BOARD PRESIDENT & ADOPTION MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR
Liz Romick has been involved with cairn terrier rescue since 2002. She has been involved in transporting, fostering, reference calling, doing home safety visits, and has maintained a leadership role in Placement Services since 2012. She has owned over 15 terriers and currently lives with her husband and 3 rescues. Liz is also a Doctor of Physical Therapy in private practice since 1992.
BOARD VICE PRESIDENT & APPLICATION MANAGEMENT CO-DIRECTOR
Sandra began her journey in animal welfare by volunteering at her local shelter for several years before discovering the world of rescue—thanks to adopting her cairn, Widget.
In 2010, while searching for a companion for Widget, she found Col. Potter Cairn Rescue Network and adopted Tazz. Shortly after adopting Tazz, she began volunteering and quickly found her place within the organization. Over the years, Sandra has supported various rescue groups, but her true home has been in the Home Safety Visit and Foster teams, where she has been for the past 15 years.
Sandra and her husband, Rick, have fostered over 70 dogs and have happily “foster failed” four times. She is currently mom to a crazy crew: Little Bit, Radar, Wylie (all cairns) and Juniper (a “wanna be” cairn, who is a little bit of everything)
After retiring from a 27-year teaching career, Sandra has stayed busy volunteering with Col. Potter and spending time with her seven grandchildren. In the photo, you’ll see her “cairn character,” Wiley, a perfect example of the love and joy these pups bring into our lives. She’s excited to support CCTR’s work and continue to make a difference in the lives of terriers.
BOARD SECRETARY & APPLICATION MANAGEMENT CO-DIRECTOR
Denise joined Col. Potter in 2006 and is one of the two Directors of Application Management. She found Col. Potter (and rescue) while looking for a second cairn terrier. Her daughter who was 13 at the time, googled cairn terriers and opened an entire new world to her and her family! They first adopted Benny (CPs Martin), Heather (CPs Cinderella), Spud (CPs Spud – foster flunk) and Sofie (CPs Glenda – also a foster flunk). Each one was well-loved and are now at the Rainbow Bridge. Denise is a retired RN and lives in Michigan with her husband.
BOARD TREASURER
In 2015, Pam fell in love with the cairn breed after meeting a friend’s rescue, Bertie. Bertie was spunky, loyal, sweet, and dedicated to chasing squirrels: everything she didn’t know, until then, that she needed in her life! One year later, Pam and her husband rescued their very first dog, a cairn mix they named Stevie Nicks. Stevie is the “bee’s knees” and a constant source of joy to all (except maybe the resident cats). It’s Stevie who inspires Pam to volunteer her time with Cairns & Cousins, and to help other terriers find loving homes.
Professionally, Pam spent a decade in the financial industry (which explains her love of spreadsheets) and now runs a small business. Along the way, she became a certified yoga and meditation teacher and ran a busy yoga studio in Connecticut. In her spare time, Pam writes cozy mysteries. She lives in North Carolina with her amazing husband Martin, and their menagerie: Stevie Nicks, Dharma, and Stella.
BOARD MEMBER, LEGAL CONSULTANT
Mercedes Toro joined CCTR after being a volunteer for Col. Potter Cairn Rescue for 6 years. The Toros adopted Miss Wiggles and Riddick from Col. Potter in 2019 after the passing of their beloved Lilly, their first cairn terrier.
Mercedes has volunteered in transports, fostering and fundraising before joining CCTR as a trustee and legal consultant. Prior to retiring in 2023, she was an attorney who practiced law in New York and California.
BOARD MEMBER & RESCUE AND INTAKES MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR
Julie first came to the Col. Potter table in 2010 shortly after the passing of her beloved cairn terrier, Ozzie. The loss of Ozzie left such a gap that Julie immediately went searching for another heart-dog companion. She soon found Col. Potter Cairn Rescue, where she quickly learned that “one cairn terrier just necessarily leads to another,” and she joined the Rescue/Intakes Team in its quest to save as many wee terriers as possible. Thanks to the seemingly unlimited patience and support of her spouse, Judith, Julie has worked for over 10 years to bring the little dudes and dudettes into safe harbor with Col. Potter. And her greatest reward has been a consistent series of foster failures over the years. Julie and Judith now reside in PA with their current pack of fabulous flunkies, Edith Anne, Tallulah Bean and Mustang Sally. Julie was welcomed into the role of Director of Rescue/Intakes on May 1, 2021.
BOARD MEMBER & TRANSPORT DIRECTOR
Karen Gracy first joined the rescue family when she adopted Pippa—a deviously clever, delightful cairn terrier-ist—in 2016. Karen began volunteering for transports as a coordinator in 2019 when she realized that her lifelong love of maps and her talent for making a plan could be powerful tools for saving more cairns. When she’s not working with Transports’ fantastic crew of drivers, coordinators, and monitors to get our precious cargo to where they need to go, she’s a university professor at Kent State University’s School of Information, where she helps educate the next generation of librarians and archivists. (NOTE: When Karen gets a suitable photo of her with her girl Pippa, we will update, but for the time being, this cameo Koala will have to suffice.)
MARKETING DIRECTOR
Susan learned about rescue first hand when she had to surrender her beloved Welsh terrier, Pi, many years ago. Volunteering at a local shelter, her goal became to understand dog behavior and specifically terrier behavior so Pi’s re-homing would finally make sense and never happen again. During her journey, she met a neighbor’s neglected cairn terrier, Myra, who became her best friend and teacher and eventually led them both to Cairn Rescue and Col. Potter. The rest, as they say, is history. Susan is pictured with two former fosters, mother and daughter, who were tearfully surrendered by their original Mom to Col. Potter. They found a loving forever home together, proving that life truly is just a circle – what goes around, comes around.
TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR
Sylvie adopted Jerico in 2010. In 2021, she chose to give back by becoming a Home Safety Visit Coordinator. By 2024, she began managing Transport information to assist the Transport Director. In April 2025 she accepted the position of Technology Director for CCTR. Now retired after a 42-year career, Sylvie has held numerous positions in the IT field. Her last one was as a senior business analyst.
