Stephan Avanozian

As the IT manager, Stephan oversees the IT Infrastructure and support needs at the Animal Legal Defense Fund. He works hard to ensure that Office 365, SharePoint, Voice Systems, IT Disaster Planning and IT Business Continuity are running smoothly, along with a focus on continuous improvement, streamlining, resiliency, and the end-user experience.

Stephan attended College of Marin and holds Microsoft MCSE and MCSA Certifications. He was awarded “Employee of the Year” by Electronic Innovations, Inc. Prior to joining the Animal Legal Defense Fund, his 25-year career in IT included serving various organizations including IT Services providers, Film/VFX, Air Transportation, Legal, Financial, Government, and various nonprofits. One of his favorite projects was deploying 14 laptops on a pro-bono basis for a nonprofit organization that assists foster youth.

Stephan has always been passionate about helping to protect animals, assisting underprivileged people, and preserving our ecology.  At the Animal legal Defense Fund, Stephan contributes to his core values each day. He loves learning about what people need to accomplish their objectives, finding the best solution, and then making the technology piece transparent and uncomplicated so they can easily get the job done.

Located in Penngrove, California, Stephan enjoys playing and teaching guitar, hiking, and spending time with his three children. Stephan’s secret talent is to whistle loud enough to pierce eardrums, summon dogs a quarter mile away, and bring buses to a halt. Stephan shares his home with Phantom and Panda, two extremely affectionate tuxedo cats and likes to volunteer at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue.