We’re cat lovers and allies.
Neighborhood Cats Network is a passionate, all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit on a mission to change the world for homeless community cats across Western NY, especially in Monroe, Wayne, and Ontario Counties. We’re not just helping cats—we’re leading a revolution in their care through our life-saving TNVRM program: Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return-Manage. With heart and dedication, we reduce stray populations humanely while nurturing colonies with compassion. From cozy, winterized cabins to safe feeding stations and daily, nourishing meals,
we make sure every cat is healthy, warm, and loved—even in the harshest winters.
But we don’t stop there. We proudly partner with business owners to create beautiful, well-managed colonies on their properties. These partnerships not only offer cats a safe haven but also enrich the community, blending seamlessly into the landscape and fostering harmony between people and their feline neighbors.
Marlies Sullivan
President
Marlies Sullivan is the Executive Director of Leadership Initiatives at the University of Rochester, with a focus on professional fundraising. Since 1990, she has been passionately involved in animal rescue, beginning as a volunteer at the Bridgeport Animal Shelter in Connecticut. She later served as the town-appointed chair of the Oxford Animal Shelter in Oxford, CT, where she led the Dog Days of Oxford Event, a major tri-state fundraiser dedicated to helping homeless cats and dogs and rebuilding the shelter (2000-2011).
From 2018 to 2023, Marlies served as Vice-President and Director of Fundraising at Pet Pride of NY, a no-kill cat sanctuary in Victor, NY. During her tenure, she successfully raised over $1.2 million and managed an expansion project that tripled the sanctuary's capacity, resulting in a dramatic increase in cat adoptions from 125 in 2018 to 850 in 2023.
In addition to having five cats and two dogs of their own, Marlies and her husband Chris manage eight cat colonies in Victor, NY. Over the past seven years, they have constructed and donated over 150 insulated wooden cat houses to various cat rescue organizations and colony managers. They have extended their impact by conducting Zoom training sessions on building insulated cat houses for out-of-state rescues and training local rescues to build emergency shelters.
Susan Wade
Vice-President
Susan Wade holds a business degree from St. John Fisher University and was at the helm of Wade’s Market, her family’s beloved local grocery store in Farmington, NY for 42 years.
Beyond her professional achievements, Susan is deeply committed to community service. She volunteered at Equicenter in Mendon, NY, and Bivona Children’s Center, where she had a significant role on the Events Planning Board during the organization’s multi-million-dollar expansion.
At home, Susan enjoys the company of her two cats, Archie and Gracie.
Mary Delton
Secretary
Mary Delton got her first cat when she started her academic career at Mount Holyoke College because she thought it would be nice to have "someone" to come home to. That was cat #1. While at MHC, Mary adopted a stray, Jellybean, Cat # 2. After marrying Bob Boeckman, and moving to Oakland U in Michigan, Mary would bring Cat #2 into the lab on weekends. Cat #3 was an abandoned cat that wandered the college campus and eventually into Mary's office where he ate some of the cat food that she kept for the weekend. He then went to sleep under her desk. A quick phone call to Bob and that cat came home.
After moving to Rochester, NY; Bob and Mary continued to accrue cats. Some were adopted from shelters, and some were strays that found their horse barn. Many of those strays started out as barn cats but became beloved house cats. The number of cats that have been in the family since 1971 now totals 43. Bob has passed but Mary still has 5 loving felines ages 11 - 21 (all of whom were initially strays).
Mary finished her career at Kodak where she did research in the
Biosciences, Color Negative, and Color Paper divisions. While Bob was the President of Pet Pride of NY Inc, Mary designed and maintained their website.
Jean Bidlack
Treasurer
Dr. Jean Bidlack is Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry. Her biomedical research focuses on medications development for treating drug abuse. Jean has held leadership roles in non-profit scientific societies. In 2004-2005, Jean was President of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology, Inc. From 2004 to 2012, she was Treasurer of the International Narcotics Research Conference, Inc.
Jean is a lifetime cat owner and treasures helping all cats. She is a former Treasurer at Pet Pride of New York, Inc. Jean and her husband, Carl, are proud parents of Tux, a brilliant and friendly tuxedo cat.