As the son of an animal lover, Richard Zwirner inherited his mother’s compassion for the plight of stray and abandoned dogs and cats. Between growing up with dogs, then serving as an officer and board member of Orphans of the Storm for 25 years, then following Thelma Zwirner as President, Richard has brought a focus to the animal welfare mission, work and future of Orphans of the Storm.

Before Orphans of the Storm
Richard Zwirner grew up in far north suburban New York City with his family and their many dogs, thanks in large part to his mother Thelma’s interests. In the 1950’s the family moved to Deerfield, Illinois where Richard was educated. Not long after graduate school, Thelma Zwirner agreed to take up the post of President of Orphans of the Storm and asked her son to be an officer and member of the Board of Directors in 1969.

Richard Zwirner joins the Orphans of the Storm Board of Directors
During his tenure as an officer, Richard assisted his mother as she guided and developed the shelter to the large shelter it is today. Richard joined the law firm of Hubachek, Kelly, Rauch and Kirby and eventually became a senior partner in the practice now known as Schuyler, Roche and Zwirner, concentrating in the representation of closely-held businesses and international business transactions. By the time Richard had become President of Orphans of the Storm himself, following 25 years working with his mother and the shelter, he understood clearly the dedication and vision that his mother had brought to animal welfare and Orphans.

Orphans of the Storm Today and Tomorrow
Serving as volunteer President since 1994, Richard Zwirner has overseen the building of a new cat building expanding the capacity from 150 to 500 cats and has invested in significant capital improvements to the facility and grounds. Richard has striven to build for the future of Orphans of the Storm by increasing its visibility in order to stimulate adoptions and fundraising through local media exposure and local mailings, building on the already fine word of mouth reputation that Orphans enjoys for miles around. Richard’s vision includes a further expansion of visibility for Orphans of the Storm to help increase adoptions, to build on Orphans’ role as a public educator and promote spaying and neutering to reduce the pet overpopulation problem, and finally to develop a capital campaign to expand Orphans of the Storm’s facilities, so as to realize the goal of developing new and improved facilities. How can I help?