Animal Allies' "Top Dog"

Brings Youth and Experience to the Table

by Andrea Busche

AsExecutive Director for Animal Allies, Lindsay Snustad’s role is multi-faceted. She is at once leader, decision-maker, and visionary for an organization that has matured by leaps and bounds over the past few years. The community stands solidly behind the youthful director and Animal Allies’ ambitious “Campaign to Zero” initiative. One could say that Duluth has “gone to the dogs.”

Positive Family Role Models

Lindsay and her brother Mike grew up in Eagan; their mom was an x-ray technician (now retired) and their dad is a general contractor. “My parents are very loyal to their jobs; they have only done one thing for their entire careers,” she shares. Lindsay’s biggest source of inspiration is her late paternal grandmother, Helen, the feisty matriarch of the family.

It was a random twist of fate that encouraged Lindsay to pursue a degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota. “Psychology was the first class I got an ‘A’ in during college,” she says with a laugh. “But I also enjoyed it. A big part of what motivates me is observing human and animal behavior.”

Mixing Business with Pleasure

After college graduation, Lindsay was hired as the director for the YMCA in Eagan. During this time, she met her future husband, Andrew, in a most unconventional way.

“I was his supervisor,” she shares. “We found that we shared similar interests, such as a love for children,