In July 2008, Lisa Lunghofer, AB ’88, helped search for a lost pet. In the process, she found her life’s work.
Lunghofer, who lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland, heard a news story about a dog named Jeddah that had bolted from Washington Dulles International Airport while she and her “human dad” were departing for his next tour of military service. Searchers were gathering to locate the missing pup. With three dogs of her own at the time, Lunghofer felt compelled to help. She showed up the next day and continued helping whenever she could for the next three months. In the group, she met a woman who trained dogs to track missing people and animals; this led to her discovering “an amazing world of jobs and programs that included animals: animal- assisted therapy, search and rescue, and dog training programs for at-risk youth.”
Lunghofer had a doctorate in social policy from Case Western Reserve and worked as a federal contractor, evaluating programs for children and families in need. “I was struck by the connection between my work on behalf of vulnerable people and the healing power of the human-animal bond,” she explains. “I’d found my new passion.”
Drawing on “inner moxie,” she recalls, “I reached out to executive directors of animal programs and said, ‘I’m an animal lover and a researcher. Would you like to collaborate?’” To gain experience in the new field, she offered volunteer assistance with grant proposals, program development and evaluations. For several years, she focused her spare time on this work, which included projects nationwide.
In 2012, she decided to make a professional leap. The next year, she founded Making Good Work, LLC — through which she helps nonprofits, especially those highlighting the human-animal bond, to work most effectively. In 2014, she added work with The Grey Muzzle Organization; and in 2015, she became its first executive director. “I was scared,” she admits of changing gears mid-career. “But I didn’t let that stop me.”
The largest national nonprofit focused on senior-dog well-being, Grey Muzzle supports programs for the adoption, medical care and long-term foster care of dogs seven years and older. It also provides resources to help owners who might otherwise have to surrender their older dogs address veterinary expenses.
With Making Good Work, Lunghofer collaborates with groups addressing issues such as animal-abuse prevention and the benefits of canine companionship for those with PTSD. The organization’s Pay It Forward program chooses one nonprofit per quarter for pro bono help, with the agreement that the group will then volunteer for another group in need. This assistance has extended as far as Tanzania, where two burgeoning nonprofits became beneficiaries.
Thanks to Lunghofer’s continued commitment to animal advocacy, a mission to save one pet now benefits animals around the world.
