MaryEllen Campbell has been a professor of Marketing at The University of Montana for over thirty years. She currently specializes in branding nonprofit and health service organizations. For the past twenty-five years, MaryEllen also has been president of Campbell Communications, a customer communications group which has provided consulting services for firms throughout the United States. (For more information on MaryEllen's professional background please see web page listed here.) In Missoula, MaryEllen serves as a Trustee for Community Medical Center and is a past president of the 240 member Luncheon Rotary Club.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, MaryEllen and her husband, Dennis O'Donnell, originally from Colorado Springs, are long-time residents of Missoula, Montana. They live with their horses, Sophie and Joe, their black labs Zsuza and Reba, and their cats Sally and Harry in Pattee Canyon. Learn about MaryEllen's inspiration for Pet Living Wills
David Firth has been an assistant professor of Information Systems at The University of Montana for over four years. He specializes in teaching students how to be a consultant, as well as design efficient IS-enabled business processes. David spent five years at UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Business getting a Ph.D. in Information Systems. Before that he spent five years working as an Information Systems consultant with KPMG in San Francisco. David helps many businesses in Missoula with their IS-enabled business processes, and in particular works with Bee Alert Technologies, Inc., a company that trains bees to find land mines, dead bodies, drugs, as well as airborne chemicals. David was recently featured in an Addy Award winning TV commercial for The University of Montana, which you can see here.
David was born in Yorkshire, England, and attended Oxford University, obtaining a Bachelor's and Masters in Physics. He worked for Ernst & Young in London, where he became a Chartered Accountant, and met his wife of 14 years Mary whilst rowing on the Thames. Mary and David have lived in Missoula for four years, and have two children, Danika and Jason. Mary is a documentary film maker. They currently have a fish (called Bat), but both grew up with cats and dogs.
Paul Gladen
"Paul Gladen, co-founder and strategic adviser of Pet Living Wills, is an experienced international business executuve. He is President and Founder of Muzeview, a research and consulting firm focused on innovation in professional services firms. Previously Paul was a partner with a global accounting and consulting firm. Paul has a Masters degree in Mathematics from Oxford University, an MBA from Manchester Business School, and is a UK Chartered Accountant.
Paul's pets have included a Jack Russell terrier called Pip (pictured), a guinea pig called Monty, a cat called Chester and several goldfish."
Why Did MaryEllen Co-found PetLivingWills?
After going through several traumatic experiences, I became convinced that pet owners should think through pet health care decisions prior to needing emergency veterinary services. I was at the Opera in Chicago with my husband Dennis when our old, beloved horse, Chief, had to be put down by a friend. My cell phone, of course, was turned off. A year later we were traveling in the China. We were in an area with limited phone access. I was shocked to learn two days after the occurrence that our wonderful, long-haired German Shepard, Diva, died in a freak accident. They cremated her and didn't even save the collar.
Then, I was faced with a decision of putting down a friend's horse, Serena, while the friend was hiking in the mountains of Colorado. This experience made it painfully clear what a tremendous responsibility it is to deal with deciding the care of someone else's pet. That experience inspired me to write the December 2004 article for Equus magazine with Daphne Braun about the importance of creating an Equine Living Will.
A year later, I gave a talk about the need for planning pet health care, much like what we humans do with our own health care through our living wills. My colleague, David Firth, attended the talk and thought it was a great idea. David, and his friend Paul, both experts on Internet business, decided we should launch an e-service that would provide peace of mind for busy pet owners who must travel for work or who vacation in places where cell phones are unreliable. Our ideas kept evolving. Now, we can offer this service to others.
By creating a Pet Living Will, pet owners are able to let their wishes be known to veterinarians, no matter where the owners are or who is in charge of their pets. Also, A Pet Living Will allows pet owners to be cool-headed when considering what care is best for their pets and under what specific circumstances.
Personally, I wouldn't trade anything for the peace of mind that comes from knowing my pets will be cared for appropriately in an emergency. We believe that our PetLivingWills service will provide the same comfort and reassurance for all who use it.
