Veterans Served for Us, Now We Serve for Them

Prior to joining K9s, Carl worked at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum as a senior vice president of marketing, ensuring the stories from that day were never forgotten. Living just blocks from the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, that day left an indelible mark, as it did for many. He has spent much of his career ensuring Americans never forget 9/11, and at K9s For Warriors, he is committed to ensuring those who fought in conflicts resulting from that day and others, are also not forgotten.

Before taking on the role of chief executive officer, Carl was the chief marketing and development officer at K9s for two years, effectively sharing the incredible impact of the K9s mission on both veterans and dogs — also increasing revenues by 70% in a one-year period. Carl has spent the last ten years in executive leadership, primarily in marketing with previous work featured by the Wall Street Journal and Advertising Week.

Early in his career, Carl worked at leading media companies, including ABC News. Cricco holds a B.A. from New York University and an M.B.A. from New York University Stern School of Business, where he specialized in marketing. He was born and raised in Hoboken, NJ, and although he misses his local Italian deli and not needing a car to get around, he wouldn’t trade the Florida sun to get those things back. He is a family man, spending much of his free time with his two sons and amazing wife Emily.

As Chief of Staff and General Counsel of K9s For Warriors, Dodson serves as the chief personnel manager and legal advisor. She feels blessed that her diverse legal and management experience has allowed her to help K9s For Warriors carry out its mission. She most enjoys helping Warriors navigate federal and state laws pertaining to Service Dogs, along with advocating against disability discrimination and restrictions around public access. Otherwise, her responsibilities cover a broad range of personnel, finance, business, contract, risk management, and general legal compliance and services. She draws on her wealth of litigation and client counseling experience when providing support to every department and team of K9s For Warriors. As an AV-Preeminent-rated attorney, she has earned the respect of her peers, clients, and the judiciary, in the courtroom and in the boardroom, where she has represented corporations, individuals, employers, employees, the State of Florida, plaintiffs, and defendants.

Throughout her 25-year legal career she has tried more than 70 civil and criminal jury trials to verdict, including labor and employment law cases, federal diversity actions, commercial and contract law cases, actions on insurance contracts, will and probate contests, along with civil rights, personal injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful death cases. She has been a partner in two highly regarded local law firms and most recently – prior to joining K9s For Warriors – served as the Managing Director of the State Attorney’s Office. There, she tried first-degree murder cases while providing counsel directly to the elected State Attorney and managing all aspects of the largest law firm in Northeast Florida (350 government employees).

As a native of Jacksonville, she is committed to giving back to her local and legal community, and was especially excited about being selected to the 2020 Leadership Jacksonville Class. She is honored to currently serve as Chair of The Florida Bar Code and Rules of Evidence Committee on appointment by The Florida Bar President, after chairing and serving on many committees for The Florida Bar and the Jacksonville Bar Association. She is a Master of the Bench in the Chester Bedell American Inn of Court, has served as the Past President of the Jacksonville Women Lawyers Association (JWLA), received the JWLA Women of the Year Award, and continues to provide pro bono counsel to other nonprofits and indigent clients.

As an avid outdoorswoman, Dodson is passionate about protecting our natural resources for generations to enjoy, which led her to serve on the Board of the Public Trust Environmental Legal Institute of Florida, where she is currently the Secretary. She spends her spare time on her horse property surrounded by three protected preserves she calls the crown jewels of Jacksonville where she plays with all of her four-legged children, including a German Shepherd from K9s For Warriors (Chase), an Australian Cattle Dog (Blue), three horses (Blaze, Apache, and PC), and three cats (Lakota, Apache and Winchester). Growing up as a competitive athlete and an experienced skydiver, she now limits herself to the non-impact sports of golf and shooting sporting clays.

For Lindsay Grayson, chief development officer, it’s not really about the money. It’s about the relationships. Growing up, Lindsay’s grandfather, a proud Marine, taught her early, “You serve veterans. Sometimes, they need a helping hand.”

At age five, she couldn’t tie her shoes, but she could pledge allegiance to the flag.

Upon accepting her role at K9s For Warriors, her grandfather was incredibly proud — he’d been shaping her for this her entire life. She just didn’t know it.

Prior to serving as K9s For Warriors’ chief development officer, Lindsay led the nonprofit’s fundraising efforts as director of development, fostering meaningful relationships with donors and expanding the organization’s reach exponentially. In under one year, she increased revenue by 70%.

Before joining the K9s team, Lindsay worked as a team financial advisor at Merrill Lynch, aiding and advising clients with financial future and retirement planning. She holds her Series 7 General Securities License.

In her free time, Lindsay enjoys traveling, cheering on her son at his baseball games, pursuing the arts with her daughter and singing loudly at local country music concerts.

As Chief Operating Officer of K9s For Warriors, Alex is responsible for directing all aspects of organizational logistics plans and spearheading all strategies designed to conduct day-to-day operations. Alex most recently worked at UPS, serving in various Industrial Engineering roles within the state of Florida and UPS’ Corporate Industrial Engineering department. Prior to joining UPS, Alex worked at The Citadel Graduate College, assisting veteran and civilian students through the application process all the way to graduation.

Alex earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she specialized in banking and financial institutions, a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Tampa with a concentration in non-profit management, and a Graduate Certificate in Military Leadership from The Citadel Military College.

She is a native to Jacksonville, FL, is active in her parish, Assumption Catholic Church, and serves as Secretary for Haven Retreats, a local non-profit that provides support for foster and adoptive families. She is married to William, an Air Force Veteran, they are proud parents of their 1-year-old son, Quinton, and excited to welcome their newest baby in April 2023. Alex enjoys spending time outside with her family, reading, competitive sports, and cheering on the Huskers.

Jon serves as the Chief Financial Officer of K9s For Warriors and is responsible for all things finance related, from internal controls and financial processes to internal and external financial reporting.  He is passionate about the mission and enjoys working with numbers. 

Jon started his professional accounting career as an auditor with Deloitte, and also led audits at national and local accounting firms, working with clients across all industries and sizes.  He then transitioned to serving non-profits directly as part of internal and outsourced finance teams with global and local non-profits. 

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Evangel University double majoring in accounting and business management and has been a CPA since 2008. 

Jon enjoys spending time with family, being outside in nice weather, woodworking, hockey, and returning library books on time.  His favorite beans to count are coffee beans.