Meet our Team
Leadership Team
Sydney Mollentine, AAWA
Annie Runnion
Amanda Isele, DVM
Daniella Barragan-Lancaster
Megan Ochoa
Alicia Alonso
Shelbi Ashcroft
Helen Traphagen
Sydney Mollentine, AAWA
Sydney is a dedicated animal welfare expert with over 21 years of invaluable experience in the field, specializing in animal sheltering, animal behavior, animal medicine and overall a robust understanding of best organizational management practices. With her extensive background, she has honed her skills in implementing groundbreaking programs aimed at reducing the length of stay for animals, enhancing the quality of care within the shelter environment, breaking down barriers to adoption through open communication strategies, and developing community-centered programs that better the lives of people and pets throughout the metro area.
Sydney’s unwavering compassion for animals fuels her commitment to improving the lives of both animals and people within her community. Throughout her tenure, Sydney has had the pleasure of working alongside the best in the industry – developing best practices and procedures to help the people and pets within the greater Kansas City area – and continues to work on solving the pet homeless issues and providing necessary resources for underserved communities.
As CEO, Sydney plans to develop programs that provide education to our community on pet ownership, become a true ally for our city through outreach and enhanced accessibility to resources, as well as reduce barriers to adoption, lost pet reunification and medical services.
In her limited downtime, Sydney enjoys time with her family (husband and two beautiful children) and her three dogs and cat. She also enjoys being outside and anything that has to do with crafting!
Email: sydney@hsgkc.org
Annie Runnion, Director of Clinic Operations
Annie has been working in the animal welfare industry for 10+ years. She has two Chihuahuas and enjoys living Downtown Kansas City, MO. She loves working at HSGKC because of the atmosphere of community that everyone brings each day. It can be a hard industry to work in, but the kindness, sense of humor and resilience makes coming to work every day exciting!
Email: annie@hsgkc.org
Amanda Isele, DVM, Medical Director
Dr. Isele has been at the Humane Society since June 2018 and has been the Medical Director since 2020. She lives on 7 acres with her husband, daughter, and twin sons. She has a one-eyed Pitbull, 5 cats, 4 goats, and 2 donkeys.
Email: isesle@hsgkc.org
Daniella Barragan-Lancaster, Director of Shelter Operations
Daniella joined the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City in 2019. Prior to working at HSGKC, she worked in the social services field with victims of domestic violence. As 1st generation Indigenous Mexican-American, Daniella is passionate about serving and advocating for marginalized and underserved communities. She is incredibly passionate about increasing access to pet adoptions, pet care education, and veterinary care for those within the Latinx community in their native language. As Director of Shelter Operations, Daniella has helped increase adoptions by over 52% and helped HSGKC achieve No-Kill status with a 92% save rate.
She is from Las Vegas. NV. Her hobbies included going to concerts, reading, and traveling. Daniella lives in downtown Kansas City with her wife, two dogs, four cats, and a potbelly pig named Maggie.
Email: daniella@hsgkc.org
Shelbi Ashcroft, Philanthropy Coordinator
Shelbi joined the Humane Society after 6 years of experience in nonprofit administration and earning an MPA. She is from Kansas City and is passionate about serving her community. Shelbi’s hobbies include bodybuilding, hiking, and going to concerts. She adopted her dog, Brandy, from HSGKC just a week after joining the team. Brandy’s hobbies include stealing socks and making new friends.
As the Philanthropy Coordinator Shelbi plans to create engaging new fundraisers as well as bring back the old favorites. She believes the power of the community is our best asset and wants to create ways for everyone to support HSGKC.
Email: shelbi@hsgkc.org
Helen Traphagan, Volunteer & Foster Coordinator
Helen recently retired after 30 years of teaching music in Springfield and North Kansas City. She loves reading, photography, concerts, and cross-stitching. More than anything, she loves to be home with her husband, four cats, and two dogs!
Email: helen@hsgkc.org
Megan Ochoa, Shelter Manager
Megan has been with HSGKC since June 2023, and has worked in animal welfare since 2015 with a focus on animal intake and outreach. Her favorite part of this field is talking to people about their pets and most importantly, helping pet-parents find ways to keep their companions instead of feeling the need to surrender them. HSGKC’s mission and devotion to that concept and to their community is what drew her to this organization, and she is excited to be a part of the mission!
Megan enjoys spending time with her husband, 3 daughters, 3 dogs, 3 cats, and 2 pet jumping spiders.
Alicia Alonso, Lead Vet Technician
Alicia graduated early from Kansas State University with a Bachelors in Animal Sciences. She has been with the Humane Society for over a year and absolutely loves the knowledge and she has gained since she started. She chose to work at HSGKC because our overall goal is to help the community by offering proper and affordable vet care, which is very important to her.
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contact
- 913-596-1000
- info@hsgkc.org
- 5445 Parallel Parkway, KCKS 66104
Clinic
- Spay/Neuter
- Pet Vaccines
- Urgent Care
- Community Cat Fix
Adoptions
- Adoptable Animals
- Lost/Found Animals
- Foster Opportunities
- Volunteer Opportunities
get involved
- Donate
- Sponsor
- Planned Giving
- Events