Staff & Board
Executive Bios
Denise Deisler - Executive Director
Denise Deisler has worked in non profit management since 1996 and on behalf of homeless animals for more than 13 years. Denise most recently was the Executive Director of the Humane Society of Manatee County in Bradenton, Fl. where under her guidance the county embraced and recently announced its commitment to achieving a no kill community. Prior to moving to the Bradenton area she was a member of the leadership team that raised $14.2 million dollars, created a nationally recognized, state of the art humane care and education center, and brought an end to the killing of adoptable homeless animals in Richmond, Virginia. She also served as the President of the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies and was the Chair of their first strategic planning initiative. She is presently a board member of the Florida Association of Animal Welfare Organizations. She shares her life and home with husband Bernie, son Tony and shelter alums Yogi (pictured), Oscar, Ziggy and Rocky.
Jennifer E. Broadhurst, DVM, Director of Veterinary Services
Dr. Broadhurst has been with the Jacksonville Humane Society since January of 2006 and is the director of veterinary services. She is a native of Illinois where she got her first shelter experience working at a humane society in Southern Illinois during high school and undergraduate school. She received her Bachelor of Science in Zoology in 1999 from Southern Illinois University and went on to graduate with her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Illinois in 2003. Dr. Broadhurst moved to Florida right after graduation and started her career at the Clay County Humane Society Animal Clinic.
Dr. Broadhurst oversees all things medical at JHS. She is in charge of making sure all of JHS’s animals are healthy and ready for adoption, performs surgeries on all JHS animals and oversees the medical care of any sick or injured animals. With the help of our medical services manager, Dr. Broadhurst oversees the medical department staff, the intake of animals by animal admissions and the foster / rescue program.
Dr. Broadhurst resides in Clay County with her husband, Dr. Christian Broadhurst, the veterinarian for the Clay County Humane Society Animal Clinic. They have two sons, Devin and Riley; and a one-year-old daughter, Caris. They share their home with four dogs, five cats, two bearded dragons, and a lot of fish in their saltwater aquariums and Koi pond. Of course, the resident cats and dogs are all rescues!
Christian Broadhurst, DVM, Hospital Medical Director
Dr. Christian Broadhurst is the hospital medical director for the Jacksonville Humane Society’s (JHS’s) Community Animal Hospital (CAH). Prior to joining JHS, he served as senior staff veterinarian at the Clay County Humane Society Animal Clinic in Orange Park, Fla. Additionally, he has worked as a relief veterinarian at JHS for more than two years. Dr. Broadhurst is well known for his work in veterinary orthopedics, having performed hundreds of orthopedic surgeries at various Jacksonville-area animal welfare organizations.
Dr. Broadhurst is a graduate of the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. His wife, Jennifer, is also a veterinarian, and together they have three dogs, eight cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, several dozen koi, saltwater fish and two leopard tortoises.
Suzy Broadhurst, DVM, Hospital Veterinarian
Dr. Suzy Broadhurst joined the Jacksonville Humane Society in December 2011 as a staff veterinarian for the new Community Animal Hospital. She is a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, with a very diverse background. Originally, Dr. Broadhurst carried out her Masters in medical genetics from the University of Sydney, Australia where she worked in the Newborn screening unit at the children’s hospital. Next on the agenda was to return to school where her true calling was veterinary medicine. She attended Veterinary school in Ireland and Scotland where she graduated from the University of Glasgow, Scotland Veterinary School in 2008. Upon graduation, she started as an equine veterinarian in Kentucky before taking on an associate position for small animal medicine in 2009 at Clay County Humane Society in Orange Park, FL. She met her husband Dan through her colleague Dr. Chris Broadhurst (his twin). Dan and Suzy now live in Fleming Island with all of their pets which include 3 dogs (Lucy the Landseer, Kona the 3-legged lab, Stitch the Springer mix), 2 cats (Butters and Darwin) and a Harlequin macaw named Logan.
Danya Parks-Freel, CAWA, Director of Operations
Danya Parks-Freel, CAWA, joined the Jacksonville Humane Society in late 1991, and knew she had finally found her calling. Danya has held many positions at JHS, including adoption counselor, adoption supervisor, community outreach coordinator and programs manager. She has been the organization’s director of operations for the past three years. Danya directs the management of several key functions and their associated programs, including animal and customer care, medical operations and Thrift store operations.
Danya heads the JHS disaster response team and represents JHS at the Duval EOC (emergency operation center) in the animal services division. She has assisted in many natural disasters beginning with the Florida/Georgia Floods of 1994, multiple hurricanes and the most personal disaster to date, the JHS fire in 2007.
Danya is originally from Garland, Texas. She moved to Jacksonville in 1990 and loves the city. Her family includes her partner, Robin, their one-year-old daughter and their furry ‘kids’: two mixed breed dogs, Kaylie and Cassidy, and an amazing cat named Barkley who came from JHS. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, reading, Jaguar football and spending time with her extended family.
Ann Korczyk, Director of Human Resources
Ann Korczyk joined JHS in January of 2006. As the director of human resources, she oversees all staffing and HR functions. She also manages the volunteer and community service programs.
A native of the Midwest, Ann has over 20 years of business management experience. She and her husband owned and operated several businesses in both Iowa and Virginia. After volunteering at the Dubuque Humane Society in Iowa, she was offered the position of volunteer manager. In that position, she gained valuable experience learning the business of animal sheltering. During her tenure, she helped start a retail gift shop staffed by volunteers and was an integral part of the team that started the award winning “Head Start” volunteer dog training program.
Ann and her husband, Tom, have three grown children and two grandchildren. They share their home with their family of pets: Roxie and Scruffy, both dogs, and Sam, the cat. Scruffy was adopted from the Jacksonville Humane Society in August of 2008 and comes to work with Ann almost everyday.
Karen D. Padgham, Director of Customer Service
Karen is a native Floridian and attended college at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Ga. Her passion for animals started at a very young age when she heard a puppy crying under her house. Karen made her father crawl under the house in the middle of the night to get it. He had a broken leg at the time, so it was a difficult task, but he was able to rescue the puppy.
Karen spent most of her adult life working in financial management. Her dream was to open her own shelter for animals. In 2006, Karen decided to fulfill her dream and joined the JHS team as the adoption manager. In 2007, she was appointed director of customer service. In this position, she is responsible for overseeing the adoption center, boutique, animal care attendants and the behavior department.
Karen and her husband, Bobby, share their home with three dogs, one cat and two squirrels that won't leave their backyard (after she nursed them back to health during Tropical Storm Fay). Karen also enjoys photography, fishing and gardening.
2012 Board of Directors
Julie Klapstien, Animal Advocate -
President Alyson Lee, Jacksonville University –
Vice-President Lis'e Everly, Community Advocate -
Secretary Dina Vickers, Controller, Medical Partners of America -
Treasurer Dr. Eric Haas, Family Physicians Group
Linda Stein, Community Advocate
Dr. Jeffrey Stone, Community Advocate
Claudia Thomas, Community Advocate
Susan Welch, Community Advocate
2012 Advisory Board
David T. Abraham, Brant, Abraham, Reiter, McCormick & Greene, P.A
Karen Bowling, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, City of Jacksonville Mayor's Office
John Crescimbeni, Licensed Franchisee, Hickory Farms / Jacksonville City Council Member
Elizabeth Diamond, Animal Advocate