Laurelee Blanchard

Laurelee Blanchard, Founder and President of Leilani Farm Sanctuary, has dedicated her life to rescuing animals and fostering the compassionate treatment of all living beings.

In 1989, Laurelee started rescuing homeless cats, arranged for them to be spayed and neutered, and placed them in good homes. She led a successful three-year campaign that resulted in the Orange County Animal Shelter implementing a policy of sterilizing all cats and dogs prior to release as a way to combat companion animal overpopulation.

From 1998 to 2003 Laurelee served as Director of Communications for Farm Animal Reform Movement (FARM), a non-profit public interest organization in Washington, DC dedicated to educating the public about large-scale factory farming of animals raised for food. Her responsibilities included preparing news releases, conducting media interviews, managing the letters to editor program, handling celebrity relations, maintaining contact with animal-friendly journalists, and requesting proclamations from government officials.

From 2003 to 2006, Laurelee worked as National Campaign Consultant to Farm Sanctuary, and was responsible for national farm animal protection campaigns and Hawaii legislation.

Since 2001, Laurelee has been volunteering as Maui Director of the Vegetarian Society of Hawaii (VSH), a not-for-profit organization that promotes human health, animal rights, and protection of the environment by means of vegetarian education. VSH is the largest regional vegetarian society in the country with more than 1800 members.

She was elected the Vegetarian Society of Hawaii's Board of Directors in 2004 and continues to serve in this capacity.

Holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in Real Estate Finance, Laurelee works as a professional real estate agent and donates 20% of her real estate commissions to animal protection organizations.

Board of Directors

Cathy Goeggel

A founding member of Animal Rights Hawai'i (1977) and current Director of Research and Investigations, Cathy's work focuses on ending a wide range of animal abuse in Hawai'i, on the mainland and internationally. Cathy was President of the Honolulu Zoological Society and currently serves as Hawai'i State Chair of Project Patriot of the Daughters of the American Revolution, which provides support for wounded soldiers.

Catherine Blake, Reverend

Catherine has devoted 28 years to researching, teaching, and counseling about natural wellness, specializing in medicinal plants, nutrition, and spiritual well-being. She earned a Certificate of Nutritional Biochemistry in Micronutrients from the College of World Health and a Bachelor of Divinity. Catherine lives on Maui with her husband Dr. Steve Blake, two cats, and rescued chickens. She is also an active member of Vegetarian Society of Hawaii on Maui

Barry Sultanoff, M.D.

A graduate of Cornell University and University of Rochester School of Medicine, Dr. Sultanoff is a practicing psychiatrist. In addition, he is a show host on Manao Radio, member of the Kihei Canoe Club, the Olinda Chorale, and Mantokuji Taiko Drumming Group. He is a committed vegan who strives to teach others about the benefits of a plant-based diet. Dr. Sultanoff shares his home with a flock of cage-free doves.

Advisory Board

Peter Dobias, DVM

Dr. Dobias is a holistic veterinarian whose outside interests include kite-boarding, travel, reading, yoga, healthy lifestyle, photography, skiing, and surfing. Born in the Czech Republic, the tradition of healing has been in his family for generations. His grandfather was an experienced herbalist and his father was a veterinarian. He spent most of his teenage and university years around horses, admiring them for their connection to nature, their strength, and their gentleness. He recognized the undeniable fact that animals have personalities, emotions, individual needs, and the ability to perceive the world around them on a deeper energetic and intuitive level.

In 1999, he established Healing Place, a holistic veterinary medicine center in North Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Dr. Dobias had become increasingly interested in exploring the connections between physical health and emotional well-being. He saw clearly that clients' well being played an important role in their animals' healing process. This realization sparked his interest in courses on human homeopathy, and he studied with some of the most progressive and prominent teachers in the world.

The next step in his evolution was marked by the recognition of the undeniable similarity of animals to the people with whom they live. After years of experience and observation, Dr. Dobias confirmed that animals mirror their guardians' emotions, personalities, and often share the nature and location of their physical diseases. This connection led Peter to establishing a modern holistic healing system that offers clients the opportunity to become directly involved in the treatment process.