The mom behind Detroit Hearts & Hounds.

I’m Annie, a Detroit-based educator and a mother of two. I hold a master’s degree in elementary education, and I’ve spent years designing programs that make a genuine difference in children’s lives.

When I stepped away from my career to raise my family, I never stopped thinking about the work I wanted to build. Detroit Hearts & Hounds is that work: the nonprofit I’ve dreamed about for years, and the one I’m now bringing to life with everything I have.

Our program brings animal care and compassion education into Detroit classrooms, from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade. It begins in the classroom and grows into the city’s shelters, building a generation of empathetic, responsible young people right here in our community.

Detroit has thousands of dogs that need advocates, and thousands of children who need purpose.

As a mother, I know firsthand what it means to raise compassionate humans, and I’m ready to bring that to an entire school district.