About Us – Wings of Rescue

Our Long-Term Goal is to Go Out of Business

Ideally, a day will come when we will no longer be called upon to fly at risk shelter pets and we can shift our efforts to other aspects of pet rescue and welfare. We believe that through proper public education and outreach regarding responsible pet ownership (including teaching about the necessity for pet vaccination and providing heartworm and flea and tick prevention medication), along with effective spay-and-neuter programs, it is achievable to reduce pet populations to better match up with local adoption demand. That will, we hope, greatly reduce the need for large-scale air transports like ours to help transport pets from overcrowded areas.

Until then, we have our work cut out for us and believe that air transportation combined with spay and neuter programs like our Operation Pit Stop are the most immediate and direct way for us to make a difference and reduce euthanasia rates. Our flights directly save thousands of dogs and cats each year and Operation Pit Stop dramatically reduces the birth of unwanted puppies, saving much-needed shelter space now, and even more in the future.

We Work Closely with Our Many Partner Shelters

Though pet over-population is a global crisis, we know that effective solutions begin at the local level where dedicated rescue workers and volunteers put in the hard work to save pets. Our role is to help those groups by widening the options they have in placing unwanted pets into new homes.

Our Network is Extensive, Efficient and Responsive

Thanks to our broad network of pilots, transportation professionals, and logistics experts, we are able to efficiently transport large numbers of pets, keeping our cost-per-pet-saved as low as possible and an affordable and practical option in the arsenal of tools available to the rescue community.

We Respond Quickly, Decisively and With Authority As an organization with low overhead and little bureaucracy, we can get our planes in the air and on their way to help pets within hours of a triggering event. Our rescue partners on the ground know that with a single phone call they will have our complete attention, timely response and full support..

Meet the Wings of Rescue Core Team

We depend on a large network of shelter and rescue-group partners and volunteers, pilots willing to give their time, and many corporate supporters and individual donors. Our core management and leadership team all bring experience and a strong commitment to saving pets.

Ric Browde

CEO & Co-President

Ric has been a shelter volunteer and animal activist in Los Angeles since 2003 and joined Wings of Rescue in 2014 – becoming a Board Member in 2015. Ric’s background includes being an author, musician, record producer, songwriter and arranger, earning platinum albums with Poison, Joan Jett and Ted Nugent among others. He wrote the novel “While I’m Dead…Feed the Dog” which was turned into the motion picture “Behaving Badly.” Since graduating from Cornell University, Ric has lived and worked in various locations across the United States and Europe and recently moved from Beverly Hills California to the East Coast with his wife, Holly and their large pack of rescue dogs .

Fera Mostow

Vice President and Board Member

Originally from Chicago, Fera has been practicing law in California (and is also licensed to practice law in Illinois and Nevada), for more than 35 years, first as an attorney for the Internal Revenue Service, and later as an entertainment lawyer for Paramount Pictures and the Walt Disney Studios. She also has a masters degree in psychology and is a licensed marriage and family therapist. After retiring from Disney, Fera first volunteered and then worked for the Palm Springs Animal Shelter in the vet clinic, running the surgical recovery room and handling their spay/neuter programs. Fera is currently on the board of Animal Samaritans, which runs two veterinary clinics and an adoption center. Fera joined Wings of Rescue in August 2015 and was made a member of the Board of Directors in December of 2016. Fera lives in Indio California with her partner and five cats – Arthur, Doodles, Angus, Cali and Abigail.

Share Ross

Board Member

Share Ross has had an illustrous career in music, earning fame as the bassist of the platinum selling all female rockers Vixen, playing in Def Leopard’s singer Joe Elliott’s solo band, Down n Outz and as a teenager playing bass in Helen Reddy’s live band. She has also worked as a studio musician and is – in her spare time – producing rock and roll albums with her husband Bam Ross and WOR President, Ric Browde. Share has also published the well received knitting book, “Punk Knits.” Not content with being “only” an artist, Share has carved a name for herself as a top producing realtor in Southeast Florida. Animal Rescue has always been an important part of Share’s life, and she has had rescue dogs all her life, including her amazing dog, Moonie, who she adopted from a Wings of Rescue flight in 2021.

Nelda Corbell

Co-President

Nelda began her animal welfare journey in 2008 in the adoptions department at the largest nonprofit animal shelter in North Texas. She eventually became the Vice President of Lifesaving Initiatives, playing a key role in the movement to end pet homelessness and euthanasia-for-space, helping to elevate the shelter’s live-release rate from the 40’s to 97%. Nelda also partnered with municipalities across Texas to drive substantial statewide changes. In 2018, she found her true passion as a volunteer with Wings of Rescue. Dedicated to ending pet homelessness and preventing unwanted litters, Nelda has spent her entire adult life committed to non-profit work. She lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with her teenage son and numerous rescue pets, reflecting her unwavering commitment to animal welfare.

Cassie Davidson

Senior Director of Social Awareness

Cassie Davidson is the Senior Director of Social Awareness at Wings of Rescue, bringing over 16 years of dedicated experience in animal welfare to her role. Throughout her career, Cassie has been a powerful voice for pets in need, leveraging her expertise in storytelling, communications, and advocacy to shine a light on critical issues impacting shelter pets. Her work ensures that the stories of at-risk pets are heard, inspiring action and support from communities nationwide. Cassie has contributed her skills to some of the most challenging areas of animal welfare, including cruelty investigations, disaster response efforts, and rescue missions for overcrowded shelters. She collaborates with partners to amplify the mission of saving lives and creating sustainable solutions to pet overpopulation. A steadfast advocate for change, Cassie believes that education, compassion, and community involvement are the keys to ending the cycle of homelessness for pets. Her work at Wings of Rescue reflects her unwavering commitment to ensuring that every pet gets their first chance at safety, love, and a brighter future.

Gene Gable

Director of Media Relations

Gene has been with Wings of Rescue since 2021 and handles media relations, oversees the Wings of Rescue website and helps with fundraising. Gene is retired from a career in magazine and book publishing, having held both editorial and management positions at a number of global technology publishers. Additionally, Gene ran several large technology trade shows and educational conferences in New York, Boston and San Francisco. For the last 15 years Gene worked as an executive in the venture-capital industry for an investment firm with over $4 billion under management. He has spoken at events around the globe, written extensively on technology, the graphic arts, intellectual property rights and general business processes. Gene has contributed to numerous books and is the author of Scanning Around With Gene, a book of select columns he wrote over a ten-year period for the website Creativepro.com. He lives in Petaluma, California with his wife Patty and 5 rescue pets.

Our Fleet of Pressurized Aircraft

When Wings of Rescue started in 2012, we primarily used volunteer pilots flying their own planes. It quickly became clear, however, that the most efficient, safest and cost-effective way to save pet lives was to deploy larger, fully pressurized aircraft which could fly into a variety of conditions and airports, both in the United States and internationally. We currently use several aircraft, depending on the particular need, distance being flown and other considerations.

Embraer Brasilia 120 Turboprop

The Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia is a twin turboprop airliner used extensively for passenger and freight operations around the world. Introduced in 1985, the plane quickly became a staple of the commuter-airline industry and is now used primarily for cargo transportation. The Brasilia is fully pressurized and temperature controlled, and all pets are flown in the main cabin by a crew consisting of pilot and copilot, along with a designated Wings of Rescue flight coordinator. It has a range of over 1,000 miles and can cruise at speeds up to 425 MPH.

Pilatus PC-12

The Pilatus PC-12 is a single-engine turboprop passenger and cargo aircraft manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland, since 1991. The PC-12 is the best-selling pressurized single-engine turbine-powered aircraft in the world and is designed to safely fly in a variety of conditions and rugged environments. With a cruise speed of 328 MPH and a range of over 2,000 miles, the Pilatus is perfect for many of our smaller transports and can be flown by a single pilot or in a pilot/co-pilot configuration.

If You Are a Pilot and Would Like to Fly for Us

Wings of Rescue is looking for volunteer pilots with their own pressurized planes to fly missions for us. If you are a pilot with a pressurized aircraft, we’d love to hear from you. Please send us a brief email with contact information stating the type of plane you own, your home airport, general availability and any other pertinent information for us to consider. Please be sure to include your phone number and best time to call, then send your email to [email protected].