Board of Directors
Wendy Johnson, Founder and President
Wendy started her rescue career in 2005 after adopting her first dog Lily from a local rescue in Syracuse NY. Before she knew it, she had become a foster for other dogs in need, and quickly adopted Tucker, a lab/beagle mix. Upon moving to Melbourne Beach from Syracuse NY, Wendy became a volunteer at South Animal Care Center in Brevard. She witnessed first-hand how many senior dogs were being surrendered, left stray out in the community, and were languishing in their kennels on hard cement floors. Many of these dogs were in desperate need of medical care, or in danger of being euthanized. Lily and Tucker were now seniors themselves and had become less tolerant of younger exuberant dogs, so she started taking home the seniors. Soon after, Touch of Grey Rescue was born with Tucker serving as the inspiration for the logo and our brand ambassador. Tucker's passing in June 2021 further inspired Wendy to continue her mission to provide that same quality of life Tucker had, to other senior and special needs dogs. Wendy lives in Melbourne Beach with her husband Pete, daughter Jenny, and two rescue dogs Farkle and Kiara. Wendy also developed Farkle and Friends, a children's book series based on real dogs from Touch of Grey Rescue. The first book in the series, Farkle Finds A Furever Home, is based on the true story of her narcoleptic rescue dog named Farkle and can be purchased in the Touch of Grey Rescue online shop or on Amazon.
Misaki Robinson - Executive Director
Misaki lived in Japan and worked at veterinary clinics prior to moving to the United States with her husband, who was relocated with the U.S. Navy. Misaki fostered dogs for San Antonio Pet Alive in Texas, before moving to Brevard County, Florida in 2016. Upon her arrival, Misaki enrolled to volunteer at the South Animal Care Center in Brevard. She volunteered at the shelter for four years, showing up consistently more than three times weekly to ensure dogs got adequate potty breaks and socialization. She walked over 100 dogs every month and used her iPhone to capture the most adorable photos which promoted these shelter dogs for adoption on
social media. This volunteer experience ultimately changed Misaki’s career trajectory and led her to start her own pet sitting services company, Home Buddy. Misaki and her husband are the proud ‘pawrents’ of a rescue dog named Dolly, who was at risk of being euthanized at a shelter due to length of stay and her need to be the only pet in the house. Although Dolly prefers to be the queen of her castle, Misaki manages to help quite often with fostering dogs on a temporary basis for Touch of Grey Rescue, taking great care to keep the dogs separated.
As our Executive Director, Misaki heads up our daily operations from intake to adoption. You can often find her driving the getaway car from the shelter with a new intake, or nursing what was once deemed a hospice dog, back to life. In fact, it was Mr. Misaki that came up with the tagline "He ain't dyin'!" because after Misaki's touch, hospice dogs seem to live forever. Misaki said “Being a part of this great team has given me so much more to help the voiceless, homeless dogs. When we started out in 2019, we had no idea that we would save over 100 dogs every year. And I am confident that we’ll keep growing and doing many more great things for these dogs, working together with our volunteers, supporters and donors!”
Rebecca Moore - Director of Community Relations
Prior to moving to Brevard County, Becky volunteered for animal shelters in California, New Jersey, Virginia and Maryland. Living here for over 10 years, she is now proud to call Satellite Beach her home. Becky first learned about Touch of Grey Rescue after the passing of her beloved catahoula/bulldog mix LuLu. She knew the best way to honor her memory was by helping another dog in need, so she donated LuLu's beds and supplies to Touch of Grey Rescue. From that moment, Becky became part of the Touch of Grey Rescue family and she hasn't looked back since. Once she learned more about Touch of Grey, she fell in love with the mission and began contributing as a volunteer in addition to a supporter. In her words, she started "begging and bragging" about Touch of Grey to local and even National organizations and soon we were getting all sorts of high quality food and supplements donated to our foster dogs. Becky didn't stop at Community Outreach. She turned into a foster and adopter as well. She is the proud rescue Mom to Gigi, a dog that spent several months in the Palm Beach shelter before being rescued by Touch of Grey. Becky has a love for the underdog, and her combined passion for making connections, raising money, and developing relationships with the community, makes her an invaluable member of our team. Becky acts as our Director of Community Relations, and believes wholeheartedly that dogs bring people together. And when the community comes together, the bigger impact we have on those in need.