Meet the Board
President: Josh Baldwin
Josh found the Refuge during the 2020 Durham Vegan Mac & Cheese cook-off while meeting some Refuge volunteers tabling at the event. He signed up for volunteer efforts and started with house cleaning shortly after. His first day at the Refuge turned out to be the last day for tours due to shutting down for COVID-19, so he never officially went on a tour. Now he gives tours! You will find Josh with his wife Taryn at the Refuge nearly every Saturday and Sunday.
Josh grew interested in animal liberation after becoming vegan in 2020. In addition to the Refuge, he helped start NC Animal Advocates United to help bring an end to animal exploitation.
When not working to remedy the plight of the animals, Josh can be found reading or listening to heavy metal music. He lives in Cary with his wife and four cats.
Vice President: Bailey Frank
Bailey joined the board in August 2023. After moving to NC for law school, she discovered Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge and immediately fell in love with the animals at the facility. She volunteered at Piedmont throughout law school and is a practicing animal rights attorney. She is honored and excited to have a chance to serve the rescue as a board member.
Bailey became vegan in 2016 after witnessing the brutality inherent in our food system and committed herself to the cause of animal rights. When not at the rescue, you can find her snuggled up on the couch with her dog, Pomegranate, or annoying her cat, DD, with lots of kisses and affection.
Treasurer: Dani Morin
Dani joined the Board in December, 2020. She toured the Refuge in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the residents. Shortly after visiting the Refuge, Dani started volunteering as a sanctuary volunteer, eventually switching to weekly evening animal care.
Dani became vegan in 2016 after adopting her first dog, Fox, and reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.
Dani lives in Hillsborough with her partner, Scott, and their two rescue dogs, Fox and Oakley. In her free time, Dani enjoys reading, hiking, working out and cuddling animals.
Secretary: Trish Soysal
After being vegetarian for a few years, Trish decided to go all the way and become vegan. She joined a local meet-up group to meet like-minded people. This is when she learned about a fundraiser for “ Building the Hen House” at the Refuge. After meeting Lenore and hearing about her dream to build a refuge for abused/neglected farm animals, she was hooked. Since 2012, she has been supporting the Refuge and all of the incredible work. She especially likes brushing the goats and representing the Refuge at different events.
She lives in Raleigh with her husband, Oral, and their three “foster failures” Roxanne the Pitbull and Sweetpea & Wendy, their two little Beagles. In her free time, she enjoys reading, quilting and going for hikes on the Raleigh greenway. Most of all, she enjoys spending time with her new granddaughter, Daphne.
Mercedes Sudheimer
Mercedes joined the board in July 2023. After moving here in 2019 with her husband she looked for local vegan events to attend. Luckily she found Piedmont in March 2020 after seeing they would be hosting a potluck. After attending she was hooked and wanted to be more involved. She soon began volunteering and attending events to support the refuge.
Mercedes became vegan in 2018 after forming an unbreakable bond with her late rabbit Theodore. Learning about rabbits helped Mercedes gain knowledge about animal testing and opened her up to the world of veganism. Mercedes and her husband knew this would be a forever lifestyle and they owe it all to Theodore.
Mercedes lives in Sanford, NC with her husband. When not at the refuge you can find Mercedes at a local show, playing games, traveling, or doing her favorite thing which is veganizing any type of cuisine. Mercedes has found a family at the refuge and is thrilled to help not only the residents, but all beings see the beauty in veganism.
Monika Caruso
Monika first learned about the Refuge at an animal law symposium in 2012, before it was formally incorporated. She became a board member in 2013 and rotated off six years later. She is honored to rejoin the board in 2024, after a five-year hiatus.
An ethical vegan since junior high school, Monika has spent over half her life advocating for animals through shelter work, outreach, policy change, and mentorship.
As a Midwest native who swore she’d never leave Chicago, a small acreage in Saxapahaw was all it took to change her mind. She and her family left downtown Chicago in 2008 and traded up for a small subsistence farm and several rescue hens. When not at the Refuge, Monika’s interests include animal law, gardening, freelance recipe development, hiking, and genre films.
Steve Griffin
Steve, along with his husband Tim, woke up and became vegan in 2014, after having been pescatarian for a year and realizing that wasn't good enough. Very shortly after that he discovered the Refuge through their Facebook page. They came for a personal tour given by Lenore and immediately fell in love with the Refuge, Tony and Flower in particular, and all the amazing rescue work that was being done. Steve had been very involved with a cat and dog rescue group for a number of years, but when hot dogs and hamburgers were served at their fundraisers he became acutely aware of the disconnect and how hollow and incomplete that concept of animal rescue was. He was very thankful to have discovered the Refuge, and he and Tim have been volunteering and attending events over the years since. He has often said that the Refuge is not just a sanctuary for the animal residents, but for him as well, a place of love and peace that can, at least temporarily, shut out the ugliness and violence of the world outside its boundaries. After he retired in early 2023 it was a given when he was asked to join the Board later that year. Steve and his husband Tim live in Sanford and spend a great deal of their time and effort tending to and spoiling six rescued cats. They enjoy the daily visits from the birds, squirrels, deer and wild turkeys in the woods that surround their home.
Interested in joining the Board?
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