Jackie Ott Jaakola

Executive Director at EveryCat Health Foundation

Sarasota animal advocate Jackie Ott Jaakola has gone global. This year she became the Executive Director of EveryCat Health Foundation, an international non-profit organization whose sole focus is to fund cat health research and education.   “We fund important new science which gives veterinarians more treatment options to help your cat, my cat, community cats – all cats,” Ott Jaakola explained.  

Before joining EveryCat, Ott Jaakola was the Executive Director at Cat Depot in Sarasota, a world-class cat shelter. Prior to that, she worked for the Annenberg Foundation in Los Angeles to help create Wallis Annenberg PetSpace – promoting pet adoptions, and fostering respect for animals through its education programs and leadership institute. Her career in L.A. also included the Marine Mammal Care Center where she was director of the hospital for wild seals, sea lions, and dolphins.

“My whole life revolves around celebrating and advocating for animals – however I can best support them and create enthusiasm surrounding animal issues,” she said.

Ott Jaakola’s love for animals goes back to childhood when her fondest memories were of her interactions with a menagerie of animals at home. Her family vacations were spent at zoos, aquariums, and other animal educational venues. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, she says, “Discovery and interactions with animals always put me in my happy place.”

Since joining EveryCat, Ott Jaakola’s focus has been on helping the 50-year-old organization grow from the Winn Feline Foundation, named in honor of its founder, to EveryCat Health Foundation, and furthering its mission of helping cats everywhere in the world. 

Ott Jaakola shares her home with her husband, two dogs, three cats, and four horses. An avid equestrian, she enjoys riding on the neighborhood trails or on her six-acre property in Panther Ridge.

Jackie Ott Jaakola
Executive Director
EveryCat Health Foundation
637 Wyckoff Avenue, Suite 336
Wyckoff, NJ 07481
info@everycat.org
everycat.org