Meet Our Team

Kristen Stacy

Kristen Stacy

PRESIDENT / PROGRAM MANAGER

Kristen lives in Denmark ME with her husband, multiple dogs, and cats. Kristen and her husband run a dog boarding facility among other pursuits. Since attaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and a Master’s Degree in Social Work, Kristen has the passion, education, and experience in helping people by coordinating client-centered programs and life skill learning opportunities. Combining her two loves, dogs, and helping others, it is a dream come true to be the Co-Founder of Service Dog Strong. As a fellow sexual assault Survivor, it is through empathy, grit, and compassion that she plans to support both people and dogs through this journey.

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Kartika Wright

SECRETARY / SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Kartika grew up in rural Northern York County, Maine, and currently lives in the Greater Augusta area with her husband and their companion animals. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, an immense love for all creatures great and small, and a passion for sexual violence victim/Survivor advocacy and support. She enjoys spending time in nature, relaxing Upta Camp, reading a wide variety of printed and Kindle material, and trying new recipes.
She has been on the Service Dog Strong board from the beginning and is so grateful for the opportunity to combine her love of dogs and passion for supporting Survivors as a part of this small but mighty all-volunteer team.

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Samantha Bassett

TREASURER

Samantha grew up in Southern California. After bouncing around a bit she landed in Portland, Maine and decided to stay. Admittedly a cat person, she fostered cats for several years before she decided to get a dog. Her house has become “dog central” for all her friends, so you’ll likely find a few extra dogs at the house at any given time. Samantha wanted to volunteer for Service Dog Strong because she believes SDS will change lives for the better and she’d like to watch it firsthand.
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Penny Jones

BOARD MEMBER AT LARGE/EVENT COORDINATOR

Bio coming soon!
Kathleen Auclair

Kathleen Auclair

WEBSITE MANAGER

Kathy resides in North Monmouth, ME with her husband, Mike, and their three dogs and four cats. In the 31 years they’ve been married, they have raised and loved many animals including a rabbit, a guinea pig, several mice, and a bunch of fish. Kathy worked for a domestic violence agency before joining the Sexual Assault Crisis & Support Center eight years ago. Kathy’s experience in both fields of abuse, coupled with her passion for dogs, compelled her to volunteer to maintain the Service Dog Strong website. Kathy looks forward to updating the statistics and watching the pairings of rescued dogs with Survivors of sexual assault and Military Sexual Trauma (MST) grow.