Who We Are
Kari Whitman - Founder
Kari Whitman, celebrity interior designer and dog rescuer extraordinaire, is one of Hollywood’s most sought-after talents. Kari’s clientele over the year include Jessica Alba, Kristen Bell, Virginia Madsen, Emilio Estevez, Don Henley, Melanie Griffith, Antonio Banderas, Don Johnson, Dakota Johnson, Charlie Sheen, Orlando Bloom, Kurtwood Smith, a Middle Eastern Royal Family... she even did a room in the White House for President Obama!
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Kari Whitman Interiors is a high-end, residential and commercial “one-stop-shop” design and construction firm, with offices in Los Angeles, New York City, and Boulder. Clients have flocked to her firm for her trademark timeless, elegant and eclectic style. Kari Whitman fashions spaces for her clients that reflect their personality, affinities and needs.
She specializes in pet friendly and eco friendly designs, as she loves to incorporate her love for animals into her work. Kari Whitman's work has graced over a dozen covers and over 100 articles worldwide including being chosen as one of the top ten designers in the world for 2018. From athletes, actors, royal families, luxury high rise apartments, or even a modest Juice Bar, no job is too big or too small when Kari Whitman Interiors’ passion is behind it!
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Kari Whitman is also the founder of Ace of Hearts Dog Rescue. She founded Ace of Hearts in honor of her dog, Ace, who changed her life. Her goal was to pass on the life saving effects of dog rescue to as many people as possible, and save as many animals from the doom of high kill shelters as she could. Although her work is in design, her true love is animals, and she has worked hard to keep saving countless dogs over the years through Ace of Hearts.
Jacquelyn Mullaney - Operations Manager
"My name is Jackie and I'm the Operations Manager at Ace of Hearts! I'm 30 years old and live in Los Angeles. I've loved dogs for as long as I can remember and have grown up with a variety of dogs, big and small. I earned my Bachelor's degree in psychology and went on to receive my Master's in School Counseling. After working in education for a few years, my job was lost during COVID layoffs. At the time, I was fortunate enough to find an opening at Ace of Hearts, and I have been grateful to be a part of this organization since! Dogs are my passion and I don't know where people would be today without their four-legged friends by their side! It's an honor to help save dogs in need, interact with some wonderful dog-loving humans, and of course get to love on some fantastic animals. I've been fortunate enough to even adopt my own dog from Ace of Hearts!
I am so excited to continue rescuing dogs and helping them find their forever homes; I am also forever grateful to all of the amazing people who help make this possible. Since starting this job, I've learned that it truly does take a village to save the dogs... and I'm so happy to be a part of this village :)
Ethan McMorran - Volunteer Coordinator
“Hi everyone! My name is Ethan and I’m the Volunteer Coordinator/Shelter Manager here at Ace of Hearts! I’m originally from Scotland but moved over to California a couple of years ago after finding myself no longer in love with medical school. Initially, I spent time in Santa Barbara but always knew I wanted to be in Los Angeles! Luckily, on my job search (that was filtered down to “working with dogs”) I found this amazing organization and immediately knew I’d found the place for me!
Since joining Ace of Hearts, I have been fortunate enough to witness dogs finding their forever humans, humans finding their doggy soul mate and dogs going from being terrified in the harsh shelter conditions to getting ALL the love in the world - along with so much more!
It is such a privilege to be able blend a life-long-love of mine with work by getting to spend every day serving our amazing dogs and combatting the LA shelter problem. This experience has been beyond rewarding and part of the path 5 year old me knew he should’ve taken. I can’t wait for the many years and dogs to come. Rescue a dog and save a life!”
Kainani Han - Grant Writer
Kai’s dog rescue journey began in 2005 when she volunteered as a Dog Walker at Glendale Humane Society. She quickly realized that she wanted to dedicate more than 1 day a week helping homeless dogs and resigned from her corporate job. She was an Adoption Counselor at Pasadena Humane Society, Kennel & Adoptions Manager and Volunteer Coordinator at New Leash on Life Animal Rescue before joining Ace of Hearts in 2008. She’s also a small business owner and the proud Mama of Raven, an Ace of Hearts alumni. In her free time, she enjoys having adventures with Raven, being in nature, cooking, listening to music and binging on Netflix.