Jackie Ott Jaakola, feline health advocate and executive director of EveryCat Health Foundation joins Enterprise Fit Radio.
Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Jackie Ott Jaakola discuss the following:

* Why is cat ownership valuable to entrepreneurial and business leaders?
* How has EveryCat Health Foundation helped the science and medical community earn breakthroughs in feline care and disease cures?
* What are the ways in which families can integrate financial planning into their love of cats, from care of their own feline to supporting medical care and research designed to find cures for cats’ most critical health issues?
* I understand that EveryCat Health Foundation was just honored as a fundraising beneficiary. Can you tell us more?
* From being an integral leader with the Annenberg Foundation and its Wallis Annenberg PetSpace center project, to working with marine mammals and volunteering as a Zoo keeper, you’ve taken on a proactive role with animal wellbeing for most of your career.  Can you tell us what motivate you to be an advocate for animals?


Jackie Ott Jaakola | EveryCat Health Foundation Executive Director
Jackie Ott Jaakola joined EveryCat Health Foundation in January of 2021 after serving as Executive Director of Cat Depot in Sarasota, Florida.  With more than 30 years of experience in animal welfare and non-profit management, Jackie dedicated over a decade of her career to Annenberg Foundation where she helped create Wallis Annenberg PetSpace – a unique 30,000-square-foot community facility that features an interactive place for pet adoptions, an education center with innovative programs, and a leadership institute.  Prior to that, she directed the Marine Mammal Care Center, a hospital for wild seals and sea lions at Fort MacArthur in Los Angeles, after getting her start with marine mammals at the St. Louis Zoo.
Jackie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri. She is an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Association of Animal Welfare Advancement, United States Equestrian Federation, United States Dressage Federation, Alpha Dressage Association, and Animal Grantmakers.
Her passion for animals is contagious and sharing that love is what drives her in the non-profit arena. As an energetic advocate for animal welfare, Jackie has been featured in print and media outlets locally and nationally as a webcast participant and host (Kindness Matters and Mewsings with EveryCat), People Magazine (March 16, 1998), The Jeff Corwin Experience, Los Angeles Times, and The Today Show among other notable outlets.
Jackie is an avid equestrian and shares her love of animals with her parents and husband on a multi-acre farm east of Sarasota, Florida that their horses, cats, and dogs (and various area wildlife) call home.
About EveryCat Health Foundation
EveryCat Health Foundation is the world’s only nonprofit focused solely on funding feline health studies. Nearly 400 million cats bring joy to their companions across the world. Though cat ownership keeps growing, feline health research remains underfunded compared to many other animals. Since 1968, EveryCat Health Foundation has awarded more than $10 million in grants for groundbreaking cat health research at more than 30 partner institutions worldwide. This funding is made possible through the support of dedicated donors and partners. Research supported by EveryCat Health Foundation helps veterinarians by providing educational resources that improve treatment of common feline health problems and prevent many diseases. Grants are reviewed and awarded with the help of the foundation’s expert Sci...