Our People
Working with shelters and rescue organizations
Tenth Life Foundation is comprised of a dynamic network of shelters, cat rescue organizations, volunteers and veterinarians throughout the Bay Area. As a result, we are able to draw upon the expertise of a variety of Bay Area animal rescue resources, all contributing to the goal of helping to save cats’ lives.
Tenth Life Foundation was founded in 2011 by Jackie Dawley and Lynn DeVon. They currently serve on the board as president and treasurer/secretary, respectively, along with Birgit Eschmann and Diana McDonnell, members at-large.
Jackie Dawley is co-founder, and President, of Tenth Life Foundation and has many years of experience in cat rescue work, including TNR and feral cat colony management. Her life-long interest in animal behavior led her complete a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Illinois, specializing in animal learning and behavior. Jackie is Past President of the San Francisco Chapter, American Marketing Association (AMA), and Past President of the Marketing Research Council for the National AMA. In her paid work, Jackie is President of Insight Analysis, a consulting firm specializing in statistical applications for marketing research.
Lynn DeVon is co-founder and Secretary / Treasurer of Tenth Life Foundation. In addition to many years of experience supporting TNR and feral cat colony management, Lynn has extensive experience facilitating cat colony solutions with corporations and entities where feral cats reside. She has also aided non-profit entities, including animal rescue organizations, in developing strategic plans and organizational restructuring. In her paid work, Lynn is President of Decisive Information Group (DIG Consulting), a market research and strategy consulting firm. Lynn is Past President of the San Francisco Chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) and received her Ph.D. in Business Administration / Marketing from Golden Gate University.
Birgit Eschmann has been at-large member of the board of Tenth Life Foundation since its founding. She also active in volunteer work,in disaster preparedness. At home, she is owned by Tina Turner, a beautiful tortoise who lived in a feral cat colony managed by TLF leaders Lynn and Jackie. Birgit works for Research Partnership, a full-service marketing research company serving clients in the pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device industries. A native of Germany, Birgit immigrated to the US in 1999 and has been a US citizen since 2005. She holds the degree Diplom-Psychologin from the University of Bonn, Germany, which is equivalent to an American MA/MS.
Diana McDonnell is an at-large member of the board of Tenth Life Foundation. She also serves on the board of Lyon-Martin Health Services, a community based primary care health clinic and is chair of their Clinical Quality Assurance committee. She is also emergency preparedness volunteer for the Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT) program and specialized California Disaster Corps unit. In her paid work, Diana is a research epidemiologist at the Center for Family and Community Health, in the School of Public Health of the University of California, Berkeley. She earned her BA in PsychoBiology from UC Santa Cruz and PhD in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.