Sally Abel

Shelter animals have been near and dear to Sally’s heart since she and her family brought a tiny, coughing puppy home from a local shelter when she was 8. That puppy grew to be Sally’s best friend for 17 years. Fast forward 20 year or so, Sally and her family visited HSSV to adopt a dog, after Sally’s then 8 year old daughter announced that she wanted to name a dog “Dakota”. It was only after the family fell for a stunning Australian Shepard mix and Sally went to sign the adoption papers, that they learned that HSSV had named the dog “Dakota” when it arrived at the shelter a few days before. The karma of that moment later led to the family adopting another HSSV alum, Freddy, and to Houdini and Louise, both rescues, and a lasting commitment to all things HSSV.

When not adopting dogs, Sally, an attorney, enjoyed a long and distinguished career at Silicon Valley powerhouse Fenwick & West. Sally founded and built Fenwick’s internationally renowned Trademark practice, representing a Who’s Who of tech companies, from start ups to the Fortune 100. Her Board experience includes the Computer History Museum and the International Trademark Association (INTA), as well as a small for profit. In 1997 she was privileged to represent INTA on the International Ad Hoc Committee (IAHC), an 11 person international body, organized by the Internet Society, to restructure the internet domain name system. She has served since as a neutral panelist in numerous domain name disputes and advised countless clients on issues involving trademarks and brands in digital space. In 2014, The National Law Journal named Sally to its inaugural list of “Intellectual Property Trailblazers and Pioneers” and she received numerous other accolades over the years – international, national, California and Silicon Valley – as a preeminent trademark lawyer. But one of her all time favorite professional experiences? Representing HSSV on pro bono matters.

Andrea Borch

Andrea joined the Board of Directors in January 2019, but her involvement with HSSV started 20 years earlier. At that time, the Borch family adopted guinea pigs from the Humane Society’s location in Santa Clara and started supporting the organization financially. Because of her love for animals, Andrea has a special place in her heart for HSSV and its vital work of strengthening the mutual people-pet bond and finding forever homes for adoptable animals. HSSV alums Wilbur the dog and Indy the cat live with the Borchs in their menagerie of rescue pets.

As part of the HSSV Board responsibilities, Andrea sits on the Donor Relations and Audit Committees. Additionally, Andrea has volunteered to transport animals and supplies, and she and her family have fostered kittens. During shelter-in-place in spring 2020, a momma dog and her  8 puppies lived in the family’s dining room. (And Wilbur decided to stay!)

Andrea also serves on the BOD for the Family Giving Tree and the Board of Managers for the Southwest YMCA, and she is active in her church. Andrea earned her BS and MS in journalism from Northwestern University; her professional career included writing stories for news organizations where she was based in Washington, D.C., Boston, New York, and Singapore. Andrea and her husband, Chris, live in Saratoga, where they raised their four children. 

Sally Hazard Bourgoin

Sally rejoined the HSSV board in September of 2021, returning after serving from September 2014 to September 2020.  During her tenure on the HSSV board, Sally served as vice chair from 2015 to 2020.   Sally previously served on the board of the Tech Museum of Innovation (now the Tech Interactive) for 15 years. There she served as vice chair, co-chair of the development committee and a member of the Tech Awards executive committee.

In her professional career, Sally consulted in her own firm in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. She developed and delivered management training, facilitated groups and team meetings, and provided coaching for individual performance, effectiveness and problem resolution. Her work with non-profit boards included strategic planning, communications, and organization development. Prior to her consulting work, Sally served in senior human resource management roles at Advanced Micro Devices, ROLM Corporation, IBM, Software Publishing Corporation and Sun Microsystems, where she led the human resources function at SunSoft, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sun Microsystems. Prior to her years in high tech, Sally was employed in academic administration at Menlo School of Business Administration.

Sally holds a master’s degree in organization development from the University of San Francisco and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. She and her husband John live with their two dogs, Bentley and Cooper.

Alison Buchanan

Alison rejoined the HSSV Board of Directors in September 2022 after previously serving from 2015 to 2021. Growing up on six acres, Alison had pets of all kinds: dogs, cats, horses, birds, bunnies, a lizard, and beloved hamster Balki Bartokomous. As a child, her family was frequently “adopted” by stray cats and dogs. These early experiences with animals taught Alison that rescues make the best pets and that every animal deserves a chance.

As a shareholder with the San Jose law firm of Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel, Alison focuses on business litigation and representing lawyers and law firms. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of California at Irvine (class of ’98) and her juris doctorate from the Chicago-Kent College of Law (class of ’01). Alison’s prior nonprofit and volunteer experience includes serving on the board for a nonprofit independent living facility for the elderly and co-chairing the Amicus Committee for the Silicon Valley Campaign for Legal Services. She is the Chair of the California Lawyer’s Association Ethics Committee and volunteers on various state and county bar association committees.

Alison lives in San Jose with her husband Jeremy and their two dogs Chloe (a senior terrier mix and HSSV alum) and Magnolia (an enthusiastic Australian Shepherd). In addition to caring deeply about animals, Alison loves cooking, cheering for the Chicago Cubs, and traveling. She is thrilled to work with the HSSV and to make a difference for animals in need.

Neel Chatterjee

Neel joined the HSSV Board of Directors in September 2023.  Growing up in Silicon Valley, he had a much beloved rescue cat named Monseiur (for a striped “M” on his head) which his family nicknamed “Moosh.” After college and law school, Neel returned to Silicon Valley and his family has had six rescue animals, three cats and three dogs.  These pets have been essential parts of the family, providing much needed emotional and mental health support during the COVID pandemic.

Beyond being a rescue pet lover, Neel is an internationally renowned technology litigation and trial partner at Goodwin Procter LLP.  He has handled some of the most groundbreaking technology cases in the country and some of his cases have even been made into feature length films and television shows.  He is also a champion of diversity and has handled some of the most high-profile pro bono cases in the country. Neel earned a Bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and his law degree from Vanderbilt University.  He then worked as a law clerk for the Supreme Court of Colorado and for a Federal Magistrate Judge in San Jose.  Neel has had many nonprofit and volunteer roles, including the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, AccessLex, the Asian Pacific Fund, the California Bar Foundation, and the National Advisory Counsel of the South Asian American Bar Association of North America.  He is a highly sought speaker for his unique and entertaining approach to legal education.  In fact, he was part of the very first team to offer legal education credit at Comic Con.

Neel lives in Los Altos with his wife Carrie and their three dogs, Elsa, Buster and Daisy.  Neel and Carrie also have two children who are animal lovers as well.

Peter Detkin

Peter N. Detkin is a founder at Intellectual Ventures where he focuses on a variety of projects relating to intellectual property and invention. Intellectual Asset Management recently named Mr. Detkin the second most influential “IP market maker” in the world.

Peter is also a Managing Director at Sherpa Technology Group, providing strategy and M&A services for technology and IP.

Prior to joining Intellectual Ventures, Mr. Detkin spent 8 years at Intel Corporation where he was a vice president and assistant general counsel. As assistant general counsel, Mr. Detkin was responsible for managing the Intel patent and licensing departments, including all aspects of prosecution and claims management. Mr. Detkin also managed the litigation and competition policy departments (including antitrust).

Before he joined Intel, Mr. Detkin was a partner at the law firm of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati in Palo Alto, Calif. Mr. Detkin was the first patent lawyer hired at this firm and formed the basis of its highly- successful intellectual property practice. While at Wilson Sonsini, he had lead or second chair responsibility for a number of high profile litigations, including the seminal computer copyright case Lotus v. Borland.

Mr. Detkin is the past president of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, an organization dedicated to providing legal services to low-income children and families, people with mental and developmental disabilities, AIDS patients and victims of discrimination. Through his extensive involvement with the Foundation over the years, he has worked with others to provide free legal services to thousands of low-income families and children through a variety of programs. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Brady Campaign and Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Mr. Detkin received his B.S.E.E. with honors in 1982 from the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical Engineering and a J.D. in 1985 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He serves as a member of the Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Mr. Detkin was a member of the State Bars of California and New York, and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Peter’s passion is around social injustice. HSSV is an expression of this passion since no one is has less power than an animal with no one to speak on its behalf.  He believes that domesticated animals have been bred to take away their abilities to fend for themselves in the wild and, as such, humans have a duty to take care of them.  He and his wife, Michelle Oates, have adopted several pets (2 dogs, 2 cats) from HSSV and are grateful to HSSV for bringing them into their lives.

Sue Diekman

Sue Diekman re–joined the HSSV Board of Directors in July 2018 after taking a one year hiatus. She originally joined in June 2008. She became board chair in July 2012 and was previously board vice–chair from July 2009–June 2011. Sue and her husband John (an HSSV Honorary Board member) were co–chairs of HSSV’S Paint a Better Future fundraising campaign. Additionally, Sue’s current philanthropic leadership includes serving on the Director’s Advisory Board of the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, as well as on the boards of the San Francisco Ballet and the East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring program at Stanford. Past affiliations include the boards of Menlo School, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, Business Arts Council in San Francisco and Northern California Grantmakers.

Until she retired in August 1998, Sue was employed by AirTouch Communications, where she was Director of the AirTouch Communications Foundation. Prior to joining AirTouch, Sue was Cultural Program Director of Pacific Telesis Foundation, with responsibility for the foundation’s cultural grant–making as well as national and international exhibitions of the corporation’s Ansel Adams collection.

Sue holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and a master’s degree in education from Stanford University. She and her husband John are passionate about animals and have two dogs, Sage and Benny– an HSSV alum. They enjoy traveling, the arts, and sports.

Shirley Chen Lee

Shirley joined the HSSV Board of Directors in January 2021.

A Bay Area native, Shirley earned her B.A. from San Jose State University. After a career as a design and marketing professional in the tech industry, she shifted her focus to raising her (now teenage) children and to community involvement. She became an active volunteer at the public schools and with many local nonprofit organizations where she applied her professional skills to her passion of helping to improve her community. She is also a founding board member of an establishing nonprofit community foundation focused on assisting those impacted economically, particularly by the recent pandemic.

Shirley began her volunteer involvement with HSSV in 2016, though she was a supporter for many years prior. She was responsible for bringing together HSSV and the Stanford Hills chapter of the National Charity League and the MVLA Service League of Boys, two youth service organizations who continue to successfully support HSSV today. With her children, her volunteer activities have ranged from organizing donation drives to fostering dogs. Their biggest achievement so far has been not foster-failing!

Shirley and her husband, Davin, live in Los Altos with their three children and Maltipoo dog, Bob.

Jenny Lee

Jenny joined the Board of Directors in May 2023. She began volunteering at HSSV in 2017 and is thrilled to support our mission in saving and enhancing lives.

Jenny is a San Francisco native with 35+ years of experience in accounting, financial reporting, investment analysis, and management consulting in the venture capital community. She also served as adjunct faculty, and enjoyed sharing her industry knowledge in corporate and partnership accounting with young students at the start of their careers. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/Accounting and a master’s degree in Taxation.

Jenny began volunteering in her children’s public schools, tutoring kids in math and reading, serving as advisor to PTA’s Budget and Finance Committee, and supporting the local Chamber of Commerce’s biggest annual fundraiser, the Fremont Art and Wine Festival.

Her passion for animals grew from her father, a WWII US Army veteran canine handler. Over the years, she adopted/fostered several rescue pets. Recently she adopted HSSV alum, Molly, an energetic senior chihuahua-terrier mix. Jenny is devoted to animal wellness and cherishes the human-pet bond.

Jenny enjoys spending time with her three children and young granddaughter, swimming, playing classical piano, and power walking with Molly.

Will Martin

Will is a Private Wealth Manager at Three Bell Capital in Los Altos, where he specializes in diversifying client portfolios through the use of alternative investments such as Real Estate, Private Equity/Private Credit, Venture and Absolute Return funds.  Prior to joining Three Bell, Will was a SVP/Sr Portfolio Manager for 27 years at American Century Investments, where he managed several funds and strategies across asset classes that included asset allocation funds, quantitative equities, emerging market debt, currencies and commodities.  At American Century, his clients ranged from retail investors to large pensions, endowments, and sovereign wealth funds.

Will grew up in central Illinois not far from where he completed his Bachelors in Economics at the University of Illinois, and thereafter secured his CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst designation).  He has enjoyed being a member of the HSSV finance committee since 2017. He recently completed a cycle in a similar role at Montalvo Arts Program in Saratoga.

Will and his wife Simona raised their two sons, Cole and Jake, in the bay area and always had a house full of pets, including 4 dogs, 4 cats, 2 birds, fish, and even frogs. He has always been grateful for the way animals helped to shape valuable lessons, traits, and qualities in their children.  They currently live in Pebble Beach where he enjoys golf, pickleball, walking their dogs (Lilly and Otis – Pibble Mix, and Zelda – CHUG) on the beach, and hiking the Monterey peninsula with friends.

Christy N. Richardson

Christy Richardson serves as Chief Investment Officer of The Sobrato Organization, where she oversees Sobrato Capital, manages Sobrato Philanthropies’ investment portfolio, leads impact investment activities, and advises on TSO’s overall asset allocation. Prior to joining TSO, Christy spent the prior 15 years as the Director of Private Investments for the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, where she had point responsibility for a third of the $10 billion endowment spanning venture capital, buyout, and infrastructure strategies globally. Prior to Hewlett, Christy was a Partner in the private equity group at Thomas Weisel Partners, co-managing the private equity fund-of-funds and secondary investing practices.

Christy began her career in investment banking at Alex, Brown & Sons and later at Mercury Capital Management, a Silicon Valley family investment office. Ms. Richardson received her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Dartmouth College. She also serves as Treasurer and Board Member of the Humane Society of Silicon Valley.

Christy lives in Los Altos with her husband, three kids, and their black lab Zeke.

Andie Sobrato

Andie Sobrato joined the HSSV Board of Directors in August 2021. She is the founder and main stylist of Andie Sobrato, LLC, focused on helping people in the Bay Area feel more confident in their clothing. Prior to starting her styling business, she worked in a variety of marketing roles in Silicon Valley. After almost 10 years in tech, she pivoted to focus on her new business and philanthropic endeavors.

She is passionate about animal welfare, women’s rights, and education. She currently serves as a Trustee at Castilleja School, an all girl school in Palo Alto as well as an Advisory Board member at Santa Clara University’s Ignatian Center. She also mentors first-gen high school students through Peninsula College Fund.

Andie received her Bachelor’s in business marketing from Santa Clara University. She currently lives in Los Altos with her husband, John, and their HSSV alum Otis. As an avid Pit Bull advocate, she looks forward to working with HSSV to help animals in need find forever homes.

Shannon Wass

Shannon joined the HSSV Board of Directors in September 2019. Shannon was raised in the Willamette Valley area of Oregon and studied Theater Arts at the University of Oregon. She moved to California in 2005 and began a career in residential Real Estate. After retiring, Shannon became very involved as a volunteer with many non-profit organizations. She began volunteering with HSSV in the kitten nursery and as a feline foster parent in 2013 and now serves as a Feline Foster Mentor and is a member of the Donor Relations Committee. She also serves as the Board President for the San Francisco 49ers Academy. Additionally, Shannon is a member of the Walt Disney Family Museum Advisory Committee.

Shannon and her husband, Dan, both spend many of their evenings and weekends playing ice hockey at Sharks Ice in San Jose. She is the captain of 2 teams and a member of several additional teams. They also love to spend their time traveling, especially to Disneyland! They live with their 4 cats, who are all HSSV alumni.