Who We Are
Our Founding Story
In her 25-year career in emergency and specialty veterinary medicine, Dr. Julie Smith saw families whose beloved animal companions needed urgent care they simply could not pay for. She believed no animal should suffer and no one should lose a pet because treatment is financially out of reach. She also understood the heavy toll on veterinary staff asked to perform economic euthanasia and the strain on animal shelters and rescue groups when sick pets are surrendered.
In 2020, Dr. Smith launched Sage Compassion for Animals (SageC4A), a nonprofit that keeps Bay Area pet families together by providing financial assistance for urgent veterinary care. She recruited a board with deep experience in veterinary medicine, nonprofits, and community outreach, and built partnerships with veterinary clinics to offer high-quality services at a discount.
What We Do
We work at the intersection of Animal and Human Welfare. 1.5 million families in the Bay Area live in low to very low income households and care for at least one pet.
We understand that some people are severely limited by finances, and this can adversely affect the animal, the families and the veterinary care team (through compassion fatigue).
We support pet families whose lives can literally depend on their pet when they cannot afford critical veterinary care. We prevent suffering and euthanasia by providing financial assistance for veterinary care to help companion animals in crisis. We educate communities about preventing and reducing illness. We ensure that all the pets we help are spayed or neutered. We serve all nine counties that comprise the SF Bay Area
Why We Do It!
We believe animals are amazing and that you love them as members of your family. We envision a world where you can have access to the health care and education you need to give them their best lives possible.
We recognize and acknowledge that compassion fatigue in the veterinary team is compounded when financial resources are limited.
We help individuals and families experiencing high social vulnerability to keep their companion pet if faced with a medical crisis. This includes older adults, Veterans, those with fixed and limited incomes, persons with service and emotional support animals, those with special needs, and people with limited English proficiency.
Our Impact
We save lives and strengthen the bond between pets and their families by providing critical financial assistance for veterinary care. Since 2020, we've helped over 580 pets stay with the people who love them most.
To reduce the cost burden of unexpected medical expenses, we’ve awarded over $1,330,000 in life-saving grants to pet families in need. In fact, over90% of every dollar donated goes directly toward helping a pet get the care they need.
We also support the veterinary community by addressing compassion fatigue and burnout. With 60 veterinary hospital partners, we empower medical teams to say “YES!” even when a family’s only barrier to care is financial.
Our grant application process considers each family’s income, employment, household size, geographic location, pet prognosis, and estimated treatment costs — ensuring that support goes where it's needed most.
We are proud of what we have accomplished, but we want to grow our programs and the organization to serve even more families in need and the pets that they love.
Meet Our Team
Julie D. Smith, DVM, DACVS, CCRT, MBA
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Julie, a UC Berkeley and UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine alumna, became a board-certified surgeon in 1997 and co-owner of the practice which became SAGE Veterinary Centers in 1999. With an MBA from Saint Mary’s College, she managed SAGE Veterinary Centers, serving as Managing Partner and Medical Director until 2018. As a SAGE Veterinary Centers Board Member and Chief Strategy Officer, she guided growth until she retired in 2022. Julie is the American College of Veterinary Surgeons Treasurer. She was the chair of the American Veterinary Medical Associations Veterinary Economic Strategy Committee and served from 2019-2025. In 2024, she was appointed to the Dean’s Leadership Council at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. In 2025, she was a recipient of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Alumni Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed by the school. She was recognized for excellence through her efforts as a surgeon, educator, managing partner, advocate, and philanthropist. She founded Sage Compassion for Animals in 2019, and serves as Executive Director.
Michelle Mascher, CFRE
Elizabeth (Lizz) Varela
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Lizz has 10 + years of experience in the Veterinary field and is excited to be a part of our amazing organization. Her goal is to help Sage Compassion for Animals grow into a highly successful non-profit. She is currently working on her Business Administration degree, is bilingual, and applies these skill sets to her role.
Carla Moreira
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Carla brings over 20 years of experience in marketing, with a deep focus on digital strategy across the pet and retail industries. She’s passionate about using her skills to amplify mission-driven work and help organizations grow their reach and impact.
Carla has always shared her home with animals and is a proud pet parent to three spirited Chihuahua mixes she lovingly calls her children. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and two children.Description text goes here
Meet Our Board
Katrina Warburton
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Katrina Warburton brings 20+ years of experience in Go-To-Market, and Strategy and Operations roles at Consumer and Enterprise SaaS software companies like Adobe, Intel and McAfee and most recently at VMware as the VP of Marketing, Strategy & Operations.
Katrina is an alumni of Monash University in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, where she earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree (she is also a proud Aussie). A lifelong animal lover, she loves spending time with her 3 fur kids and you'll rarely find her without her "polar bear" sidekick. She is excited to leverage her professional experience to serve as Board President for SAGE Compassion for Animals, a cause close to her heart and one she is deeply passionate about.
Melissa Hollatz
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Melissa Hollatz is currently a continuing fellow at Stanford University’s Distinguished Career Institute (DCI) program. She served as a partner at the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati for over 25 years. She practiced corporate and securities law with a particular emphasis on mergers and acquisitions and a focus on public and private company corporate governance. Melissa has both a BA and a JD from Stanford University.
Melissa is deeply invested in pro bono work. She co-chaired the firm’s pro bono committee for almost a decade. She currently sits on the boards of The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley and Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence in addition to Sage Compassion for Animals.
She has a border collie mix named Bruno who is a bit much, two cats, and two horses, all of whom are better than she deserves.
Dennis Ryan
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Dennis has over three decades of experience as a financial executive in the venture capital, private equity, investment and real estate industries. Since 2011, Dennis has been a senior executive at Foresite Capital, a healthcare venture capital firm, as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in economics, Dennis also has an MBA from Santa Clara University.
Besides his work with SageC4A, Dennis has been active in the nonprofit sector for over twenty-five years as Board President of two significant Bay Area agencies, one providing mental health services to adults and another providing transportation and nutrition services to seniors. Dennis brings significant leadership, governance and fundraising experience to SageC4A.
Lissa Richardson, DVM, DACVS
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Dr. Lissa Richardson is a specialist in small animal surgery. She recently retired from regular clinical practice and as specialty medical director at Sage Veterinary Centers in Concord, CA. Even in retirement, she is dedicated to helping pets and their people access veterinary care and has been a founding board member of SageC4A.
She is active in the community by training police dog handlers and lecturing the public on pet wilderness first aid. She loves talking to students of all ages at schools, community colleges and at Sage.
Dr. Richardson earned her DVM at Colorado State University. She completed an internship and a 3-year surgical residency at the Animal Medical Center in New York City. She taught at UC Davis school of veterinary medicine for two years before joining Veterinary Surgical Associates (now Sage) 30 years ago. She has been a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons since 1996.s here
Susan Carsen
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As principal of Carsen Consulting, Susan Carsen brings more than 30 years of experience providing nonprofit management and fundraising counsel to a broad spectrum of clients, including those in health care, culture and the arts, education and human services.
A UC Davis graduate, Susan has served on the boards of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Golden Gate Chapter and the Horse Park at Woodside, and for 20 years as a volunteer caretaker for the Barron Park Donkeys. A lifelong animal lover, Susan goes to the office each day with Etta, a working Australian Shepherd who loves her job, and together they come home to Dickon, a literary tuxedo cat. Neither Etta nor Dickon are certain yet as to how they feel about the equine, Hank, who will joining the family this fall.
Stephanie Boldt, AS, RVT, EMT
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Stephanie Boldt, transitioned from a 17-year career as an International Lead flight attendant for United Airlines. Inspired by her Weimaraner, Beaureguard, and her own health journey in 2007, Stephanie pursued veterinary medicine. Holding an Associate of Science in Veterinary Technology from Foothill College, she brings her unique skills to guide pets and their owners through emergencies, combining her EMT training with a Bachelor's degree in Humanities from Southern Oregon University.
Stephanie Garcia-Gonzales, RVT
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Stephanie Garcia Gonzalez, a versatile Registered Veterinary Technician at SAGE Redwood City, has diverse experience in specialty departments like Neurology, Internal Medicine, and Surgery. Beyond her veterinary role, she assists a local real estate agent with administrative and marketing tasks. Formerly a Practice Manager in a Bay Area clinic, Stephanie, aware of the financial challenges in animal care, aspires to earn an MBA to bridge business knowledge and her passion for animals. She holds a Bachelor's in Business Management from Cal State East Bay.
Lori Grange
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Lori Grange is a consultant helping funders and nonprofits shape effective strategies for people, animals, and the environment. She has 25+ years of philanthropic and nonprofit experience. As strategy officer at the Hewlett Foundation, Lori advised programs across diverse issues and co-developed Hewlett’s strategy framework; she also oversaw an initiative addressing the Bay Area’s housing crisis. Previously, at the Pew Charitable Trusts, she developed and launched strategies in criminal justice, health care, and other areas. Before Pew, she worked at a legal nonprofit and had an early career as a journalist. Lori has a BA in journalism and philosophy from the University of Southern California and a law degree from UC Berkeley.
Animals are Lori’s greatest passion. Lori is a member and past board president of Animal Grantmakers, a group of animal welfare funders. She and her partner have two very dog-like cats.
Julia Lewis, DVM, MPH
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Dr. Julia Lewis received her BA from Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences and her DVM and MPH from UC Davis, where she also completed a residency in Laboratory Animal Medicine.
Julia recently retired as the Public Health Veterinarian for San Mateo County where she was an advocate for more integration of animal health and welfare as it relates to improving public health. While working for San Mateo County Health, she started a program to provide free preventative and wellness care for pets of the homeless living in the county.
Previously, Julia worked as a laboratory animal veterinarian at Cornell University, UCSF, and Roche Biosciences in Palo Alto. She was also Chief Veterinary Officer at Humane Society Silicon Valley. Julia was appointed to the Dean’s Leadership Council at the Weill-UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 2022. She has also served as a member of the California Veterinary Medical Association Board of Governors for over 2 terms and as a member of the House of Delegates for 2 terms.
Julia enjoys bird watching locally and snorkeling in warm tropical oceans.