New Board Member Loni Edwards Unites Business & Philanthropy for ACF

Animal Cancer Foundation welcomes our newest member of the Board of Directors, Loni Edwards, Esq.

Loni is CEO & Founder of The Dog Agency and PetCon, the premier annual gathering of pet lovers and influencers. Last year Loni took advantage of a recent introduction to ACF Founder Gerry Post to invite him to be the kick-off speaker at the December 2020 PetCon. Like most in-person events, PetCon had to pivot to an online platform due to the pandemic, but it successfully used technology to still offer a personal connection to attendees and featured participants, including pet influencers. According to Loni, the digital format turned out to be a silver lining by enabling a more diverse and broader audience to attend who might not have had the means to do so in person. “We wouldn’t have had the digital component if it wasn’t for COVID,” she said. “We were trying to figure out how to make the best of the situation we were in and it was very successful.”

It also greatly benefitted ACF. PetCon was free for anyone to attend, but participants were given the opportunity to donate to ACF to receive VIP access to special event programming, as well as other perks like a digital gift bag. The effort raised $25,000 for ACF, and also promoted the organization to a global audience from 50 countries via the digital platform.

“A big part of The Dog Agency and our whole community is finding ways to give back, and use the influence of all of our accounts to generate awareness and raise money for causes,” Loni said. “It was a great fit with PetCon to have Gerry speak and shine a spotlight on all the amazing work ACF is doing.”

Loni brings to the Board a love of dogs, and considerable legal and business knowledge. She graduated from Harvard Law School, but was inspired by the social-media popularity of her late French Bulldog, Chloe, to create The Dog Agency in 2015 as the first talent management agency to focus on pet influencers. Chloe’s spirit lives on in Loni’s current pup, Emma, a two-year-old Mini Frenchie, whose adventures are chronicled on Instagram (@chloetheminifrenchie).

Two PetCon events are being planned for 2021, June in Chicago and November in Los Angeles.
Details to come – www.petcon.co