The Wagmore Foundation Board of Directors
Our board members volunteer their time, expertise and personal resources to help make Alachua County a better place for animals and people.
Gladys Cofrin: Gladys is President of the Wagmore Foundation. She was born and grew up in Gainesville, Florida. Gladys attended the University of Colorado for two years, but completed her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Florida. She received a M.Ed. and Ed.S. in Counselor Education from the University of Florida in the mid 1980s. She then worked for many years as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor at the Alachua County Crisis Center in Gainesville. Gladys considers herself a newcomer to animal welfare after spending many years focusing her philanthropy on environmental and human social issues. She grew up on a farm with lots of horses, cats, dogs, and other animals. As a young child she required her family to attend her deceased animals' funerals. Gladys has owned dogs her entire adult life and continues to be amazed by their diverse and complex personalities. In 2008 she first learned about Breed Discriminatory Legislation, and that breed bans exist in many countries in Europe and large cities in the US. Gladys researched this topic and successfully lobbied against proposed breed restriction legislation in Florida's state capital, Tallahassee. When she became aware that healthy, adoptable pets were being euthanized for population control she became involved with the coalition working on this issue in her home county. Teaming up with Alachua County animal advocates, the Board of County Commissioners, and the University of Florida, Gladys contributed a portion of the seed money to open the region's first high-quality, low-cost, high-volume spay/neuter clinic: No More Homeless Pets/Operation PetSnip. Gladys was the President of the NMHP board for five years, during which Alachua County Animal Services saw significant decreases in euthanasia of adoptable animals and improvement in Live Release Rates, now approaching 90%. The Wagmore Foundation has been a member of Animal Grantmakers, a national affinity group of animal welfare funders, since 2013. Gladys and her husband, who is a faculty member at the University of Florida College of Medicine, live in Gainesville with five large rescued dogs.
Pegeen Hanrahan: Pegeen is a registered Professional Engineer and Principal of Community and Conservation Solutions, LLC. A native and lifelong resident of Gainesville, Florida, she served as its Mayor from 2004-2010, and as a City Commissioner from 1996-2002, leaving office both times as a result of term limits. Pegeen has over 25 years of experience in environmental remediation, public participation, grant writing, land conservation, and local government finance. She holds Master's and Bachelor's degrees from the University of Florida in Environmental Engineering, and a B.A. in Sociology, also from U.F. Pegeen has served as President of the Florida League of Mayors, Chair of the Alachua County Library District, and currently serves on the boards of Florida State University’s LeRoy Collins Institute, the Mayors’ Innovation Project, ICLEI-USA: Local Governments for Sustainability, The Children’s Movement of Florida, Innovation Gainesville, the Alliance for Renewable Energy, and Alachua Conservation Trust. Pegeen and her husband, Tony Malone, are the delighted parents of Evyleen Mary, 8, Quinn Joseph, 7, Tess Lucille, 3 and Coal, part terrier, part black lab, also 3.
Mary Ippoliti-Smith: Mary is Vice President of Operations at Maddie’s Fund. She has spent more than 20 years working in animal welfare – first with the San Francisco SPCA, starting in 1991, and later with Maddie’s Fund. At the San Francisco SPCA she saw first-hand how much a dedicated group of staff and volunteers could accomplish to save animal lives in unprecedented ways. In her tenure at Maddie’s Fund, Mary is involved in every facet of corporate and philanthropic activities, working closely with Maddie's President, supervising the day-to-day operations of the foundation and managing a nearly $2M budget and annual distributions of more than $10M in grants. Mary also served on the board of Animal Grantmakers, an association of foundations, corporate giving programs and philanthropists devoted to the protection and welfare of animals. Mary has a degree in development studies from the University of California, Berkeley (Go Bears!). She and her husband share their home in Oakland, California with an assortment of canine companions.
Robert "Hutch" Hutchinson: Hutch was raised in the wilderness of eastern Alachua County and educated in Gainesville public schools. He received a BA from Emory University and attended graduate school at the University of Florida in urban and regional planning. Hutch fosters dogs, is an avid boater, and plays music with the Weeds of Eden. As an Alachua County Commissioner from 1998 to 2002, he spearheaded the Alachua County Forever referendum for conservation lands, the Wild Spaces-Public Places referendum, and worked on three successful charter amendments for campaign finance reform. Hutch was re-elected to the County Commission in 2012, and his current committee participation includes the Governing Board for the GRACE Empowerment Homeless Shelter, the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization, and the Joint Water Policy Committee. He is a founding board member of the Operation PetSnip community spay/neuter clinic, and also serves on the boards of Alachua County Humane Society, Paddle Florida, and Conservation Burial, Inc. Hutch's wife, Meg Niederhofer, is retired from two decades as Gainesville City Arborist, and they live at Flamingo Hammock with a rambunctious tribe of foster and rescue dogs.