Amy Ingstad, a Las Vegas native, has loved animals since childhood, but dogs have always held a special place in her heart. She knew her future would involve working with animals, even if she wasn’t sure how at first. Over the years, that passion grew into a calling, especially for pit bulls, a breed she’s deeply devoted to.
Her first love is animals, and her 2nd love is volunteering. Amy’s start at Hearts Alive Village as a volunteer and pit bull foster began with a chance encounter at Henderson Animal Shelter in 2015 where a new friend and HAV supporter introduced her to the world of animal rescue. She was a devoted volunteer and foster of 9 pit bulls, which is a breed that she has a soft spot for. In 2024, she decided to take a huge leap of faith and quit her office job to pursue her passion for dogs and animal rescue. Up until that point, she was a volunteer for HAV, Street Dogz, as well as a frequent visitor and volunteer for Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. Her happy place is hiking or kayaking, or anything to do with nature. She loves taking her dogs on adventures, and is a proud mom to three rescue pit bulls, two of them being HAV dogs.
Pit bull advocacy is close to Amy’s heart, and she’s determined to be a voice against breed bans in the city. When she officially joined the Hearts Alive Village team in 2024, she stepped into the role of Hybrid Foster Coordinator, blending her experience as a foster, volunteer, and her hospitality background to create real impact. Through this work, she has helped lead a life-changing program that has already saved more than 40 lives and counting.
Stephanie Rodrigo began her career in the animal welfare field after a brief experience in the culinary industry led her to apply for a position at her local shelter. Over the course of two years, she cared for hundreds of dogs, cats, and exotic animals, before advancing into a supervisor role. During her six years supervising shelter operations, she developed a deep understanding of the critical role that cleanliness, communication, and enrichment play in supporting the mental and physical well-being of animals in care.
After the birth of her son, Stephanie took time away to focus on her family before returning to her true calling in animal welfare. She joined Hearts Alive Village in a part-time role, which quickly grew into full-time, then into leadership, and eventually into her current position as Welfare Supervisor. Over the past four years at HAV, she has worked closely with fosters and adopters to place countless dogs in loving temporary and permanent homes. Today, she leads a dedicated team at The ReTreat, ensuring dogs receive daily enrichment, training, medication, and playgroups while they await their forever families.
Kelly’s dream of rescuing animals became a reality when she met Christy Stevens while they were volunteering at the same shelter. Kelly has always been an animal lover and having been born with a disability meant she could always have a service dog by her side. Her service dogs have always been a part of Kelly’s mission to help homeless animals. Wonka, her beloved golden retriever, entertained people and animals every day at our adoption center. PeeWee, her deaf pit bull mix, proudly served others as a therapy dog. Kelly works with the HAV team to manage communication with fosters and adopters. She also ensures that all animal data is up to date. At any given time, that can be up to 400 animals!
“Her positive attitude is contagious,” says Christy, “and the way she lives her life is an inspiration to us all.”
An animal lover and formerly a front-end web developer, Brittany moved to Las Vegas from Hawaii in 2015 to pursue a career in digital media. But something unexpected happened. She came to Hearts Alive Village on a whim one day to volunteer. She began to foster and ended up adopting one of her foster kitties, Mana…and taking a job at HAV! Mana loves helping take care of her feline fosters. She serves as a great role model for kittens learning their manners and how to socialize with others, while leading our feline program.
In her little spare time she loves playing with her fur babies and is a fan of video games.
Diana’s family relocated to Las Vegas from Santa Barbara, California, when she was just a year old. So basically, she’s been here all her life. A graduate of Western High School, she attended PIMA Medical Institute where she earned her certificate as a Veterinary Assistant. As a child, Diana wanted to become a teacher because she liked helping others. Now she uses her skills to help people and their pets. In her role at HAV Diana connects pet owners who need financial aid with local resources. She also runs the Pets for Life program for targeted zip codes. What does she like best about her job? “Assisting community members and their pets, especially during these challenging times,” she says. Prior to joining Hearts Alive Village Diana was with the Animal Foundation. On weekends, Diana and her family love to go off-roading and explore new trails. Her favorite travel destination is the beach. But, she admits, she doesn’t go into the ocean because “it’s too cold!”
Jennifer has been a Las Vegas resident since 1999. She has been a life-long animal lover and has had dogs, cats, tortoises, iguanas, a guinea pig, fish, and birds as pets. Jennifer started as a volunteer in a large shelter and decided she wanted to work with animals as a career. She began working at the shelter as an adoption counselor and then accepted a position in the shelter clinic as a veterinary assistant. During her time at the shelter she welcomed many kittens and puppies into her home as fosters. Jennifer joined the Hearts Alive Team in April of 2021 where she continued her education and earned her Veterinary Technician License. In November of 2023, Jennifer accepted the supervisor position at The PetSmart Everyday Adoption Center. She is able to utilize her Veterinary Technician License and her past adoption experience to contribute to the success of the adoption center. In her spare time she enjoys taking her 3 rescue pups to the lake and river on her paddle board or kayak. Her foster fail cat, Emmy, also joins in on the outdoor fun.
