Board of Directors

Kate Brindle, Secretary

Kate is a graduate of the Michigan State University College of Law, where she served as an Associate Editor of the Journal for Animal and Natural Resource Law and President of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund. While at MSU, she also clerked for the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Litigation Department and won the Wanda A. Nash Award for advancing the field of animal law. Prior to attending law school, she worked for the Animals and Society Institute and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. She is passionate about drawing connections and forming alliances across various political and social justice issues. She also holds a bachelor’s degree from New York University and a master’s degree from Eastern Michigan University.

Beatrice Friedlander, President

Bee is a founding member of Attorneys for Animals, and vividly recalls a 1990 invitation in the Michigan Bar Journal, to “attorneys interested in animal law”, which led to creation of AFA. She is a founding and current member of the Animal Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. She serves on the boards of the Animals and Society Institute, Bird Center of Washtenaw County and Leuk’s Landing. She serves on the advisory council for the Center for Humane Studies at Madonna University. A hands-on volunteer at Crafty Cat Rescue, she has added community cat caretaker to her repertoire of animal-related activities. Bee received J.D. and B.A. (Sociology) degrees from The Ohio State University, and a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Non Profit Sector Studies from Wayne State University. Bee and her husband share their home with cats Julia (a tortie), Stella (a tuxedo) and Precious (a dilute tortie).

Donald Garlit, Treasurer

Don is a founding member of AFA. He also is a founding member of the SBM Animal Law Section, where he served as the Section Council chair, and is currently a Section Council member and newsletter co–editor. He is a member of the board of directors of RedRover. He is a hands-on volunteer at Leuk’s Landing, a shelter for FeLuk+ cats. Don spent more than 25 years in the automotive industry in both commercial and defense segments in finance, program management, sales, and contracts. He is a graduate of Michigan State University (B.A. Economics), The Ohio State University (J.D.), and the University of Michigan (M.B.A.).

Donna Lassa, Director

Donna is legal advocacy counsel — criminal with the ASPCA, where she handles large-scale animal cruelty and neglect cases across the country via the agency’s prosecutorial second-chair program. She worked previously as an assistant public defender in California and as a legal aid attorney in Detroit, as well as in the nonprofit sector directing a program for returning citizens. Donna is also a certified grant writer and community mediator. She is licensed in Michigan and California and is a council member with the State Bar of Michigan Animal Law Section. Donna received her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she graduated Cum Laude, and her juris doctorate from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, where she was a public interest law scholar. Donna and her husband Todd share their home with three rescued collies, Django, Maude and Hugo, who is blind, partially deaf and has Compulsive Disorder.

Margo Miller, Director

Margo joined Attorneys for Animals in 2007 and is its former president. She assists with inquiries and requests for legal help and spearheaded the recent revision of the AFA website. Margo is a 1995 graduate of Saint Louis University School of Law. She was assistant prosecuting attorney for Saint Louis County, specializing in prosecuting domestic violence cases (1996 – 2002). Margo was a partner with Foley & Mansfield PLLP, in its Saint Louis and Detroit offices (2002 – 2014), primarily handling product liability/ insurance defense cases. With the firm’s support, she handled numerous animal-related pro bono cases. Margo was an International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council board member (2007 – 2010). A member of the State Bar of Michigan Animal Law Section, she is licensed in Missouri, Michigan and Illinois.

Erin Morgan Klug, Director  

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Sharon Noll Smith, Board Member Emeritus (from January 1, 2019)

Sharon received her bachelor’s degree from DePauw University and her J.D. from the University of Detroit School of Law. She studied international law at Downing College, Cambridge.  She is a past member of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan and the Oakland County Women’s Bar Association.  Sharon served two terms on both the State Bar’s Representative Assembly and Ethics Subcommittee. Sharon was an original member of Attorneys for Animals, and a founding member of the Animal Law Section of  the State Bar. Sharon’s practice has concentrated on animal law, divorce, juvenile and family law. She and Bob have a cat, Nicky, and have been devoted pet parents of many wonderful rescue kitties over the years.

Justin J. Sterk, Director

Justin currently serves as the Compliance Manager and in-house legal counsel for the United States Sailing Association – the national governing body for sport of sailing in the United States – in Bristol, RI. In that role, he oversees US Sailing’s federally mandated SafeSport requirements and provides general legal counsel across all of the organization’s departments. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and his J.D. from Wayne State University Law School. During law school Justin was a member of Wayne Law’s chapter of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund and served as an Executive Articles Editor for Wayne Law’s Journal of Law in Society.  He also twice represented Wayne Law at the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition. Beyond being a lifelong animal lover, Justin’s interest in animal law can be traced to his environmental background. He is particularly interested in the relationship between modern food production, often involving livestock, and environmental degradation. Originally from northern Michigan, Justin enjoys being active and outdoors and likes to travel far and wide as much as possible.

Molly Tamulevich, Director

Molly Tamulevich serves as the Michigan State Director of the Humane Society of the United States. She began working with animals in 2007 in Mérida Mexico where she noticed the link between social status and pet ownership. For the past ten years, she has been a volunteer and consultant for numerous animal welfare agencies in Michigan, including the Animals and Society Institute, Puppy Mill Awareness of Southeast Michigan, and Michigan State University’s Graduate Students for Animals. She received her Master’s degree in Community Sustainability and Human-Animal Studies from Michigan State University in 2014. Although she is not an attorney, she is looking forward to helping Attorneys for Animals expand their membership and reach out to new communities. She plans to support AFA’s mission by advocating, fostering projects, and acting to support animals in Michigan and beyond. Molly is honored to be a member of the AFA board of directors (as of January 1, 2017) and its first “non-legal” director.

Nicole Tennenhouse, Director

Nicole is a long-time board member of Attorneys for Animals and served as its Secretary from 2007 to 2016. She is a licensed attorney in Florida and Michigan. Nicole was a judicial staff attorney to a federal judge and has several years of experience in tax law and civil and criminal litigation. She earned her B.A. from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in Communications and Spanish and attended the University of Houston Law Center on an academic scholarship. She provided legal expertise to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in Norfolk, VA, and worked for the law firm of Rubenstein Isaacs, P.C., in Southfield, Michigan, from 2002 to 2016. She analyzed and wrote updates on the tax laws of several states for a global information services company, and she is currently researching and analyzing state insurance regulatory requirements for 50 states for a large insurance company. Nicole is also a member of the Animal Law and Taxation Sections of the State Bar of Michigan.

Rebecca Wrock, Vice President

Rebecca developed a passion for animals while studying Animal Behavior, including Canine Cognition and Primatology, at the University of Michigan (B.S. – Brain, Behavior and Cognitive Science) where she also completed her thesis on the meaning of tongue flick behaviors in domestic dog play interactions. At Wayne State University (J.D.), she served as President of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund and as a government relations intern with the ASPCA, earning the Wanda A. Nash Award for being the graduating law student who has most advanced the field of animal law within the state. Her publications include “Ignorance is Bliss: Self-Regulation and Ag-Gag Laws in the American Meat Industry” (Contemporary Justice Review), as well as guidance for other attorneys drafting Trusts for the benefit of animal companions (“Pet Trusts”) through the Institute of Continuing Legal Education and in various State Bar publications. She enjoys giving community seminars about the importance of including animal companions in estate plans, and has been a guest lecturer for animal law classes in the U.S. and Canada, covering animal companions in estate planning and family law, and the unconstitutionality of Ag-Gag laws. Rebecca practices primarily in the area of trusts and estates. She is licensed in Michigan and Florida, holds her LL.M. (Taxation) from the University of Alabama, and is an Animal Friendly Attorney™. She  has been a Super Lawyers Rising Star since 2016, and in 2018 was named an Up & Coming Lawyer by Michigan Lawyers Weekly and named to Crain’s list of Notable Women in Nonprofits. She is a member of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the State Bar of Michigan Animal Law Section (and serves on the Section Council) and the Florida Bar Animal Law Section. Along with her husband, her family includes Shadow (a cat), Bandit and Shelby (dogs), Fred and George (rabbits), and a flock of chickens – many of whom are named after notable fictional characters.