WHO WE ARE

Professional Background

Anton is the founder of TailTracker and the person who built the system behind it — not because he set out to start a nonprofit, but because he lived through the fear and confusion of losing a pet and couldn't believe there wasn't a better way.

Professionally, Anton has spent much of his career helping organizations bring order to complexity. Across startups, established companies, and nonprofits, he has often stepped in when things were messy, unclear, or under pressure — helping teams slow down, focus on what actually matters, and build systems people can rely on.

Outside of TailTracker, Anton has served on the Board of Directors and as Finance & Audit Committee Chair at Pathways for Children, overseeing a $10M annual budget for a nonprofit serving more than 500 children and families across the North Shore of Massachusetts. He has also served as a Mentor with MIT Enterprise Forum Cambridge for several cohorts, supporting entrepreneurs as they create, market, and launch new products.

Anton and Allison Hoyt served together for many years on the board of another nonprofit organization, PBA Inc., building trust and shared governance experience long before TailTracker existed.

Anton received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Saint Lawrence University.

Why This Mission Matters

After Anton's dog, Tilly, went missing for seven days in 2016, he experienced firsthand how isolating and overwhelming a lost pet emergency can be — the panic, the conflicting advice, and the fear. TailTracker exists so families don't have to face that moment against the odds.

Professional Background

Taylor is a strategic partnerships and operations leader with extensive experience guiding complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives in fast-moving environments. She currently serves as Strategic Alliance Manager at Board International for Wipro, where she works globally to align partners, coordinate cross-functional teams, and nurture long-term collaboration that drives meaningful outcomes.

Earlier in her career, Taylor held leadership roles in professional services and partner success, as well as business development work in the cybersecurity sector. In these roles, she supported organizations focused on risk mitigation, incident response, and operational resilience — environments where preparation, trust, and calm decision-making are essential.

Taylor holds a Bachelor's degree in Marketing and Business Analytics from Boston College. While at BC, she was a Division I ACC varsity athlete and participated in multiple leadership development programs, experiences that continue to shape her disciplined, team-oriented leadership style.

In addition to her professional work, Taylor is deeply involved in animal welfare. Alongside her role at TailTracker, she works with Last Hope K9 Rescue, fostering dogs as they wait for their forever homes — providing care, stability, and love during a critical transition period in their lives.

Why This Mission Matters

Taylor believes systems matter most when people — and animals — are under stress. Her experience fostering rescue dogs gives her firsthand insight into how fear, uncertainty, and displacement affect behavior, and why calm, thoughtful care can make all the difference.

As President and Chairperson, she brings that same care and structure to TailTracker's mission and overall culture.

Professional Background

Allison is an experienced events and operations leader with more than two decades of experience planning and executing complex initiatives across healthcare, higher education, and nonprofit organizations. She currently serves as Director of Special Events at Beth Israel Lahey Health, where she oversees high-visibility, high-stakes events that require precise coordination, careful budgeting, and steady leadership.

Prior to her current role, Allison spent over thirteen years at Boston University's College of Communication, managing conferences, off-site programs, staffing, vendor negotiations, and operational logistics. Earlier in her career, she held roles at Partners In Health and St. Francis House, supporting emergency relief efforts and major fundraising campaigns during critical moments for the communities they served.

Allison holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Pine Manor College.

Why This Mission Matters

Allison has built her career supporting organizations during moments that truly matter — when people are counting on things to work smoothly behind the scenes. TailTracker's emphasis on preparation, coordination, and compassion aligns closely with the way she approaches leadership and service. She is also an animal lover.

Professional Background

Brent is the founder of Leland Creative Marketing, a brand and design firm he launched in 2005 after working as an Art Director at Gillette. At Gillette, he was the Art Director within the Grooming and Personal Care North America group, creating packaging and promotional support assets for nationally recognized products, including the Mach3 and Gillette Venus razor line.

After seven years in the corporate world, Brent chose to build something of his own. What began as a one-person graphic design studio in Salem, Massachusetts has grown into a full-service creative agency with a multidisciplinary team spanning design, brand strategy, marketing communications, video, copywriting, and digital marketing. For over 20 years, Brent has overseen the firm's evolution into an established and trusted marketing and creative partner for organizations seeking clarity, cohesion, and credibility in their messaging.

In addition to being a gifted graphic designer, Brent is a strategic communications expert. He specializes in helping organizations translate complex or emotionally charged information into messages people can quickly understand and act on — a critical skill during lost pet recovery efforts.

Brent holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communications from the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Why This Mission Matters

Brent believes that clear communication leads quickly to resonance — and in moments of crisis, time matters. He brings a designer's eye and a human-first mindset to TailTracker, helping ensure families and volunteers receive information that is calm, accessible, and actionable when it matters most. Brent currently has a love/hate relationship with his annoying dog, Rusty.

Professional Background

Cynthia is the founder and Executive Director of Sweet Paws Rescue, a volunteer-based animal rescue organization that has saved over 24,000 animals since its founding in 2011. What began as a small team of nine volunteers has grown into a rescue network of over 300, with operations spanning animal placement, cruelty prosecution, population control advocacy, and efforts to eliminate large-scale breeding operations.

Before dedicating herself full-time to animal rescue, Cynthia spent nine years at Northeastern University as a Senior International Co-op Counselor, helping college students develop global perspectives through international work experiences. Her path to higher education was shaped by her commitment to experiential learning: she completed a City Year AmeriCorps program in Boston, spent a year in Costa Rica working with Nicaraguan refugees living with HIV/AIDS.

Cynthia's pivot to animal rescue began during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. One image — a dog stranded on a rooftop as floodwaters rose — compelled her to buy a one-way ticket to Louisiana. With no rescue experience, she spent a month on the ground helping however she could. That experience redefined her life's work.

For four years, Cynthia balanced her full-time role at Northeastern with the growing demands of Sweet Paws Rescue. In 2015, she took a leap of faith and committed to rescue work full-time.

Today, Sweet Paws Rescue operates from Spring Tide Farm in Boxford, Massachusetts — a former equestrian property with barns, trails, and open fields that serve as a hub for animal care, education, and community programs. At home, Cynthia lives surrounded by her own rescue animals and the foster dogs and cats she regularly hosts.

Cynthia earned her Bachelor's degree in Communications and Spanish from Marymount Manhattan College, and her Master's degree in International Relations with a focus on International Experiential Learning from Lesley University.

Why This Mission Matters

Cynthia has spent her career working to give voice to the voiceless — and advocating for animals. She understands that marginalized communities, whether human or animal, share a common need: someone willing to show up, stay present, and fight for them when they cannot fight for themselves.

Through her work at Sweet Paws Rescue, Cynthia has been involved in numerous missing pet situations — coordinating searches, mobilizing volunteers, and supporting families through the fear and uncertainty of not knowing where their animal is. She knows the difference that preparation, coordination, and trained volunteers can make.

She also knows what happens when those systems fall short. Cynthia lost her own cherished dog, Opie, who went missing and tragically never made it home.

This loss is part of why she serves on TailTracker's board. She brings two decades of hands-on rescue experience, an unwavering belief that every lost pet deserves a fighting chance — and a deeply personal understanding of what's at stake when they don't come home.