Meet Kieu and Michele, our Volunteer of the Month for January! Kieu started volunteering in October 2019 and has already contributed over 137 hours of service to our shelter. Michele started volunteering in October 2021 and has already contributed over 41 hours of service to our shelter. Kieu volunteers on the Dog Enrichment Team and the Special Event Squad. Michele volunteers on the Central Laundry Team and as a Small Animal Room Socialization Specialist in the Guinea Pig room. Michele also volunteers on the board of a small arts nonprofit and on the board of an education foundation for accounting student scholarships. For about 10 years, Michele and Kieu fostered kittens for Greenhill. Kieu’s favorite aspects of volunteering are, “being part of a friendly and helpful community, helping dogs go to nice families, and getting free cuddles from the dogs.” Michele’s favorite aspect of volunteering is, “I just like helping – people or animals.” From volunteering at Greenhill, Kieu has learned, “a lot about dog behavior and what it means, some dogs won’t like me and that is okay, and sometimes it takes multiple visits to gain a dog’s trust, but once you have, it’s a great accomplishment.” Michele has learned, “How many folks there are who have a big place in their hearts for animals and their welfare. I have also learned about animal behavior and what they need to live good long lives.”

Michele was born in San Francisco, California and, while growing up, lived in San Diego and Chico, California. She has two daughters and says, “Both of my daughters are adopted. As such they are ‘surprise packages’ who have brought me endless entertainment and joy. My daughter, Megan, pointed out to me when she was about 4, that actually everyone in our family was adopted, including the pets. So, I guess we were meant for each other.” Michele moved to Eugene in 2004 to take a job at the University of Oregon teaching accounting. She retired from the University of Oregon in June 2021 and currently has a small accounting business she began in 1990. Over the past 34 years, Michele has been an accounting instructor at 4 different colleges and has also worked as an accountant for 3 different firms.

Kieu was born in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam and moved to Eugene from Bellingham, Washington when she was 3 years old. She currently works at Sushi Station. In the past Kieu has worked for the Eugene Emeralds and at Northwest Youth Corps.

Kieu’s hobbies include rock climbing at Elevation Bouldering Gym in Eugene, playing Dungeons and Dragons with her friends, walking in parks and on trails around Eugene, and taking outdoor photographs. Michele enjoys reading, watching television, and spending time with her friends and her 2 daughters. Michele and Kieu currently have 3 cats they fostered through Greenhill, Smitty, Sparky and Smokey Joe. At various times in the past, they have had 6 cats, 2 dogs, 2 rabbits, 1 hedgehog, 3 chickens, 2 hamsters, 1 rat, 1 cockatiel and 8 guinea pigs. Kieu shares, “In the summer of 2019, my mom, my sister, and I traveled to Europe, visiting London (UK), Rome (Italy) and Reykjavik (Iceland). It was probably the biggest trip I’ve done since moving to the USA when I was two years old. I did not expect to love the atmosphere in both London and Reykjavik. I would love to go back to those places
and stay there longer than a few days.”