The Board
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Sara Turetta
Founder and President
In 2001, after years of voluntary work in various kennels in Milan, Sara decided to devote herself full-time to the desperate condition of Romanian strays, a situation which she herself had discovered during an upsetting summer trip in August of the same year. At that time Sara was working in a prestigious advertising agency.
In 2002 she left her job in order to manage the newly born sterilization project in Cernavoda, which if left in the hands of local Romanian associations would have failed for certain.
Since then Sara has been splitting her life between Italy and Romania, managing the headquarters in Milan and lobbying at an international level.
Prizes and awards
2012 Donne, Pace e Ambiente “Wangaari Mathai” Award – Associazione A Sud, Italy
2012 Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia – Presidenza della Repubblica, Italy (read more)
2015 Christian Marsh Award – WSPA, UK
2016 Jeanne Marchig Award – The Jeanne Marchig Trust, UK (scopri di più).
2017 Clarissa Baldwin International Award for Excellence in Animal Welfare – Dogs Trust, UK (scopri di più)
2022 Margherita d’Argento – Gattile di Trieste, Italy
2024 Italian Fundraising Award (2024) – Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, Italy (discorso di Sara Turetta)
2024 Social Commitment and Civic Innovation Award – magazine CARIERE, Romania
2025 Excellence Award for Commitment to Civic Activism – Grupul de Presa MediaUno, Romania
Sergio Sellitto
Board Member and Treasurer
Sergio is a hospital surgeon and independent practitioner. A lifelong animal lover, he was a volunteer with a large animal protection organization for 25 years, where he served as National Vice President and National Treasurer.
He has been the Director of a number of rescue shelters in northern and central Italy.
He has also been a member of the ‘Consiglio Randagismo’ advisory board for stray animals in the Lombardy Region.
He lives in the province of Varese in the company of his 12 dogs and 5 cats.
Barbara Massa
Board member and vice-president
Always passionate about nature and animals, with a special interest in ethology and botany, Barbara has made her passion a profession.
After a stint as a volunteer in kennels and shelters in Italy and abroad, she has been working in the field of equine welfare and protection internationally since 2007. In 2009 she trained in the field of Animal Assisted Interventions, later specializing as a donkey coadjutor and managing targeted projects for people with special needs and children.
For 12 years she was head of the Italy office of the British association The Donkey Sanctuary, later becoming Director of all offices in Europe.
Luigi Corbella
Board of Control
Born in Monza in 1967, Luigi Corbella is a certified public accountant, auditor and freelance journalist.
A great expert in the Third Sector, over the years he has collaborated, from a professional point of view and for strategic consulting, with numerous organizations especially in the health and social-health sector, as well as prominent foundations: Caritas Ambrosiana, Fondazione Opera Aiuto Fraterno, Fondazione ISMU, Fondazione Feltrinelli and Fondazione Mondadori.
A lover of dogs and nature, he regularly writes about Non-Profit for various newspapers (including Avvenire and Il Sole 24 Ore) and his participation in specialized conferences and conventions of national relevance are countless.