Board Of Directors

Pat Nicholls

As Secretary, I publish minutes from our monthly board meetings. Before retiring 5 years ago, I worked for the Chrysler Corporation for 30 years as the manager of Purchasing Systems. And 3 years ago, after I retired, I moved to the Grand Rapids area. 

I have always loved animals. Growing up, our dog was the center of our family. When I retired and decided I wanted to be active in volunteering, it was an obvious choice to certify Sierra as a therapy dog.  Her personality is perfect and volunteering together has increased the bond we have with each other.  And, what better way to volunteer than to always bring along one of your best friends?!’

Sierra has been certified as a therapy dog for a total of 6 years, but we completed training with WMTD in 2022 and have been very active since then. I understand the effort and work required behind the scenes to successfully manage a large diverse organization such as WMTD. With my background both professionally and with previous therapy dog experience, I feel I am a good fit on the board. I love visiting the airport because of the diversity.  We encounter people of all ages and all different emotions, whether it’s happy, sad, frustrated, bored, excited, scared or lonely. It highlights the scope of support capable of a therapy dog team. I hope that WMTD can continue to grow, providing a broad range of opportunities for their teams to serve their community.

Jessica Walters

As the Treasurer, I am responsible for managing and overseeing WMTD’s finances, ensuring financial policies are followed, and providing accurate financial reporting. My responsibilities include budgeting, financial reporting, ensuring compliance with regulations, managing accounts, overseeing audits, and contributing to strategic financial planning. I advise the board on financial decisions to ensure the financial health and sustainability of the organization. In my professional career, I am currently a benefits consultant and the COO of Total Control Health Plans.

Growing up on a horse farm, my life was deeply intertwined with animals from a very young age. Our farm was alive with all kinds of animals, from dogs and horses to chickens and barn cats, each contributing its own rhythm to the pulse of daily life. I spent my childhood not just caring for them, but actively engaging in training, nurturing, and even competing with them. I joined WMTD in 2019. My therapy dog, Breslin and I love the Ruff Readers program. He loves engaging with the kids, helping them relax, and enjoys all of their snuggles while I get to listen to them read and learn about them through their stories. My hope for WMTD is to continue to expand access to therapy dogs and broaden the impact of underserved communities as well as to continue to raise public awareness about the benefits of therapy dogs and how they are different from other types of service animals.

Katie Duthler

As the Director of Education and Training, I teach the Intro to Pet Therapy classes as well as help with prescreens and recertifications. In my professional career, I am currently the accounts payable manager and receiving manager at Orchard Market with a ton of background working with dogs at daycare/boarding/training facilities.

I have grown up with dogs and have many years of experience working at a dog daycare/training facility. I officially joined WMTD as a junior handler in 2009 with Charley, a Golden Retriever, however, I have been helping with classes and testing since 2005. WMTD has been such a huge part of my life and now as an adult, I want to be in a position that will allow me to help this organization grow. My favorite programs to visit are the Mary Free Bed Christmas Program and Ruff Readers. My hope for WMTD is that it will continue to grow and have more dogs touch the lives of many throughout the community.

Sue Huyck

As the Volunteer Coordinator, I am of service to the organization in a different capacity other than volunteering as a therapy dog team in the community at WMTD programs. In addition to being a member of the board, I currently volunteer on testing days and help out during training classes, and enjoy it very much.

I have been an active member of WMTD since 2011. I have had the pleasure of working as a volunteer team with two of my therapy dogs over the years: Jagger and Gregor. Maxwell will be my third therapy dog; we’ll become a team this spring after completing the WMTD training course. My passion has always been serving the WMTD programs as a team with my therapy dog. My hope for WMTD is to continue to grow in the number of volunteer teams in order to fulfill the needs and requests of all programs in West Michigan.  As an all-volunteer non-profit organization, the challenge is great but, with dedicated leadership all the goals of the organization can be met!

Jeanne Lewis

I am currently not a board member but have taken up the “founder” position to observe and contribute where and when I can. I wanted to stay a part of the organization to keep an eye on what I started. I currently teach and test teams that come through our therapy dog classes. I am currently retired, but I have worked previously as a canine trainer and doggy daycare manager. 

I never really joined WMTD… I started it. So, you could say I joined at about 2:30 PM, Saturday, May 19, 2001, while sitting in Riverside Park after visiting the veterans home. I don’t have a favorite program, but I enjoy visiting Mary Free Bed. I’d love to see WMTD long after I’m gone. I would like to see WMTD have a true home of its own—a training facility where we can rent space to other trainers. Then, we could have a real hospital bed and several other items we use for training classes

Heidi Yahrmarkt

As the Director of Communications, I coordinate communications with members and help communicate over social media too. I have worn many hats in my professional life. I managed a $250,000,000 business, I am a para pro at a private school, I am an office manager for my husband, and I am a mom–just to name a few. 

I had dogs growing up my entire life and joined WMTD about 2.5 years ago. I believe in WMTD’s mission and want to help further the organization in any way I can which is why I am a member of the board. We love visiting Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital every month doing room-to-room visits.  And, I loved visiting AeroMed this past summer. My hope for WMTD in the future is to continue the amazing work that our organization has done for almost 25 years and expand to places that would benefit from our visits.