Sara Penhallegon
LVT – Board Director and Founder
She has a passion for animals and from a very young age has carried that passion in her work. She does hands on work with the animals and, as a licensed Veterinary Technician, is able to provide medical care for many of the residents. Sara obtained her wildlife rehabilitation license in early 2012 and has rehabilitated a variety of birds and mammals in the certified on-site wildlife area since that time.
Sara has been in the veterinary field with domestic animals since 1995, and wildlife since 2000. She brings a rich and valuable base of knowledge and skills to CVAR. Before starting CVAR she had 5 years experience running a small business in Port Townsend.
Sara and her husband Robert, have 2 dogs, 4 cats, a house rabbit, two horses, an emu and 10 chickens; all rescues. Sara enjoys riding her motorcycle, horseback riding, training horses and hiking. She and her husband also live on site as CVAR’s care takers.
Marty Penhallegon
Board Treasurer
Marty grew up in Yakima, Washington where he was always dragging home a stray cat, tad poles, frogs, or minnows from the nearby irrigation ditch. After spending two years at Yakima Valley College, he transferred to the University of Washington where he received his BS in Civil Engineering and then spent an additional year and a half in graduate studies specializing in water resources at the U while also starting his professional career at a Seattle Civil/Survey company in 1971. He worked his way up through the various levels at this company to eventually become its President. In 1992, Marty decided to start his own Civil Engineering Company, founding what is now known as PACE Engineers which he began in Kirkland. He has been instrumental in growing PACE to one of the Northwest’s most well-known, respected and reputable Civil Engineering, Surveying and Planning companies. Six years in a row PACE was selected as one of the 100 fastest growing privately owned companies by Puget Sound Business Journal, and the “Best Civil Engineering Company” to work for in the Northwest by a national organization. PACE currently has over 130 employees and four offices including Kirkland, Everett, Wenatchee Washington and Lake Oswego, Oregon. Marty continues his role as CEO and President of PACE.
Marty has been instrumental in CVAR’s growth and development over the years having with his wife Linda, purchased the 31-acre property that houses the rescue. He designed multiple site improvements including a public water system and the building improvements. Marty has also overseen the multitude of permits and approvals required for the facility and property. Working closely with State and County agencies he processed permits and approvals for CVAR. Marty is extremely proud of his daughter, Sara, director and founder of CVAR and the amazing team she has brought together for the much-needed animal rescue, rehab, adoption, and sanctuary
Trinitie Vance
Board Secretary
Trinitie Trinitie started her career in mechanical engineering after earning a BS from Washington State University in 2012. She has worked primarily in the intellectual property field, becoming a registered patent agent, managing portfolios, developing and supporting business strategy, writing and prosecuting patents, and innovating for clients in diverse fields including robotics, eye-tracking, digital security, and nuclear decommissioning.
Trinitie currently has two senior rescue dogs, Cosmo and Nutmeg, who she found on the side of the road in 2014 when Nutmeg was already pregnant. Nutmeg had six puppies a few weeks later. Trinitie’s rescue dogs changed her life drastically and made her realize her real passion was animal welfare. To support her goal of becoming involved in animal rescue, she started pursuing her MBA and joined the CVAR board in 2018. In 2021, she completed her MBA at Washington State University with a certificate in finance.
Since becoming a part of the CVAR team, Trinitie has fostered 12 bottle baby kittens and 9 birds, ending up with four foster fail kittens and, currently, two geese, three ducks, and a rooster named Dude.
Robin L Larmer
Board Member
Robin first discovered CVAR in 2008, when she adopted a budgie to join her flock. She was impressed with CVAR’s mission and the dedication of Sara and the team, and quickly became an enthusiastic supporter.
Robin is originally from Madison, Wisconsin, where she earned BA and MS degrees from the University of Wisconsin. She attended law school at the University of Minnesota, and spent several years practicing law in New York and Chicago. She found her permanent home in the Pacific Northwest in 2008, and lived and worked in the health care industry in Seattle until moving to Port Hadlock in 2025. She opened a solo legal practice to serve her neighbors on the Peninsula, and is excited to be closer to and more involved with CVAR.
Robin has rescued several furred and feathered beings over the years, and currently lives with a small flock of parrots, five cats, and a dog – all rescues, and some CVAR graduates. She is loving life on the Peninsula, and in her spare time enjoys live music, baking, and relaxing with friends and family.
Dr. Jan Richards
DVM – Board Member
Doctor Jan Richards, DVM helped Sara Penhallegon in horse rescues before Center Valley Animal Rescue was in existence. Since that time Dr. Jan has lent a helping hand and provided veterinary Services for most of the horses and farm animals taken in at CVAR. In addition she can be found neutering many feral and rescued cats through CVAR’s Cat neuter program.
Dr. Jan grew up surrounded by dogs and cats and riding her horses through the hills of Anderson, California. In FFA in high school she raised pigs, sheep and cattle and often found herself doing her homework curled up in the manger.
She majored in Genetics at UC Davis and then worked for the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada. In 1991 she graduated from the Vet School at Washington State University. In 1993 she moved into Jefferson County where most farm veterinary practices were dissolving, leaving the perfect nitch for her to fill. She has been here since, enjoying her small “Love Heals Farm Animal Mobile Service” working with people and their farm animals thoughout Eastern Jefferson County and nearby Kitsap County.
Other passions include riding her horses through the hills and recently, playing her octave mandolin, writing and singing original songs about life and the many Beings she’s met along the way.
She lives with her Partner Eldon Burrow, dogs, Gladiola and Poppy, Frank the Cat, Jazzy the African Grey and two “Bashkarabatang” Horses, Safire and Thunder Cloud.
Jim Worthington
Board Member
Jim joined the board in 2019. He has been a strong supporter of CVAR for many years. Jim, a life long lover of animals, brings a background of business and project management in the engineering field. Now semi-retired, Jim was President of Thermionics Northwest in Port Townsend for seventeen years. Prior to that, was in charge of an engineering support group, as a scientific associate at Argonne National Laboratory, Chicago, and liaison project consultant at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
Jim has been a horse owner since 1978, and dogs have been part of his family since childhood. He currently has a family of four golden retrievers, one dog-friendly cat and two foster horses from CVAR.
Dr Christine Parker-Graham
Board Member
Joanne Mackey
Board Member
Joanne Mackey began volunteering at Center Valley Animal Rescue in 2008. She came in once a week to clean the cat rooms and very quickly found herself committed to the shelter and its residents. She joined the board in 2010.
Joanne lives in Port Townsend, with her husband, John, and their three sons Joel, Kyle and Connor. She enjoys triathlon, running and travel, and always makes time for her horses Valentine (a CVAR graduate) and Cisco, and her cats Odie (another CVAR graduate) and Domino.
