Red Star Animal Emergency Services™

American Humane’s Animal Protection Division trainers include some of the nation’s most highly regarded professionals in the fields of animal welfare and animal emergency services. All have years of real-world experience in their areas of expertise, in addition to being outstanding educators. We’re proud to introduce you to these top-notch trainers.

Tiana Glenn

Basic Animal Emergency Services instructor (since 2007)
Red Star Animal Emergency Services responder (since 2007)

In a federal career spanning 32 years, Tiana rarely held a desk job. After acquiring a degree in photography, she spent 25 years as a photographer for the Department of the Interior, documenting disasters ranging from floods to oil spills to wildfires, and rescuing animals in between. “Any time I was late for work, my bosses would know that it had something to do with an animal! Often I’d show up at work with a dog, promising it would only be on the compound until the owner came to pick it up or the shelter opened so I could drop it off.” While documenting the cleanup of seabirds and marine animals following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Tiana found herself going back to the center after work to help care for the beleaguered animals. In 2001, she switched careers and began facilitating Incident Command System (ICS) courses and training wildland firefighters.

Tiana’s love of animals was evident early and inherited from her family. Her childhood was never without a menagerie of animals ranging from orphaned raccoons or a tortoise to dogs, horses and even a stray donkey. She worked with a large-animal veterinarian while still in school, and as her career progressed, she volunteered with the local shelter. With retirement looming on the horizon, and wanting to combine her love of animals with her reluctance to give up disaster work, Tiana took American Humane’s Basic Animal Emergency Services class in Cincinnati in 2005. She was recruited as an instructor for that class in 2007, two months after she retired.

Says Tiana, “My main goal was always to respond with American Humane. Having an opportunity to instruct as well has been the icing on the cake. American Humane staff and volunteers are such a professional group of people, and the students are so motivated to learn -- their compassion for the animals and people shines through. And so often, because of the impression American Humane leaves, the students are eager to become members of the Red Star team, and then we get to work with them again.”

As assistant manager of the food bank in Emmett, Idaho, Tiana started a pet food pantry a year ago, providing food for the four-legged members of the families it serves. As a result, owner surrenders at the local animal shelter have decreased dramatically. She also teaches Pet First Aid classes for the community.

Tiana lives with her boyfriend of 11 years (soon to be husband), two dogs and seven koi.

Valerie Schomburg

Basic Animal Emergency Services instructor (since 2007)
Red Star Animal Emergency Services responder (since 2005)

After 15 years caring for draft horses and petting-zoo animals at Disneyland, Valerie Schomburg left the Magic Kingdom to become an animal control officer in Newport Beach, Calif. She was subsequently bitten by the disaster-response bug during five days of search-and-rescue work following Hurricane Katrina, and after driving back to California with 40 rescued dogs, Valerie attended Basic Animal Emergency Services training at American Humane.

Valerie has since deployed with American Humane’s Red Star disaster-response team seven times, including assisting with the sheltering of seven horses in Texas that had been injured when a burning barn fell on them, and capturing 54 pigs that had survived the 2008 Iowa floods but were stranded on a levee. She is also involved with a Humane Animal Response Team (HART) in her community and teaches basic and intermediate search-and-rescue there.

Valerie’s love of Red Star extends to the classroom, where she regularly teaches the Basic Animal Emergency Services class. “I am so proud to be part of the Red Star team, both as an instructor and a responder,” she says. “The people at American Humane are top notch -- professional, full of integrity and in it to do what’s best for people and their animals.”

Valerie lives with her husband, Tom, two dogs and three cats in Orange County, Calif.

Bill Grimes

Basic Animal Emergency Services instructor (since 2005)
Red Star Animal Emergency Services responder (since 2006)

Being surrounded by pets and large animals is second nature for Bill Grimes, who grew up on a Kansas farm. After a 33-year career as a school teacher and superintendent, Bill admits he was “retired and bored” until Hurricane Katrina came along. After spending a week caring for rescued animals at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center outside New Orleans, Bill returned to his home in Iowa, then headed to Denver for American Humane’s Basic Animal Emergency Services class. Since then, he has responded to a variety of natural and manmade disasters, including Texas wildfires, the North Carolina puppy mill seizure known as “Noah’s Ark” and the City of Memphis Animal Shelter investigation.

Today, Bill is putting his teaching experience to good use as an instructor for American Humane’s Basic Animal Emergency Services class. “I enjoy helping people become better prepared to handle any emergency they may face, whether it’s a national disaster, an emergency in their own community or even saving their own pets. Plus, a lot of students in these classes go on to become Red Star volunteers, so it’s always great to see them on a response.”

Bill and his wife, Judith, live on a farm in State Center, Iowa, with two horses, three goats, two ducks, 50 chickens, two llamas, six birds, eight dogs and 18 cats.

Diane Robinson

Animal Emergency Services instructor (since 2006)
Red Star responder (since 2006)

In her capacity as training instructor and curriculum developer for American Humane’s Animal Protection Division, Diane Robinson both writes and teaches some of the organization’s signature workshops. Diane is co-author and instructor of Disaster Sheltering for Companion Animals and Basic Equine Care and Handling for the Investigator, and she is currently developing new curricula for American Humane’s Leadership Development Program. She also teaches Basic Animal Emergency Services and Animal Rescue Training for First Responders. Diane is a member of the Douglas County (Colo.) Search and Rescue Team and a senior responder on American Humane’s Red Star Animal Emergency Services team, with whom she has deployed to 13 disasters since 2006.

Diane’s diverse background includes a bachelor’s degree in photography from Penn State, a master’s degree in Pedagogy of Physical Education from the University of Northern Colorado, and positions coaching track and field, working in a high school art department and teaching at a K-8 charter school in the Physical Education and Adventure Education program.

Says Diane, “I’m fortunate that I get to teach what I love to do. It’s great to be around people who are so passionate about animals. They get so excited by what they’re learning and so motivated to use the information to prepare for their own disasters or to become part of the Red Star team. I also love responding; it reminds me how important my job is for the animals and people we help. And it feeds my adrenaline junkie needs!”

Of her two dogs, one cat and two horses, Diane says, “All came to me in their own unique way. My golden was given to me when his owner couldn’t control him; he was an 80-pound 1-year-old who had not been trained. My 2-year-old rescue -- a golden/shepherd mix -- is my reminder of why I do this job; he was a feral puppy who could have had a tough life on the streets or worse. Instead, he is a kind and loving dog who loves his dog brother and cat sister, who was also born to a feral mother. My half Arabian horse is my partner on the trail, and our latest addition is a Clydesdale found on a rescue website. True to the draft breed, he is a kindhearted and gentle giant.”

Ginger Adams

Basic Animal Emergency Services instructor (since 2006)
Red Star Animal Emergency Services™ responder (since 2002)

Ginger Adams, a Florida resident since she was 2 years old, has lived with and loved animals as far back as she can remember. Her passion for companion animals in particular is evident in both her long-time career as a professional dog trainer and in her avocation as an animal emergency responder and volunteer.

In 1998, Ginger began volunteering at Alachua County Animal Services in Gainesville, Fla., where she temperament tested shelter dogs. As the volunteer coordinator, she also worked to teach volunteers and the public about dog and cat behavior. Realizing the importance of disaster preparation (especially in the state of Florida) and wanting to give back to the community, Ginger attended Disaster Animal Response Team (DART) training and became a member of the NorthStar DART team in Alachua County; she remains a member of the local Community Emergency Response Team today.

Upon learning about American Humane’s role in national disaster response, Ginger became a Red Star volunteer and began teaching Basic Animal Emergency Services training in 2005. She was deployed with American Humane for the first time to Hurricane Lili in 2002 and has since been on 16 deployments with the Red Star team, serving as a team lead on numerous occasions.

Ginger also volunteers with the local “Paws on Parole” program, where she works with inmates to train shelter dogs in preparation for adoption. She has been a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers since 1998 and is also a member of Dog Scouts of America, an organization that educates the public about responsible dog ownership and the importance of the human/canine bond.

Says Ginger of her role as an American Humane instructor, “Having the opportunity to educate the public in disaster response as part of a national organization truly fills me with a sense of pride. It gives me hope that I provide information they will take back to their own communities and use when they have to consider animals in planning for a disaster, as well as insight into the job we do as responders.”