Meet The
Board
Meet our board of executive members that are the core foundation of the organization. With their esteemed leadership we are carrying the legacy of Helping Hounds with pride and a vision to serve the best.
Joe Fousek – President
Joe Fousek is the Chief Information Officer and Security Officer for McDougall Gauley, the largest law firm in Saskatchewan, Canada. Joe has been the Board President for Helping Hounds since joining the Board in late October 2020. Joe relocated to Syracuse from Minneapolis, MN, where he was the Board President for Mini-Hops Gymnastics, the largest non-profit in the country supporting Special Olympics gymnastics.
Grayson Walter – Vice President
Grayson represents individuals, corporations, limited liability companies and other for-profit, not-for profit and cooperative business entities and institutions with respect to abroad range of legal and business issues.
He has experience working with large and small businesses, across diverse sectors and industries including technology, finance, education, insurance, construction, manufacturing, retail, health care, energy, agribusiness, and transportation and logistics. Grayson provides counsel to companies and their stakeholders regarding contract negotiation, senior-secured, subordinated and unsecured debt financing, equity investment and financing, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and other corporate
formation, ownership, governance and transition matters.
Grayson also has extensive distressed business turnaround and restructuring experience. He has represented public and privately held companies, institutional lenders, private equity firms, hedge funds, bond insurers, court-appointed fiduciaries and governmental entities in a wide variety of in-court and out-of-court restructuring,reorganization and insolvency matters, including bankruptcy-related litigation and sales/acquisitions of distressed assets.
Nicholas Lee – Treasurer
My name is Nicholas Lee, I work for Bowers CPAs and Advisors in our Audit
Department, leading our construction niche. I primarily focus on preparing reviewed financial statements and assisting with tax planning for our clients in the construction industry. My wife and I adopted Munchkin (Harvey), a corgi with elbow dysplasia about a year and a half ago and could not be happier. Hobbies are golf and slow-pitch softball.
Anthony Johnston – Secretary
I’m an attorney in the in the Syracuse area specializing in criminal law, as well as wills and trusts. I’m from Liverpool, New York. I teach martial arts on the weekends and love my dog, Hank, very much.
Dr. Jamie Lovejoy
Helen Kelley
Helen is a passionate advocate and development professional with more than 18+ years of fundraising experience in Education, Social Services and Healthcare sectors. She is currently the Agency Development Officer at Elmcrest Children’s Center, that provides services and programs for children with emotional, behavioral and developmental limitations who need help to overcome barriers and succeed in their homes, schools and in their communities. Helen is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Syracuse Pops Chorus and Governance Council of the Women’s Fund
and is a Rotarian. When she is not working or volunteering, she enjoys spending time with family, singing, cooking and gardening. Helen lives in Syracuse with her husband and rescue pup, Rooter.
Christen Belcher
Christen joins us as the Fund Development chair using her skills as a strategic operations partner and fractional Chief Operating Officer (COO) helping founder-led companies grow without the chaos. After more than 25 years leading and scaling organizations across SaaS, Tech, legal services, manufacturing, med-spa, and nonprofits, Christen has learned how to turn “we’re figuring it out as we go” operations into clear, simple, repeatable systems that actually work. She loves breaking down complexity and rebuilding it in a way that makes sense for both the business and the people doing the work. Throughout her career, she’s helped companies grow from $3M to greater than $80M, expanded teams from a few dozen people to hundreds, and built cultures where expectations are unmistakably clear, and accountability feels shared—not punitive. Her goal is always the same: give leaders and teams the clarity, structure, and confidence they need so the business can grow, and the people inside it can thrive.
James Wright
I live in Onondaga Hill with my wife, our 4 children, and 3 dogs. I am a Commercial Banker and work with small and medium businesses with their lending and depository needs. When I am not working, I enjoy watching my kids participate in sports and music. My family and I are avid Philadelphia Phillies fans, and we enjoy visiting Philadelphia as often as we can. We also enjoy traveling, whether to visit family or just someplace new.
Kristy Brightman
Ms. Brightman is an attorney practicing in transactional real estate and corporate matters. She has two Australian Labradoodles, Syra and Moose, and one cat, Bowser.
Mark Pietrowski
Mark Pietrowski is the Founder of Pinnacle Employee Services and currently serves as Director of Brand Partnerships at Pinnacle Holding Company. With over 20 years of experience in the Payroll, Human Resources, and PEO industry, he supports growth and development across the Pinnacle Family of Companies. Mark is known for his entrepreneurial spirit, client-focused leadership, and deep industry expertise.
Samantha Palladino
Hello! I am a corporate attorney at Hancock Estabrook, LLP where I spend most of my time drafting governance documents, forming entities and negotiating sales/purchases for our diverse book of clients. I love my job and the doors it has opened up for me, one of which being this position on the Board of Directors here at Helping Hounds Dog Rescue! I am originally from Long Island, New York but have been a transplant in the southern tier/central New York area for the better part of the past decade. When I am
not working, you can typically find me in a kitchen baking something yummy (my favorite being sourdough bread!) or relaxing with my wife, Kelsie, and our French bulldog ‘son’, Arlo. I love binge watching shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Stranger Things and the Rookie (just to name a few!). My wife and I just built a house out in Baldwinsville, so my next big project is to build out a garden. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
Mycale Kimball
I’m a senior accountant at Dairy Farmers of America. I have both accounting and marketing knowledge to provide working on the board. I have a stepdaughter and two dogs. One of which was adopted from helping hounds about 9 years ago! I have had experience with dogs with epilepsy, diabetes and arthritis. I’m truly looking forward to helping home more dogs!
Contact Board Members
If you would like to contact the board or any of its members you may do so by using the following form