Our History

CLEAR was first conceptualized by Jessica Katz during her graduate program at Regis University. After procuring a Bachelor’s Degree in animal science and wildlife biology, Jessica received a Master’s Degree in nonprofit management in 2012. Beginning with her first job in pet care at age 16, Jessica saw that there was a gap in the culture of how people cared for birds, reptiles, and fish: dogs and cats have multitudes of local and nationally-based rescue organizations, while exotic animals were often abandoned, illegally released, or relinquished to the few exotic animal organizations that were already at or beyond capacity. After rescuing her first parakeet from the woods in Michigan in 2015, an opportunity to facilitate change and promote a different kind of pet care culture presented itself. Several like-minded individuals came together in August of 2021 to form CLEAR’s founding board.