Spay And Neuter Syracuse Clinic Staff

SANS employs 10 licensed veterinarians and vet technicians and has 27 active volunteers.

SANS Board of Directors

The SANS Board of Directors is an active Board, involved in all aspects of the organization. The Board provides experience needed to achieve the strategic goals of the SANS organization as defined by the mission statement. SANS is dedicated to ending pet overpopulation in Syracuse and the surrounding area by providing low-cost spay and neuter services for pets that belong to low-income persons, shelter animals, and feral
cats.

Board Officers:

President – Christine A. Leonardo, LVT

Vice President – Danielle Basciano

Secretary – Kyrsten Bellen

Treasurer – Christine Howard

Committees:

Fundraising

Marketing & Media

Out Reach

Volunteer

Board Bios

Christine A. Leonardo, LVT, President

Christine Leonardo is a founding member of the Syracuse-Onondaga Cat Council Board of Directors. Chris earned a B.A. in government and fine arts from Clark University. She went on to study veterinary technology at the State University at Delhi, and in 1997, passed the New York State exam to become a licensed veterinary technician. Chris worked both in day practice and in emergency medicine for eight years. She also volunteers at Kitty Corner of CNY doing everything from administering vaccines and medications to skilled nursing care.

Danielle Basciano, Vice President

Danielle has 10 years of experience serving on nonprofit boards including officer positions. She has extensive experience in volunteer programming and a proven track record in successful organizational administration. Her nonprofit experience includes Sunshine Friends, Wanderers Rest and CNYSPCA.  She is a certified AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, a Canine Basic Obedience Instructor and an animal behavior consultant. For Spay and Neuter Syracuse, Danielle serves as Volunteer Coordinator.  She earned her BS in Psychology from the State University of New York at Oswego.

Kyrsten Bellen, Secretary

Kyrsten is the National Sales Manager of WSYT/WNYS, local television stations in the Syracuse market. She earned a Masters Degree from the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University and a B.A. in Communication at SUNY Buffalo. She has more than 18 years of diversified experience in the communication industry, with a concentration in broadcast television. She serves on the Leadership Greater Syracuse Marketing Committee. Her passion is pain management for older adult animals with nontraditional healing methods such as Reiki and essential oils. Kyrsten is a founding board member with Syracuse Onondaga Cat Council and SANS.

Christine Howard, Treasurer

Christine Howard earned her BA in sociology at Binghamton University. Through her sales role at Bounce Technologies, she helps savvy IT professionals in medium and large companies to make the most of their limited time & budgets. She volunteers for Junior Achievement of CNY and is a certified tutor of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). Christine has over 20 years of experience working with local and national organizations in order to promote animal welfare. She is motivated by the challenge of harnessing strategic planning and technology to make big improvements from modest resources. Spending time with animals makes her feel energized and happy & she hopes to share this sense of appreciation and respect throughout the community.

Linda Young

Linda Young is a librarian with the Hannibal Central School District. She earned her M.L.S. and M.Ed. degrees at Syracuse University and a B.A. in education at SUNY Oneonta. She is the co-founder and executive director of Kitty Corner of CNY, a cat rescue and adoption agency that has served the Syracuse area for the last 15 years. She is also a member of the Spring Farm CARES project Network Partner for Animals, a coalition of animal welfare providers in the Central New York region. Linda is a founding member of the Syracuse Onondaga Cat Council and SANS. She envisions a future in which every companion animal has a responsible and loving home.

Lisa Chelenza

Lisa Chelenza has experience in all aspects of electronic media; radio announcer and commercial producer, in television as an intern, editor, audio technician, assistant director, segment producer, feature producer, producer and on-air talent. Lisa has been on air talent for TNN, FOX Sports Net and Showtime. She has also been a Feature producer for NBC Sports and Lifetime Television.

Lisa earned her first National Emmy Award for her work on the “2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City Utah” as a Feature Producer for NBC Sports and her second for her work on the “2004 Summer Olympics in Athens Greece” once again for NBC Sports as a feature producer.

Currently Lisa writes hosts and co-produces Pet Pointers on News10 Now airing in Syracuse, Albany, Rochester and Austin, Texas twice weekly. Lisa Chelenza also delivers news and entertainment reports as part of the top rated “Gomez & Dave in the morning” show on TK99/TK105 FM in Syracuse, New York.