Board of Directors
Deborah A. Howard
Founder and President
Chairperson
As president of CAPS, Ms. Howard is responsible for overall management, program planning, and reporting.
Ms. Howard has extensive experience in the communications field. Prior to starting CAPS, she ran an Atlanta-based public relations agency, Howard Communications. She was formerly with Porter/Novelli — the lead PR agency with the Omnicom Group — in San Francisco. Ms. Howard worked with “Dateline” for over a year to prepare an expose of the multimillion dollar pet shop and puppy mill trade. “A Dog’s Life,” which was over an hour in length, aired in two-parts in the spring of 2000. Viewers were shocked at the inhumane conditions at puppy mills that provide dogs to pet shops and appalled at USDA’s Deputy Administrator of APHIS Ron DeHaven’s smug indifference to the horrid conditions at two USDA licensed facilities. They sent more than 9,000 letters and emails to NBC, the second largest response to any “Dateline” program in its history. “A Dog’s Life” won a Genesis award in 2001.
Ms. Howard has also generated stories on the pet shop/puppy mill issue with Reader’s Digest, Life, People, Detroit Free Press, The Philadelphia Inquirer (two front page articles), CNN “20/20” (three times), “Hard Copy,” “Marketplace” (CBC) and with numerous television news programs and newspapers around the country. As a public relations professional, Ms. Howard handled a number of national accounts. The newspaper placements for her PR clients included the Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Detroit Free Press, The Miami Herald, The Baltimore Sun, and Dallas Morning News. Ms. Howard’s numerous magazine placements included U.S. News and World Report, Consumers Digest, Rolling Stone, Elle, Vogue, GQ, Cosmopolitan, Better Homes & Gardens, Working Woman, and Entrepreneurial Woman. Ms. Howard has also worked as a radio news reporter and anchorwoman.
Ms. Howard was featured by People.com in “Heroes Among Us” and was a South Shore Living Magazine “Woman of Influence.” She is a 2024 California Senate District 27 Woman of the Year.
After graduating from New College of Florida with a BA in Political Science, Ms. Howard earned a law degree from Santa Clara University.
Ida C. McCarthy
Illinois Director
Director
Ida McCarthy leads CAPS’ efforts in the Midwest. In her role as Illinois director, Ms. McCarthy has an outstanding track record of mounting successful protests and rallying communities to fight animal cruelty.
Ms. McCarthy grew up in Elmhurst and Villa Park in Northeast Illinois. She is a realtor with over 19 years of experience in the western suburbs of Chicago. She joined CAPS in 2008 to protest her hometown location of the unscrupulous pet shop chain, Happiness is Pets (HIP). In 2014, Ms. McCarthy placed her real state license on hold, began doing part time bookkeeping for CAPS, and became an official CAPS board member.
Ms. McCarthy started protesting HIP because of Lucy, a pup she adopted from a young couple. The dog’s previous owners bought her from the infamous chain. Lucy suffered from an abnormal number of health issues. This prompted Ms. McCarthy to investigate the store and subsequently the breeder. She was determined to expose the truth once she discovered the horrors behind the puppy mills that supply the pet shop, in this case Marty Gadient.
Ms. McCarthy was instrumental in spreading the growing pet shop ordinance movement to Illinois. Through CAPS, she provided investigative evidence and reliable information about the puppy mills that supply Illinois’ pet shops to community leaders, lawmakers, and the public.
Ms. McCarthy lives with her husband and two rescue dogs.
Linda Huebner
Executive Director
Linda Huebner has worked on behalf of animals – and their habitats – for decades. She has significant hands-on experience caring for domestic, farmed, and wild animals, as well as helping animals via friend/fundraising, outreach, education, public-speaking, media relations, and legislative advocacy.
Linda served as the Executive Director of two New England animal shelters, a human-animal relations organization, and an environmental center. She also worked as the Deputy Director of Advocacy for the Massachusetts Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Regional Program Manager for the New England Regional Office of The Humane Society of the United States. Through these organizations, Linda worked on a wide variety of animal issues, lobbied on animal related legislation, and worked closely with other animal protection and environmental groups by providing educational resources and support.
Linda is currently self-employed, working as a grant-writer for CAPS and as a property monitor for The Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust. She joined CAPS Board in 2024.
Linda took courses toward a Ph.D. in Human Dimensions of Wildlife Management at the University of Massachusetts. She received her M.S. degree in Animals and Public Policy from Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. She holds a B.S. in Animal Science from Cook College, Rutgers University.
She lives (and hikes) in southern Vermont with her rescue dog, Sassy.
National Advisory Board
Animal Folks Minnesota
Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation
Rescue Watch
Spay First