Officers
Patrick Radachi, President
Investment Advisor/Retirement Plan Consultant, Spira Benefits
Patrick Radachi is the founder and President of Spira Benefits, LLC, a consulting firm that helps companies design, implement, and operate corporate retirement plans such as 401(k), Profit Sharing, and Cash Balance plans. He holds certifications from the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA) and fi360. In addition, he is a Registered Representative and Investment Advisor Representative with his financial services firm, Spira Wealth Management, LLC. Patrick previously served on the board from 2011 to 2013. Having himself adopted from the shelter, he hopes more residents of the area become aware of the work Friendship APL does and appreciated the great resource available right here in Lorain County. Patrick resides in Elyria with his wife, his son, and their dog, Cinnamon. He can be reached at pradachi@radachi.com.
Remus Tomici, Vice President
Vice President, RIK Enterprises
Having had pets his entire life, Remus knows how much joy they can bring to our lives. Wanting to give back to the community, Remus sought out a non-profit organization that shared his love for animals. After getting involved with the shelter, he knew he had found an organization that was making a real difference in the lives of animals. Remus was elected to the Board of Directors as a Trustee in 2018.
Remus currently serves as a Vice President at RIK Enterprises, a family office located in Beachwood, OH. He grew up in the Seattle area and received a B.A. from the University of Washington. After over a decade of working in Southern California, and an MBA from the University of Chicago, he relocated to Northeast Ohio where he now lives with his wife, son, Siamese cat and Australian Shepherd.
Lisa Parente, Treasurer
Tax Manager, Neitzel, Luke & Salopek, Inc.
Lisa Parente is a Tax Manager at Neitzel, Luke & Salopek, Inc. in Westlake. She joined the FAPL Board in April 2019. Lisa grew up always having at least one dog in the home, as well as the occasional lizard or goldfish. Anyone that has met Lisa know of her affinity for all animals, especially dogs. Frequently given the “crazy dog lady” title, she wears it proudly. After attending several fundraising events hosted by the FAPL, Lisa was determined to do more than just attend events, and reached out to Board members for an opportunity to join them in serving the organization. Lisa appreciates the good that FAPL does for the two- and four-legged community (and even the tri-pawed) and looks forward to working toward Friendship’s mission.
Lisa earned her BA in Management from Hiram College and MBA in Accounting from Baldwin-Wallace College, and is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Ohio. Lisa currently resides in North Ridgeville with her miniature poodle, Oreo Mint Shake.
Kristina Sorensen, Secretary
Data Analyst, ESIS
Kristina is a passionate animal lover and is excited to use her skills for good to help support the many animals who are part of the Friendship APL story. After losing her best friend of 20 years, Spunky, a Siamese, in 2008, she thought it was impossible to share her home with another animal, until she saw Greg Willey with Laffy on WKYC in 2011. Laffy was in desperate need of a home and upon meeting in person, Kristina took Laffy in and never looked back.
Kristina is a proud graduate of both Baldwin Wallace and Cleveland State’s Urban Affairs School, where she earned her Masters in Public Administration. A former public servant who still serves her local community, Kristina currently works as a data analyst to assist commercial organizations with their risk management and insurance strategies. She has earned nearly $950K in grant funding for local organizations and looks forward to helping Friendship APL in the same way.
Directors
David Humphrey, Trustee
Chief Executive Officer, Ohio Desk
David Humphrey grew up in Valley City, Ohio and many dogs, cats and horses were always part of the Humphrey home as his mother and aunts were always rescuing stray animals. He graduated from Ohio University with a degree in industrial engineering and worked for National Gypsum for a number of years.
Humphrey joined Ohio Desk in Cleveland in 1977 and then eventually bought the company in 1984 where he remains as CEO. Animals have always been part of his life, remembering that now living in Columbia Station for 38 years, not one of those years has been spent without at least one cat and one dog but usually with more. He became interested in Friendship Animal Protective League many years ago and has been supporting it ever since.
Outside of the business, Humphrey is a 35 member of the Rotary Club of Cleveland as well as a trustee and treasurer of that club and is now a Rotary Club of Cleveland Foundation Trustee. He has been a board member of Ohio Motorist Association and a 35 year member of the Vermilion Yacht Club. He has been on the board of trustees and an officer in that club. Humphrey is also an active member in the Strongsville United Methodist Church.
Zachary B. Simonoff, Trustee
Attorney, Zachary B. Simonoff Co., LPA
Zack has loved animals all his life. Being mostly a Cat person, he will always have a cat, however, Zack still loves dogs and, in the past, has had a mixed Dog and Cat household. Currently, Zack and his wife have a one eyed, toothless cat that they adopted from Friendship APL in 2015 who rules the roost and refuses to pose for a photo.
Zack grew up in Long Island, New York, and attended The George Washington University graduating with a BA in History in 1987. In 1988 he enlisted in the Army National Guard and served until 2000 as an NCO. Zack has been employed by the Department of the Navy as a Logistician from 1989 to 1995. In 1995 Zack attended the Cleveland Marshall School of Law (CSU), where he met his wife, graduated and passed the Bar in 1998. Since graduation, Zack has been employed as a Municipal Prosecutor for the City of Lorain in 1999, then a General Practice Attorney representing his neighbors and community members with a wide variety of needs, including Criminal Defense, Real Estate and Foreclosure issues, Probate Estates, and Guardianships, and Consumer Issues. Zack is also the Defense Attorney for the Lorain Veterans Treatment Court.
Zack serves on the Board of Agudath B’nai Israel (ABI) Synagogue as a past president, and previously served on the ADAS (Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services) Board.
Linda Stepan, Trustee
Attorney at Law, Brouse & McDowell
Pookie changed Linda’s life. When Linda adopted Pookie, she learned that this beautiful spirit had been left to die in a dumpster and then was scheduled to be euthanized for space at a shelter. Linda knew that she had to take action to save the other Pookies in the world.
Linda met Greg Willey when she and her husband, Rob, volunteered and fostered Beagles for the Cuyahoga County Shelter. They were inspired by Greg’s move to the Friendship Animal Protective League to save even more lives so they joined him there to volunteer and foster more Beagles. Linda is a partner at Brouse McDowell and she jumped at the opportunity to further serve Friendship Animal Protective League as a board member.
Linda and Rob strive to spend every resource that they can to further the mission of the Friendship Animal Protective League and save more Pookies.
Linda served proudly and diligently on the Board of Directors for 9 years. She is an enormous part of the renaissance of the organization. She continues to serve on the Operations Committee of Friendship APL during her rotation off the board.
Dawn Ermler-Fischer, Emeritus
Broadcast Technician, WKYC
Dawn is a graduate of Valparaiso University with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. She moved to Cleveland from Chicago in 1990 for her job as a broadcast technician at WKYC-TV. She has always had a passion for animal welfare and rescued her 1st cat when she was 8 years old and has rescued 2 dozen cats off the streets of Cleveland. She got involved with Friendship APL in January of 2011 after talking with Greg Willey in the Green Room at WKYC-TV. Greg asked her to come to the shelter for a visit, Dawn asked what she could bring, catnip toys was the answer. Dawn bought some toys but made some toys too. This is how “Trixie’s Toys” began. Dawn visits the shelter every month with a fresh batch of catnip toys for all the shelter cats and “Trixie’s Toys” for sale in the toy shop. “Trixie’s Toys” are an ongoing fundraiser for the shelter. Every penny raised by the sale of her toys stays with the shelter. Dawn hopes her skills as a broadcast technician will provide social media support for the shelter and awareness to animal welfare in Northeast Ohio.
Executive Director
Gregory Willey, Executive Director
Gregory Willey has been working in animal welfare for nearly twenty years. He graduated with a degree in communication from Cleveland State University in 2001. Shortly after graduating, he began working as the Volunteer Coordinator at Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter. He worked there for eight years where he worked alongside his awesome team of staff and volunteers to build an incredible adoption program! During his time at Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter, he became a certified Volunteer Coordinator through Kent State University. He was also certified as an animal control officer through the National Animal Control Association.
In 2009, Greg took the opportunity to become the Executive Director of Friendship Animal Protective League. For the past ten years, he has worked tirelessly to develop new programs to help the companion pets of Lorain County and Northeast Ohio. When he arrived, the shelter was struggling to provide care for the 1,100 animals it cared for annually. Today, they are thriving providing care and services for over 5,000 animals a year.
Greg is a proud graduate of Leadership Lorain County (Best Class of 2013!). He was awarded the Emerald Award for Inspirational Leadership in 2017. He was awarded the Key to the City of Elyria in 2016 for his work in developing a trap neuter and return program for the community. Greg would not have accomplished any of the is without the support of his amazing wife, his incredible board of directors, and his dedicated team of staff and volunteers.
