Meet the Board
Dedicated to Animal Protection
We are a diverse and experienced team of animal lovers who are dedicated to improving the conditions of our furry and feathered creatures in Colorado.
SUNNY WEBER
Sunny Weber (www.sunnyweber.com) has over 30 years’ experience in pet rescue, shelter and sanctuary work, service and therapy dog training, temperament testing, behavior evaluation, obedience competition, fostering, medical care, and horse ground training. She has consulted with pet owners and rescue organizations regarding animal behavior diagnosis, enrichment, and adoption protocols.
Sunny is a professional humane educator and has developed domestic and wildlife programs for all ages. A Colorado State Park Naturalist, she developed educational programs regarding urban wildlife cohabitation, especially focused on coyotes.
Sunny has an AA Degree in marketing, and a BA Degree with a double major in business administration and psychology. She has advanced education in animal behavior, training, and creative writing. She has traveled internationally as a speaker on a variety of subjects.
Sunny's award-winning books include two adult non-fiction books: Beyond Flight or Fight: A Compassionate Guide for Working with Fearful Dogs, and City Dog Walking Safety & Etiquette. She is also the author of the Pups & Purrs Children's Humane Education Series, featuring: The Dog at the Gate: How a Throwaway Dog Becomes Special, Hurricane Dog: A Tale of Betrayal, Redemption & Change, and From Wild to Mild: A Dog in Two Worlds. (Available on Amazon, in bookstores, and at www.sunnyweber.com). She also regularly contributes to pet publications and blogs.
AMY HEFESTAY
- Amy Hefestay worked in the Launch Vehicle industry as an Airborne Structural Engineer for 36 years. She worked at Martin Marietta, Lockheed Martin, and retired from United Launch Alliance in December 2020. Working in the Payload Accommodations, Mission Integration group for more than a decade she worked closely with the Payload Customer team to establish structural requirements and managed the cost and schedule for the scope of work that integrated the Payload to the Launch Vehicle.
- Amy has been a pet owner and an animal supporter for many years, volunteering at the Dumb Friends League for 20 years and she also volunteers at a therapeutic horse program called The Right Step, Inc.
ROLAND HALPERN
Roland Halpern holds an undergraduate degree from Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio, a Master’s in Nonprofit Management from Regis University, Denver, Colorado, and is an ordained animal chaplain through the Emerson Theological Institute.
Roland was instrumental in helping to pass Prop 106, the Colorado End of Life Options Act, making Colorado the sixth state to offer terminally ill individuals an additional medical treatment option at the end of life.
A staunch advocate for individual rights, Roland has been the recipient of several ministerial awards for outstanding community service in the area of social justice. He is actively involved with animal welfare groups both locally and nationally. He serves as vice-president on the board of the Colorado Council of Churches and is certified as a Human-Animal Bond Specialist by the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) and the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI.)
JACK MURPHY
Co-founder and Executive Director of Urban Wildlife Rescue Inc., located in Denver Co. and has been a licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator since 1988. Jack is also a Wildlife Control Operator who resolves wildlife conflicts using only humane and non-lethal methods of exclusion and eviction.
He is the author of “Humane Solutions to Wildlife Problems” which is a self help guide for those who wish to attempt to resolve wildlife conflicts on their own. He has written and lectured on numerous topics involving: Wildlife Rehabilitation, Living with Wildlife, Wildlife Conflict Resolution, Humane Capture and Handling Techniques, and more
PETER CONVERSE, DVM
- Dr. Converse is the owner and Medical Director of Advanced Veterinary Care of Greenwood Village
- Dr. Converse is from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Oklahoma State University with the top rank in his class. He received his original license from the state of Colorado, but before relocating to Denver, he joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School in Boston. While there, he completed a residency in comparative Pathology and Internal Medicine with PhD work in Genetics. He and his fiancée then moved to Colorado where he has been taking care of families in the Greenwood Village area ever since. Dr. Converse was previously the associate doctor at Greenwood Village Veterinary Clinic and then medical director at Cherry Hills Animal Hospital.
DENIKA DWYER
- Denika Dwyer has a passion for animals. She lives in Colorado with her three children, two dogs, and three cats. She has served on the Mountain Plains Minority Supplier Development Council since January 2021. With over 20 years of procurement and contract negotiation experience, and her most recent stint serving as Chief of Staff, Legal Operations at NVA, she brings to CAP a variety of skills including strategist, project management, writing (policies, guides, etc.), event planning, presenting, training, budget management, etc. She is excited to leverage these skills to help support CAP’s mission to educate, advocate and protect animals.
LISA WINLOF
- Lisa Winlof is a lifelong advocate for animal rights and animal welfare, caring for companion animals of her own while also volunteering and fostering with area rescue organizations. Professionally, she has extensive experience with a wide range of legal, governance, operational, and administrative functions across a broad range of organizations. Throughout her career she has consistently led successful projects and created procedures, efficiencies, and improvement within sensitive and highly regulated environments - from established global Fortune 500 companies to start-ups to sole proprietorships to non-profits.