The executive team at Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV) shares an endless love for animals and works tirelessly to build a compassionate community that enriches thousands of lives. Learn about the people leading our mission to save and enhance lives!
Carol Novello
President
Carol joined HSSV as President in September 2010 and previously served on HSSV’s Board of Directors for one year. Through her leadership, HSSV became the world’s first model shelter by meeting all guidelines set forth by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians. During her tenure, mission results have seen significant increases in intake, adoptions, save rate, and animals receiving extended care.
Prior to HSSV, Carol spent over 20 years in the high–tech industry and most recently worked for Intuit, where she held numerous general management and marketing positions including president of the MasterBuilder Software Division, Vice President/General Manager – QuickBooks Online, and Vice President- Marketing for QuickBooks. She is also the author of Mutual Rescue: How Adopting a Homeless Animal Can Save You, Too (Grand Central Publishing, April 2019).
Carol received her MBA from Harvard Business School, and her bachelor’s degree in economics and English from Dickinson College. Her family includes several rescue animals.
Candice Balmaceda
Vice President, Finance
Candice joined HSSV as Vice President, Finance in 2014. She is responsible for the organization’s financial planning, billing, and accounting practices. She directs internal treasury staff, and advises management about liabilities and risks while defining and implementing policies and procedures for all of the organization’s finance functions.
Before joining HSSV, Candice was named chief compliance officer in 2014 at Opportunity Fund Northern California in San Jose, where she was chief financial officer since 2007. She started her non–profit career at the Community Foundation Silicon Valley in 2001 and held various positions including Director of Finance and was VP, Finance/Controller in 2007 when the organization merged to become Silicon Valley Community Foundation. In 1993, Candice was an accountant at MIJ International, Ltd. in New York City then moved to California two years later. For the next six years, she was the accounting and Human Resources manager for Delectables, Inc. in Santa Clara.
Candice holds a BSC degree in accounting from De La Salle University, Manila. She lives in Fremont with her family and loves to garden with Kiko, their seven–year old beagle.
Joanne Jacobs
Chief of Operations
Joanne Jacobs joined HSSV as Chief of Operations in 2016. She is responsible for Marketing, IT, Facilities, and driving cross–functional operational excellence.
Before joining HSSV, Joanne held various executive positions in P&L management, product management, marketing, operations and IT at Intuit and other high-tech companies in Silicon Valley. Prior to that, she began her career at GE and GE Capital in the engineering leadership program and moved on to senior leadership roles in sales, sourcing, and business process management.
Joanne holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Davis, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and an MBA from Santa Clara University. A lifelong animal lover, she lives in Los Altos and enjoys spending time with her golden retriever Scout and her rescue Rottweiler mix Ruby.
Dr. Cristie Kamiya
Chief of Shelter Medicine
Dr. Kamiya joined HSSV as Vice President, Medical Operations in November 2012. For over a year prior to this role, Dr. Kamiya spent Saturdays in HSSV’s surgery suite as a contract veterinary surgeon. In July 2014, Dr. Kamiya stepped in to the role of Chief of Shelter Medicine, overseeing Shelter and Medical Operations. Prior to HSSV, Dr. Kamiya worked as a shelter veterinarian in humane societies, municipal shelters, and rescues in the Denver–Boulder areas of Colorado, the greater Phoenix metro area of Arizona, and Northern California.
In July 2013, Dr. Kamiya completed a 3–year intensive residency–training program in shelter medicine from the University of California–Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Kamiya is one of just a handful of residency–trained, Shelter Veterinarians in the country. She holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and a Master of Business Administration degree from Colorado State University.
Dr. Kamiya enjoys traveling and volunteering with organizations that provide veterinary support for underserved areas in the U.S. and internationally. In her free time, Dr. Kamiya delights in fostering underage shelter kittens, and spending time outdoors with her adopted shelter dogs.
Stephanie Ladeira
Chief of Philanthropy and Community Development
Stephanie joined HSSV in January 2006. As the Chief of Philanthropy & Community Development, Stephanie oversees a team of ten development professionals. Special campaigns completed since joining HSSV’s leadership team are a $25M building campaign and HSSV’s first ever $55M comprehensive campaign. In the community development role, Stephanie’s focus is on one of HSSV’s newest strategic priorities: to provide integrated services that impact both human and animal lives. By addressing the key issues facing under–served individuals who consider pets part of their family and by enhancing the transitional growth and development of marginalized groups, HSSV aims to improve peoples’ lives and increase its mission results.
Stephanie earned a BS from University of South Carolina and was a past board member for a German Shorthair rescue group. She also served as volunteer counsel for an animal welfare organization in her home state of South Carolina. Stephanie shares her home with Eli, a Black and Tan Coonhound, Ruby, an Akita/Pekinese mix, and Buster, a Border Collie from the 2018 Butte Camp Fire area.
Yvonne Saucedo
Vice President, Human Resources, Volunteer Programs and Humane Education
Yvonne joined HSSV in June 2017 as Vice President, Human Resources, Volunteer Programs and Humane Education after spending time as a corporate volunteer and supporter. When Yvonne learned about HSSV during a corporate experience event, she knew immediately that this was the place she wanted to support and eventually work. Prior to HSSV, Yvonne held various executive–level Human Resources positions in the high-tech industry. In her 20 years of experience, she primarily focused on Mergers and Acquisitions, Human Resources Operations, Organizational Development, Talent Acquisition and building G&A functions within start–ups. She holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology and earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from San Francisco State.
Yvonne volunteers her time as a member of the Board of Directors for Warm Winters. She has combined her lifetime support of animals and her love of world travel by continuing to transport and escort rescue animals back to the US from less developed countries to find their forever homes. As appropriately noted by her dear friend, her 3 cats (Bonnie, Clyde and White Paw Kitty) currently share their home with Yvonne and her husband.