Jim Thompson is originally from Missouri. After getting degrees in Building Construction Management and Civil Engineering from Purdue University, he served in the Active-duty Army for ten years and then ten years in the Army Reserve, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. After leaving active duty in Hawaii, he spent 32 years doing construction management as...
Tina Kannapel is a retired national program manager and artist who has been fascinated by cats all her life. She has lived with, and loved, cats for 46+ years. Tina and her cats (Jackson, Luna, and Cooper) settled in Black Mountain, NC in 2017. When approached to help establish Laps and Naps for Senior Cats,...
Lauren Hellendall was born and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and moved to Washington, DC to attend college. After completing a degree in Environmental Studies, Lauren lived in DC, working in veteran’s advocacy, and then in volunteer administration at the Smithsonian Office of Visitor Services. In 2021 they returned to North Carolina, venturing westward...
A North Carolina native, Dr. Laurin Cooke earned her undergraduate degree from Duke University, with majors in Psychology and Biological Anthropology and Anatomy and a Certificate in Primatology. After a fascinating adventure teaching kids about animals in zoological parks, she decided to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a veterinarian. She graduated from NCSU College...
