Meet the Board
Our Leadership
Becky Bynum
Board President, Friends of the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter (FCCAS)
Becky began volunteering at Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter (CCAS) in April of 2013, spending about 10 hours a week walking dogs. She was impressed right away with how welcoming a place it was—both the staff and the other volunteers made her feel at home there right away. Soon, she began training other volunteers to walk dogs. When CCAS started playgroups, she was eager to help with them as well. It was apparent how good the groups are for the dogs—and for the people connected with them. She has also fostered puppies for CCAS for several years.
Today, Becky serves as President of the Board. She lives in Shaker with her husband and their dogs: Sunny, a Pit Bull, and Hermes, a Shepherd mix.
Lindsay Marinkov
Vice President, FCCAS
In 2019, Lindsay learned of the great work being done at CCAS through the social media posts about the famous Savi and Salami: With the help of FCCAS, these two dogs were transported across the country to rescues that could further provide the support and structure they needed. Shortly thereafter, Pickles, who was a helper dog to Savi and Salami, became the CCAS “Daily Dog.” The warm and loving posts about Pickles drew Lindsay right into becoming a volunteer dog walker. She now helps with playgroups and fondly refers to it as her weekly therapy session.
Lindsay is a Trust Officer at Johnson Trust Company in Brecksville, Ohio. In this role, she works directly with clients, their attorneys, and other advisors to ensure their estate plan is customized and implemented in accordance with their goals and objectives. She holds the Certified Trust and Financial Advisor (CTFA) designation.
Lindsay lives in Westpark with her husband, Nick, along with their two dogs, Buzz & Babs, and cat, Emma.
Susan Kennedy-Kalafatis
Board secretary, FCCAS
Susan lives in Shaker Heights with her husband and two rescued dogs, Sofia and Monty, and two rescued cats, Scamper and Pip. She has volunteered for various dog rescue groups for several years. She has three adult children. She has worked in various roles in medical cost forecasting for Aetna for the past 24 years. She is a past President and former Trustee of Shaker Figure Skating Club.
Susan earned her Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Modelling in Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara and her B.A. at Middlebury College.
Kelli Bernstein
Board Treasurer, FCCAS
Kelli’s love of animals has led to her excitement to become a part of the Board of FCCAS in 2024. Kelli is a CPA and a partner at Meaden & Moore, a public accounting firm in Cleveland, Ohio, where she oversees the firm’s quality control and meets assurance needs of her clients. She serves in many volunteer roles including an accounting advisory committee at Cleveland State University and a small business advisory committee at Tri-C Cuyahoga Community College.
Kelli lives in Independence with her husband, Ron. She has four sons, Joey, Justin, Ryan, and Nathan. They also have a German Shephard, Atlas, and her five cats, Pepper, Melvin, Sven, Ruby, and Cola. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading and spending time with her family and fur babies.
Melissa Stover
At-Large Board Member, FCCAS
Melissa has been a long time supporter of dog rescue in the greater Cleveland area and joined the FCCAS board in 2024 as a member at large. She is the Vice President of Compliance at MarshBerry, an investment bank and consulting firm, headquartered in Woodmere, OH where she leads a team of compliance professionals and helps the firm monitor risk. Melissa is also passionate about teaching community yoga as part of Yoga for Every BODY during Cleveland’s beautiful summers.
Melissa lives in Parma with her dog, CCAS alum, Sullivan.
Renee Schmidt
At-Large Board Member, FCCAS
Renee first discovered CCAS when she and her husband Brent adopted Matthew from CCAS in late 2019 and spent five wonderful years with him before he passed away in January 2025 at the age of 18. She wanted to contribute more to the dog community in NEO and joined the FCCAS board in early 2025 as a member at large. She works as a dog walker for Social Paws and you can find her on the game day promotions teams for the Cleveland Monsters and Cleveland Browns. Renee runs her own company, Doggy I Do, where she assists couples who want to include their dogs in their weddings. In her free time Renee enjoys volunteering, reading and kayaking.
Renee lives in Brooklyn with her husband, ten dogs, two cats and whichever foster dog is currently calling their house home.