Meet Our Board of Directors
Melodie Smith
President
Term: 04/01/2025 - 03/31/2027
Melodie has been involved in the animal rescue world since 2015 when she took in her first foster. She joined the UMGDR team in 2020 when her family fostered, fell in love with, and ultimately adopted their first Great Dane, Ranger. Since then, she has been an active volunteer, attending adoption or other outreach events in the community, assisting with transports, and has fostered two special needs Great Danes.
Melodie loves working relentlessly to find soft-landing spots for dogs in need. She also enjoys being a self-appointed dog/human match maker for her family, co-workers, and friends whenever possible. In addition to volunteering, Melodie is an Operations Manager for a large insurance company. She loves her job and is extremely passionate about helping people, so she considers her rescue work and educating the public about the importance of adopting from a rescue whenever possible an extension of that.
Melodie lives on a farm in central Iowa with her husband, two children, and various animal friends.
Michelle, Sammy and Marley
Michelle Gorman
Secretary
Term: 04/01/2025 - 03/31/2027
Michelle has been a member of UMGDR since 2015 when she first adopted Mabel from the rescue. Like her husband has said she never settles, go big or go home. She first started volunteering with
transportation and home visits. She has helped with the Indiana dogs and South Dakota pups to road trip to transport them back to rescue with another volunteer. When she saw the plea for the need for a reference checker and placement coordinator, she thought she can help with that also. She volunteered for both and continues to do both. She has help cover other areas as reference checker until they can get coverage and will take on extra dogs as placement coordinator in her queue to help the rescue. She
helped organize the first online auction for fundraising with the help of others that raised over $11K. Now Callie runs successfully for the rescue, but she still assists the fundraising team. Her husband Rich is the one that has always wanted a Great Dane, but little did he know they would have two or more at most times. Bailey was their first Great Dane; she was a severe epileptic but the best Dane ever. They rescued Gracie from MN WI Rescue, and she lost her battle. They than rescued Mabel with UMGDR and was adopted out but passed from osteosarcoma.
Currently she resides in Champlin, Minnesota with her husband of 36 years. They have two adult sons who live in the twin cities with their families. They have 2 granddaughters, a grandson and one on the way this summer. Currently they have Sammy 4 ½ Blue and Marley the brindle (one of Harriet Sue) potato litter pups 2 1/2yrs.
katie schmeisser
Director of Home Visits and adoptions
Term: 04/01/2025 - 03/31/2027
Katie has been a dedicated member of the Upper Midwest Great Dane Rescue (UMGDR) team since 2023. She stumbled upon UMGDR while searching for a new volunteer position after being dedicated to the same volunteer position for almost 15 years at a local organization. With UMGDR, she has greatly enjoyed working closely with the Foster and Adoption side of the rescue as the Placement Team Lead. She has also lent her talents to transportation efforts and various other projects that support the rescue’s mission. Passionate about UMGDR’s commitment to prioritizing the well-being of the dogs, she is excited to be part of the organization’s continued growth and impact.
A lifelong dog lover, Katie has shared her home with many large-breed dogs, but Great Danes hold a special place in her heart. She currently resides in Northeast Wisconsin with her beloved Dane, Nugget, and a rabbit. Outside of volunteering, Katie enjoys a career in the travel industry, exploring new destinations, and savoring unique cuisines.
Angie shipman
Director of Intake
Term: 02/01/2025 - 04/01/2027
Angie started with UMGDR in July 2024 as a Foster Home Coordinator when she was looking for a way to do something to give back and feel like she was able to make an impact. A friend told her about the rescue needing help and it was the answer she was looking for.
Angie is allergic to dogs and has no dog experience so as they say “Those who can’t do, volunteer in other ways.” Okay, maybe no one says that but Angie does have 2 rescue cats and by acting as the Director of Intake for UMGDR she finds great satisfaction in being able to rescue Danes by getting them out of difficult situations and helping them land safely in a new home.
Angie lives in Iowa with her two daughters and two rescue kitties.
Connie Geiger
Treasurer
Term: 10/15/2025 - 10/14/2027
Connie has been a member of UMGDR since 2014 when she became the rescue’s Treasurer. She served as Treasurer for 2-1/2 terms. She took a break from the board for a few years before taking on the role of Treasurer again in 2025.
Connie adopted Max and Duke from the rescue. Throughout the years, Connie has served as volunteer with the nail trim clinic, various parades, brat stands, pups and pints, and other events. She has also done a few Dane transport legs. In addition to volunteering for UMGDR and Faerie Land Rescue, Connie is an accounting manager for a local nonprofit and has over 30 years of accounting and nonprofit experience.
Connie resides in Saint Paul with her husband Doug and 3 dogs (Lady a 12 yr Boxer/Lab who identifies as a Dane, Duke a yr Dane/Lab who is an UMGDR alum, and Thomas aka Rocco a 1 yr German Shepherd). Connie has 3 grown daughters and 8 grandchildren. She enjoys motorcycle riding, camping, traveling, and going on adventures.
susan carpenter
Director of Foster Homes
Term: 04/01/2025–03/31/2027
Susan has been volunteering with UMGDR since 2023. At the time, she and her husband had a 7 year old Lab and a 2 year old Dane. She swore she was “just going to volunteer”, and wouldn’t be bringing any more dogs home. Well, that didn’t last very long. Susan and her husband began fostering Sandy in the fall of 2023, and adopted him not long after. She has since continued to volunteer in other capacities including home visits, transport, plea writing, and temp fostering when the need arises.
Susan is passionate about helping these amazing dogs find their forever homes and live their best lives. Her first foster, Sandy, posed both medical and behavioral challenges. Susan’s experience fostering has highlighted the importance of patience, consistency, proper training, and the significance of having support from the rescue. Her mission is to offer the foster homes the resources and support that they need while she is in this position.
Susan currently resides in Menominee, MI with her husband Austin & 3 dogs (Reagan, Murphy & Sandy).
Sonja, Moose and Blue
SONYA MALVICK
Director of Transport
Term: 10/01/2024 - 09/30/2026
Sonya has been involved with UMGDR since November 2020 when she first adopted Moose from the rescue. Little did she know that it was just the start of her involvement. Sonya first started volunteering as a transporter and then slowly joined the transport team. She worked under Matthew eventually taking on the role of Lead Transport Coordinator in 2022. Most recently, Sonya jumped in to help with home visits when a call went out for help.
Sonya has had a passion for Danes since meeting her sister’s first Dane, Titus, a Blu back in the early 2000’s. Her sister used to joke that her Danes loved Sonya more and always were excited when she came to visit. For years Sonya longed for a Great Dane and eventually found her way to the UMGDR website, and the rest is history.
Sonya lives in Waukesha, WI with her husband Ron and dogs Blue (Weimaraner) and Moose. She has a 24-year-old son Hunter who lives in the area. Ron is always eager to help with fundraising events like the Pet Expo and is a huge support to Sonya and the rescue efforts.
Susan Wendt
Director of Fundraising
Term: 10/20/2025 - 10/19/2027
(Photo coming soon!)
Susan joined UMGDR in the summer of 2025, completing foster and transport training and staying ready to step in as needs arise. When intake slowed, she shifted her energy to fundraising—collaborating with volunteers to build a coordinated fundraising team. Seeing a gap between board decisions and on-the-ground efforts, she applied for—and stepped into—the Director of Fundraising role in October of 2025, to connect the two and drive results.
A longtime animal-rescue volunteer, Susan discovered UMGDR while searching for a Great Dane to adopt. After losing her beloved Lacey to lymphoma in June 2024, she became a frequent visitor to our adoptable Danes page; once her heart had time to heal, she submitted her volunteer application and jumped in. She proudly calls herself a “habitual foster fail” and experienced her first “transport fail” in July 2025 when she adopted her first Great Dane, Sherlock.
Professionally, Susan brings a Product Manager’s mindset—organized, collaborative, and relentlessly action-oriented. She’s the “we talked about it, now let’s get it done” kind of leader who loves turning ideas into plans and plans into results. In her role, she supports and connects the many teams that make fundraising possible—social media, in-person events, grants, and marketing—so every effort rolls up to one goal: rescuing and healing more Great Danes.
Susan lives in Loretto, MN with her husband, who grew up with Danes and has wanted one since they moved into their home in 2019. He’s a constant cheerleader and happy helper with anything UMGDR related. Susan has two grown sons—one in Orlando, FL and one in Buffalo, MN—and while she’s not a grandma yet, she’s hoping that day isn’t too far off.