Danea Key – President
Danea Key, a native of Colorado Springs, Colorado, relocated to Northwest Arkansas/Southwest Missouri in 1991. She is the spouse of Joel Key and a mother of six. Ms. Key currently serves as the President of the Saber Life Foundation.
Ms. Key demonstrates a strong commitment to community service and addressing the needs of others. Her dedication stems from her personal experience with her daughter, Grayson, and her service dog, Saber. This experience catalyzed the establishment of the Saber Life Foundation, which focuses on providing service dogs to individuals with disabilities.
In 2023, Ms. Key and her family strategically relocated to Saginaw, Michigan, to expand the foundation’s reach and enhance its capacity to serve a broader population.
Joel Key – Vice President
Joel Key was born in Joplin Missouri & lived in Baxter Springs Kansas until the age of 6 & moved to Northwest Arkansas. In 2008 moved to Southwest Missouri to our little homestead.
Joel left the construction field where he worked for 15 years going into a poultry equipment manufacturing plant for several years. Joel then left his career in early part of 2020 to start Saber Life Foundation with his family. Joel soon started baking dog treats & assist running the foundation full time.
Brooke Ganes-Secretary
Brooke Ganes is a native New Yorker that recently found her way to Northwest Arkansas. She has a relentless passion for raising the bar of acceptance and inclusivity for individuals with invisible and visible disabilities. Brooke was a founding Board member of This-Ability Business Resource Group at The Coca-Cola Company, where she helped champion a number of initiatives for disability awareness within the Organization. As a proud dog Mom of a Labrador Retriever, Brooke believes deeply in the ability for service dogs to provide their owners with a quality of life that they otherwise may not have. Brooke is currently a Senior Product and Brand Manager at Sam’s Club, where she gets to use her creative energy and business background to bring new products to life.
Justin and Cindy Vandevort-Puppy Raisers
Justin and Cindy moved to Northwest Arkansas in 2014 and began to volunteer as puppy raisers a couple years later. They are currently the lucky “puppy raiser parents” to Bear, a six-month-old goldendoodle, and he is the seventh dog they have worked with. They have been fortunate to meet and work with some of the forever families for the dogs they have helped raise. The joy this has brought is unmeasurable and makes every minute of their time absolutely worth it.
Elizabeth Prince-Volunteer Fundraiser Lead
Elizabeth Prince resides in Batesville, Arkansas. She is married to her husband, Taylor, has two sons, Jaxson and Will along with Will’s Service Dog, Hammer! Elizabeth- “Liz” is has a great passion for those with special needs and always on her watch to who she can educate and advocate for by spreading awareness to those around her.
Her son, Will was diagnosed at the age of 2.5 with Autism. Will knows no boundaries, fear and doesn’t respond to his name among the other things that come with Autism. Elizabeth and her family met Saber Life Foundation in 2020 when they too started their “Service Dog journey”.
Here is what Elizabeth had to say:
“I knew then after a few conversations on the phone, guidance through the application process and explanation of the Service Dog training from the Trainer. I knew from our very first meeting to sign our contract with Saber Life Foundation that I wanted to help these people the way they helped us. We now have a wonderful Golden doodle named Hammer that has not just absolutely changed our lives as a family but has made such a difference in our sweet Will, but most importantly, gave Will his quality of life, and self-confidence. I am so honored that I get to be a part of the group of volunteers that make this happen for people in need.”