Reba and our dog Teton. I love the outdoors and enjoy walking, hiking, snowshoeing and traveling in our camper van.

I started volunteering at MCPAWS in 2008 and have seen how this organization has grown and continues to get better and better. I love being a part of this shelter and doing what I can to further its Mission and Vision.

Tara Reeder

Chris Purslow

Chris was born and raised in Wichita, KS, is a graduate of Baylor University and was a pharmaceutical sales representative with Sanofi for 20 years.  Chris began volunteering at MCPAWS when she and her husband Tobin moved to McCall in September of 2019. The three years preceding were spent in Waco, TX where Chris volunteered with the Weimaraner Rescue of Texas; transporting numerous Weims along the I35 corridor and fostering 17 Weims in need over the three years.  Prior to Texas, Chris and Tobin lived in Flagstaff, AZ for 12 years and it is in Flagstaff where she fell in love with mountains. When a position at St. Luke’s for Tobin presented itself in 2019 there was no question they were heading to McCall.

Chris and Tobin have two rescue Weims of their own-Pearl (found as a stray in Phoenix) and Ramsey (found as a stray in Ft. Worth). Chris currently works part-time at HomeTown Sports and spends free time hiking, paddle boarding, and skiing. She is looking forward to being apart of the amazing MCPAWS Organization.

Jaime Coffey-Kelly

I was born in Georgia to Idaho parents stationed there. I grew up traveling the world with my dad and living with my mom in Anchorage, AK. After graduating high school in Anchorage, I joined the Army as an Intelligence Analyst and served for 8 years. I served overseas in Korea, stateside at Ft. Huachuca, AZ and Ft. Campbell, KY. 

After getting out of the Army, I soon moved home to Idaho to be closer to family. I attended Boise State University; graduating with my Bachelor’s and Masters of Social Work. I worked for a few agencies before landing a job with a local hospice agency in Mountain Home. After staying there for 8 years, I helped patients and their families process grief and loss at the end of life. On a number of occasions, I adopted the patients pets when the patient died and the family could not take the animal in. After loving on the patient and their beloved pets, I just could not then put them in the shelter. They were adopted by someone they already knew and trusted, becoming a member of my family.

In 2018, my family purchased a home in Donnelly with a plan to make it our new home. My husband is retired Air Force and we felt it was time to move closer to the mountains we love. In 2019, I accepted a position at the Cascade Medical Center as the Counselor and Behavioral Health Integration Clinician where I work today. 

I’m married to Ed Kelly and I am the proud mother of Jacob. We have two dogs (Bo and Luna) and three cats (Harley, Littles and Nacho).  Pets and animals have always been a part of my life. I had dogs, cats and birds growing up, helped my grandparents on the farm in Idaho and had my own small farm in Mountain Home. All of my pets have been either shelter dogs, unwanted dogs, stray cats or hospice family adoptions. I am lucky to have loved and lost 9 beloved pets to old age. They were all worth the emotional pain of loss in the end. I look forward to loving on each of them again when I too cross the rainbow bridge to get them. 

I joined the MCPAWS board in 2020 hoping to continue to make a difference in the lives of the animals and humans in Valley County.

Jamie Parker

I grew up in Hamilton, MT with my two older brothers on a small ranch where we always had at least two dogs, two cats, along with many horses and cows.  I also raised 4-H market beef steers. 

I started working for the Forest Service right out of high school and spent 38 years as a federal employee before retiring from the National Interagency Fire Center in 2018.  I got involved in incident management early on in my career on the administrative side and have traveled the country on incident assignments, including assignments for the Challenger Shuttle recovery effort, World Trade Center recovery after 9/11, and many, many fire assignments.  I worked on the Payette National Forest from 2009-2015 and loved the beauty of McCall.  When the pandemic hit, I realized I wanted to move back to be closer to family so I returned to McCall in 2020.

I’m an avid knitter and animal lover – especially senior dogs.  I adopted my dog Rhonda from Idaho Humane Society while I was living in Boise.  She’s now 13 and slowing down a bit, but still leading a great life.  

I’m excited to join the Board and be part of helping grow the organization!

Kerie Kushlan