Conversations For The Animals Conversations For The Animals

Freddy Cruz is the founder of Speke Podcasting, but the Greater Houston area has heard his voice through the radio for more than
seventeen thousand hours across three decades. When he's not in the lab writing or creating auditory satisfaction, you can find him nose deep in a book, snuggling with his dog Sparrow, or jogging in his neighborhood.

Freddy is a great lover of animals and has used his powerful voice on their behalf for years. Join Freddy and Lisa as they talk about advocacy and marketing for animal welfare on this episode of Conversations for the Animals.

Kelli Betner was born and raised in Midland, Texas. Growing up, her dream was to raise 300 "head of weenie dogs" on a rescue ranch to be called "The Long Dog Ranch". To this day she still dreams of that ranch!
Kelli was in the U.S. Army and served a tour in Afghanistan from 2010-2011. After the military she earned her undergraduate degree from Baylor University and her Master's from New York University. Before joining Houston PetSet, Kelli worked in the corporate world, but is so glad to be a part of the HPS team!

Dr Chumkee Aziz is a first generation Bangladeshi-American and native Houstonian. She is a board-certified shelter medicine veterinary specialist and currently works for the University of California, Davis' Koret Shelter Medicine Program as a pro-bono shelter consultant.
She volunteers with Houston's Street Dog Coalition chapter and supports underserved, Houston-based students who want to obtain post-secondary education training. She is an avid birder, likes to go camping, and loves movies.

Tama Lundquist and Tena Lundquist Faust are twin sisters and Co-Presidents of Houston PetSet. They have been working to elevate animal welfare in Houston since 2007 when they joined Houston PetSet's board, and have grown the small local fundraising organization into the powerhouse that it is today.

In 2023 they produced and starred in For The Animals, A Documentary, bringing to light the immense toll of Houston's homeless animal crisis. They join Lisa to talk about Houston PetSet's past, present and future as we celebrate 20 years. #ForTheAnimals

Trish McMillan is a certified professional dog trainer, certified dog behavior consultant and associate certified cat behavior consultant who holds a Master’s degree in Animal Behavior from the University of Exeter in England. Trish has a wide variety of experience in the animal behavior world, including seven years with the ASPCA where she helped assess and rehabilitate animals from cruelty, hoarding, and dogfighting cases, as well as pets rescued from natural disasters. Trish has a private behavior consulting company, and she founded Shelter Behavior Hub to be a behavior resource for animal shelter professionals. Join her and Lisa as they talk about addressing the animal welfare crisis and behavioral euthanasia.

Wild Tunes is a music therapy program for shelter animals started by Yuvi Agarwal, a 10-year-old animal and music lover. Each week, Yuvi goes to local shelters in Houston to play the keyboard for the animals in their care. Yuvi and his mom Priyanka are hoping to spread this local program across the country so that musicians can enrich the lives of shelter pets everywhere.