American Therapy Pets, Inc.
About Us
Who is ATP?
American Therapy Pets, Inc. (ATP) is a non-profit charitable organization that relies on donations to cover its operating expenses. ATP brings trained, certified and insured therapy pets for use in social or therapeutic interactions where emotional, psychological or physical support is needed. We deliver services in settings such as schools, hospitals, nursing centers or any place where an animal’s joy and love may bring comfort. Our therapy pets are trained, screened and certified before they are allowed to conduct visits. They are also covered by insurance while on duty.
There has been a recent change to the Board. Josephine Zosa has replaced Joel Kordis in the administrative role.
Here is what Josephine has to say about herself:
"I been with ATP for about 6 years. I have my bachelor's from Chapman University in English Child Development. I was born in the Philippines but now live in San Diego.
I do therapy visits with my dog, JoJo, the super corgi.
I love being in this group because our team gets to put a smile on people’s face. When we not doing Therapy visits there is a good chance you will catch Jojo and Me surfing one of the San Diego beautiful beaches."
----------------------
Wendy Hart has assumed responsibility for processing all applications and the completed applications should be mailed to her and not to Joel. The address is:
Wendy Hart
9555 Cordoba Blvd.
Sparks, NV 89441
Our Mission
The American Therapy Pets' mission is to positively influence psychological, emotional and physical well-bing to children and adults using animal assisted therapy.
FOUNDERS
Joan Powell, Founder and President - ATP Board Member
Joan was raised in a Navy family, and always been surrounded by her pets. She has had a Therapy Dog, starting with a Great Dane, Dexter.
After he passed away, she rescued a Chihuahua/Yorkie mix, named Missy, who is now a Therapy Dog.
You can find Joan several days a week at the United Service Organization (USO) San Diego as well as providing therapy dog services to a variety of facilities.
Judi Wells, Founder
Judi recently retired from a 32 year career as a Speech and Language Pathologist.
Judy became interested in the Therapy Dog Program after becoming a volunteer at the USO and seeing the happiness that the dogs brought to the service members.
Having owned cats most of her life, Judi is currently looking for a therapy cat to be part of our team.
In addition to her active life, Judi continues to be a major donor and supporter of ATP and is proud to be a founder of such an important organization.
OFFICERS
Wendy Hart, Vice-President, Evaluator and Trainer - ATP Board Member & Membership Chair
Wendy has over 20 years experience in obedience training, behavioral consulting, and caring for dogs. She is a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, Pet Care Specialist, Group Class Instructor, and Canine Evaluator for American Therapy Pets.
Wendy’s passion for dogs began as a teenager when she started training canines at the local Humane Society. Her primary focus was to insure the dogs were better prepared for adoption. Wendy’s love of canines led her to become a Veterinary Assistant, allowing her to further develop her skills and broaden her knowledge base in the area of canine health. Part of Wendy’s passion for American Therapy Pets comes from having a brother and soon to be son serving in the Military. This gives her a way to combine her love for animals and show her support. Her web site is here.
Michele is a mental health specialist with a private practice in San Diego, California. Michele is also the founder and director of "Bully-nomore," a school based program focused on recognizing, understanding and preventing bullying. Michele has had therapy dogs since 2008 and currently uses her dogs, Romeo and Dynamo, in her private practice and bullying prevention program.
ADMINISTRATION
Joel Kordis, Director of Business Development - ATP Board Member
Joel is a retired process manager who specialized in business development for a Fortune 200 Company. Prior to this time, Joel spent 22 years in public safety and education, including national recognition as a motivational speaker. Joel and his service dog, Harley, who is also a registered therapy dog, visits at hospitals, senior care facilities and with the USO San Diego until 2015 when Harley was retired from therapy work.
Tom has a Masters Degree in Computer Systems Management and over 40 years experience in information systems technology. He is a retired US Navy Surface Warfare Officer.
Tom's current experience working on a variety of web sites for not-for-profit organizations has given him broad knowledge of various platforms and content management systems. He started working with the commercial Internet and the World Wide Web at Visicom Laboratories in 1994 long before most people knew there was such a thing as "The Internet". During his time at Visicom, the government authorized commercial use of The Internet and the Commercial Internet Exchange (CIXX) was formed. Visicom became an early adopter. With a friend and co-worker at Visicom, he formed a commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP) business unit at Visicom and then spun off as ATMNet, a regional ISP with one of the first (and fastest at the time) high speed fiber-optic backbones. Of course, he had government access to the MILNET and ARPANET for his US Navy related work starting in 1978.
Comments regarding this web site technical issues are welcome. Click here to send Tom an email. Please do not use this link for general questions about American Therapy Pets or to request additional information. You may use this link for that.
MEMBERS
Our Members: All members, directors, staff and volunteers donate their time to ATP and are not compensated for their contributions.
Our Vision
The American Therapy Pets' vision is to improve the lives for many people by expanding our services to schools, hospitals, senior care facilities, nursing centers, disaster shelters and our military, through internal growth and alliances.