Brett Yates

Brett Yates is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Michelson Found Animals Foundation. In this role, he combines his passion for helping animals with his expertise in investments, program development, and driving strong business results.  

Since joining Michelson Found Animals Foundation in 2018, Yates has led the organization in launching new projects, including Leap Venture Studios, the Better Neighbor Project, the Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative, among others.  In addition, Yates has helped existing programs excel more than ever before and helping save more lives of cats and dogs in the Los Angeles area.

With every position he has held, Yates displays passion about developing and implementing new programs, products, and services.  He has driven companies and organizations from start-ups to multi-nationals managing all functions within the businesses. Yates has served in senior management roles for companies such as First American, Fiserv, and Janus Mutual Funds. He is also an entrepreneur who has  consulted multiple start-up organizations.

In addition to his responsibilities as CEO of Michelson Found Animals, Yates also serves in the dual role of chief operations officer and chief financial officer for Michelson Philanthropies, the network of foundations established by Dr. Gary K. Michelson and his wife, Alya, to drive positive change in animal welfare, education, and medical research. The foundations include Michelson Found Animals, Michelson Medical Research Foundation, Michelson 20MM Foundation, and Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property. 

His strategies and management will help to drive MFA goals into an environment that confronts and fixes the industry’s broken legacy systems that keep people from experiencing the joy of having a pet as a family member.

Yates has a bachelor of arts degree in finance and real estate from The University of Denver.