APROP Junta Election 2023 - Final Candidates

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At the next General Assembly of the APROP Association, the Associate Members of APROP will be asked to vote for various candidates for each of the roles within the APROP Junta.

There is a reduction in the Junta roles being elected this year. The current management structure works very well, but when trying to recruit new Junta members it has become apparent that while some people may be interested in managing specific activities in the organisation, they do not want or have the time to fulfil the additional responsibilities of being a Junta member. This has made finding new people for some roles challenging and we do not want to compromise on having the best person for the job just because it is designated as a Junta role. As a result, the roles of Adoption & Foster Manager and Marketing & Fundraising Manager, all of which are important roles for the organisation, are not currently designated as Junta roles. This does not prevent them from being Junta roles again in the future. If you are interested in applying for any of these roles, please contact a member of the Junta team.

The diagram below provides an overview of the current structure. Each of the roles in this structure has a clearly defined set of responsibilities. The roles highlighted in blue will be available for election to the Junta.

Click the roles name below to see more details about the role.

The Vice President role will be voted in by the appointed members of the Junta. The Vice President deputises for the President and stands in when the President is unavailable or unable to perform the duties of the President role due to illness or other incapacity.

The roles of President, Treasurer and Secretary must all be held by different individuals and these individuals may not also be elected as Vice President.

Valid Associate Members of APROP are qualified to put themselves forward for election if they have been a continuous Member for at least one year.
Exceptionally, however, the Junta may exempt a Member from this requirement at the Member’s request, provided that positive references are available that endorse the Member’s suitability, and where the exemption is based on practical reasons that are useful for the association. A reasoned evaluation of this shall be conducted via a procedure that guarantees the transparency and fairness of the decision taken. To this end, a representative evaluative body shall be created which shall propose a decision to the Junta and which shall be formed by the President and at least two other members appointed by the President of special equity and authority in the Association, before which the exempted member may appear for any discussion.

All of the candidates for each role are listed underneath the role. Click the candidate name to see the information they have chosen to share about themselves to help you understand why they might be the best candidate for the role. Some individuals may be standing for more than one role. In such cases, please consider them separately for each of the roles that they are standing for.

President

The President of the Association will also be President of the body of representation (Junta).

The President has the following responsibilities:

Management and legal representation of the Association, by delegation of the General Assembly and of the body of representation (Junta).
The President manages and directs the debates of the organs of government and of representation.
Signs the calls for the meetings of the General Assembly and the organ of representation (Junta).
Countersigns the minutes and the certificates made by the Secretary of the Association.
The remaining powers inherent to the post and those delegated to it by the General Assembly or the representative body (Junta).

The President will be substituted, in case of absence or illness, by the Vice President or a member of the Junta.

Candidate 1: Christine Thorpe

I started volunteering at APROP in early 2018 with the cats. After my first year I realised that there was a lot that could be done to increase adoption rates, particularly of adult cats, and perhaps more importantly, to improve the hygiene management and care of the cats to reduce the numbers of mortalities and infectious disease in the cattery. I set up an adoption and marketing team for the cats, and created the current APROP website with my husband, who still manages it. I took over as cat shelter manager when the previous managers left and I was then able to implement standard operating and hygiene practices in the cattery. In 2021 I managed a project to rebuild the cattery. I was invited to become an APROP Junta member and in September 2021 was elected by the Association Members as Operations Director for the Cats and President of APROP.

I am passionate about animals generally and helping animals in need. In the case of the cats and dogs of Pego and the surrounding areas, I believe the best way I can do this is to use my skills, experience, energy and enthusiasm as President of the Association to help APROP to be as effective and successful as possible in helping cats and dogs and promoting their welfare locally.

In my working life before I retired in 2017 my roles included, amongst other things, product director, marketing director, sales director, consultant and managing my own business as a training specialist. I think the key relevant skills that I bring to APROP include strong administrative, communication and managerial ability (particularly in managing multi-national teams, both large and small), innovation and problem solving and structuring solutions to help organisations meet their needs and improve, and having the personal resilience and determination to succeed in what I want to achieve.

As President, I would like to build on what we have already achieved in the past 18 months (which has been significant) and to continue to secure APROP’s future and make us a more effective organisation in helping animals.

Top priorities for this year include:
• Make APROP ready to respond to any changes that may be necessary as a result of the new Valencian laws on the wellbeing of companion animals this year.
• Improve volunteer recruitment and retention and continue to strengthen the APROP management teams
• Education within APROP – volunteers and animals
• Continue to improve APROP’s facilities for the animals and volunteers
• Raise the profile and influence of APROP in the local community
• Raise awareness about the welfare of cats and dogs locally
• Create a closer working alliance with the Pego Ayuntamiento

On a personal note, I am a cat and dog lover with 2 rescue dogs (bin puppies from Oliva five years ago) and currently eight cats (all from APROP). I have to stop fostering kittens this year as I find it really difficult to let them go after I have fallen in love and my husband says we have no space for more cats.

Treasurer

The Treasurer has the following responsibilities:

The custody and monitoring of the financial resources and assets of the Association.
The preparation of the quarterly and annual budget for the Association.
The balance and settlement of accounts for the Association.
Maintain the financial books of the Association.
The presentation of the above to the Junta, as is determined in Article 17 of the Association’s Statutes.
The presentation of the above to the Annual General Assembly, as is determined in Article 17 of the Association’s Statutes.
Record and track all donations made to or by the Association.
Record and track any and all other payments made or received by the association.
He/she will ensure all transactions are appropriately receipted.
Sign all documents produced by or on behalf of the Treasury.
Pay bills according to pre-approved budgets, as approved by majority vote of the Junta or by direct approval of the President.

The Treasure must draft and present for review and approval, all financial information required by external organisations and authorities, to comply with all necessary laws and procedures. Once approval is obtained, the Treasurer must then submit these statements in the appropriate format to the appropriate organisation. Note that such submissions may be required to be performed electronically and must be completed within the required schedules..

Candidate 1: Marian van Leeuwen

I´ve been a volunteer at APROP since October 2016. I started at the dogs, the cleaning shift. Some years later I switched to looking after the cats.
Since September 2019 I´m the treasurer for APROP.

I like book keeping, and I enjoy going to some of our suppliers to discuss and pay their bills. Furthermore, I think it is important that solid financial reporting is done.

I bring years of doing the money in several (sports) associations. And, of course, I have 1.5 years of experience doing this for APROP.

Top priority is to keep the finances within budget, income as well as expenses.

Secretary

The Secretary has the following responsibilities:

Collate and issue all formal Association documents, as required by Royal Edict and/or according to Association rules.
On request by the President or the General Assembly, arrange and convene the General Assembly Meeting.
Write and sign the minutes of the General Assembly Meeting.
On request by the President or as required by the pre-agreed schedule, arrange and convene the Junta meetings.
Write and sign the minutes of the Junta.
Ensure all necessary certifications are prepared, reviewed, finalised and submitted to all appropriate bodies (internal or external) according to the required timescales.
Collate and manage all legal and contractual documents, ensuring compliance with all internal and external requirements.
Collate and maintain an up-to-date record of all current and past Members or the Association. The Secretary must provide this list, as and when required to appropriate external organisations.
Work with the Treasurer to ensure all financial records relating to the Members are correct and complete.
Receive and action all Data Protection and GDPR requests for the Association.

Candidate 1: Ruth Martin

I have been an active volunteer since April 2018, so coming up 5 years now. I have always volunteered hands-on with the dogs. In the past 3 years I have also been involved with fundraising for APROP. Also in the last year I have assumed responsibility for the dog shelter maintenance and rebuild of our kennels.

Having been a Junta member for 18 months now, this is something I would like to continue with. I feel it is time for me to make a change and move away from Fundraising and Marketing now, so I am applying for the Secretary role.

Having been on the Junta for 18 months, I have a good overview of how the association operates. I am familiar with our Association Statutes and also was involved in creating our recent Internal Regulations. I am technology literate and I am also pretty organised, which should help!

My top priorities would be;

1) to ensure the association continues to meet all its legal requirements and continues to operate in a structured manner.

2) to increase our association membership levels – by making sure our volunteers are aware of what an association is and what the benefits of becoming a member are.

3) to continue to assist in other areas of running APROP. Such as the kennel rebuild project and other projects to help improve the lives of dogs and cats.

If you would like to know anything more before deciding how to vote, please feel free to get in touch with me. I hope to be able to continue being part of the Junta that has achieved so much over the past 18 months.

Operations Director (Cats)

The Operations Director has overall responsibility for co-ordinating the day to day management and running of the dog / cat shelters, according to the pre-agreed budget approved by the Junta.

This includes the following responsibilities:

Volunteer recruitment and training
Volunteer management, including the creation and maintenance of weekly volunteer rotas
Animal accommodation allocation within the shelter
Maintain a record of all animals entering and leaving the shelter
To ensure that behavioural assessments are carried out for all animals and that remedial measures are recommended and implemented, where appropriate.
To ensure all animals that may pose a risk to themselves, other animals or humans are identified and assessed and if appropriate, registered with the appropriate bodies. In such cases, to ensure that volunteers are also given appropriate training and procedures to ensure their safety around such animals.
Site maintenance
Inventory management
Project management of special projects or initiatives, as allocated by the Board Of Directors.
The creation, implementation and maintenance of Health & Safety standards for all Volunteers.
The creation and maintenance of an Operations Guide for all elements of day to day operations.

Candidate 1: Christine Thorpe

I started volunteering at APROP in early 2018 with the cats. After my first year I realised that there was a lot that could be done to increase adoption rates, particularly of adult cats, and perhaps more importantly, to improve the hygiene management and care of the cats to reduce the numbers of mortalities and infectious disease in the cattery. I set up an adoption and marketing team for the cats, and created the current APROP website with my husband, who still manages it. I took over as cat shelter manager when the previous managers left and I was then able to implement standard operating and hygiene practices in the cattery. In 2020/2021 I managed a project to rebuild the cattery. I was invited to become an APROP Junta member and in September 2021 was elected by the Association Members as Operations Director for the Cats and President of APROP.

I am passionate about animals generally and helping animals in need. In the case of the cats and dogs of Pego and the surrounding areas, I believe the best way I can do this is to use my skills, experience, energy and enthusiasm as a member of the Junta management team to help APROP to be as effective as possible in physically helping cats and dogs and promoting their welfare locally.

As Operations Director for the Cats my priorities would be:
• Finding a solution to the lack of space for cats, particularly for short term holding and additional quarantine pens
• Finding a solution to the lack of storage space for food and bedding
• Increasing volunteer numbers so that we have at least three people per rota
• Rebuilding the cat cuddling team to support cats with behavioural issues
• Working with the adoption team to ensure that adoptions for adults and kittens increase this year in line with increased arrivals (particularly of adult cats)
• Working with the feral cat team, Gatos Callejeros, to support the sterilisation programme in Pego.

Operations Director (Dogs)

The Operations Director has overall responsibility for co-ordinating the day to day management and running of the dog / cat shelters, according to the pre-agreed budget approved by the Junta.

This includes the following responsibilities:

Volunteer recruitment and training
Volunteer management, including the creation and maintenance of weekly volunteer rotas
Animal accommodation allocation within the shelter
Maintain a record of all animals entering and leaving the shelter
To ensure that behavioural assessments are carried out for all animals and that remedial measures are recommended and implemented, where appropriate.
To ensure all animals that may pose a risk to themselves, other animals or humans are identified and assessed and if appropriate, registered with the appropriate bodies. In such cases, to ensure that volunteers are also given appropriate training and procedures to ensure their safety around such animals.
Site maintenance
Inventory management
Project management of special projects or initiatives, as allocated by the Board Of Directors.
The creation, implementation and maintenance of Health & Safety standards for all Volunteers.
The creation and maintenance of an Operations Guide for all elements of day to day operations.

Candidate 1: Moira Levy

I have been a volunteer at APROP for 6+ years, most recently holding the Director of Adoptions (Dogs) role.

My motivation is to help improve the lives of the dogs whilst in the shelter.

I have spent many years working with the dogs at the shelter, where I have gained a lot of experience and insight into dogs behaviour, health and welfare.

My top priority is to improve the lives of the dogs at the shelter and to make the environment a safer place.

Animal Health & Welfare Director (Cats)

The Animal Health & Welfare Director has the overall responsibility for ensuring that the physical and emotional needs of the animals under the care of the Association are being met as completely as possible, within the agreed budget. This includes the following responsibilities:

To ensure that appropriate and effective checks and protocols are in place to evaluate the current physical and mental state of the animals.
To ensure that the above are consistently implemented and regularly reviewed against best practice.
To ensure appropriate actions are agreed, allocated and completed whenever an issue or concern is identified for an animal.
To act as primary liaison with the APROP vets when necessary.
To ensure a register of all vet visits per animal is maintained, together with a note of the condition, treatment recommended and medication.
To work with APROP’s vets to identify the most appropriate dietary and medical needs of each animal and provide this information to the Purchasing team so that appropriate food and medical supplies can be obtained.

Candidate 1: Carmen Ortola Moreno

I have been an APROP volunteer for 2.5 years. I am currently a member of the Board and serve as the Animal Health & Welfare Director (Cats). I would like to continue.

I love and respect animals.

My priority is to achieve maximum care, protection and welfare for cats.

Animal Health & Welfare Director (Dogs)

To ensure that appropriate and effective checks and protocols are in place to evaluate the current physical and mental state of the animals.
To ensure that the above are consistently implemented and regularly reviewed against best practice.
To ensure appropriate actions are agreed, allocated and completed whenever an issue or concern is identified for an animal.
To act as primary liaison with the APROP vets when necessary.
To ensure a register of all vet visits per animal is maintained, together with a note of the condition, treatment recommended and medication.
To work with APROP’s vets to identify the most appropriate dietary and medical needs of each animal and provide this information to the Purchasing team so that appropriate food and medical supplies can be obtained.

Candidate 1: Tere Sendra Almela

I have been a volunteer for 7 years since the foundation of APROP and have been a member of the Junta for the past 18 months.

My motivation is the welfare of the animal, and I am learning every day from experienced volunteers what can be achieved with a good team.

My experience is that for the last 10 months I have been looking after the health and welfare of the dogs.

The main priority is the health of the dog and building a team.

Apart from taking care of the health and welfare of the animal, I am also in the adoption team and I do rescues of dogs on the street and also where I have spoken to owners because we knew these dogs were not well and I have convinced them to give them to us, and I am very proud of the work I am doing.