Philanthropist Andrea Stark, who resides in both Manhattan and Palm Beach, is passionate about giving back. She chairs countless philanthropic luncheons and designer showhouses, designs gala tables, while also being deeply involved with animal rescue and adoption. Her calendar reads like a cross-section of causes that define modern America: women’s cancer research and awareness, social services and animal rescue. But for Stark, the work is neither social nor strategic. It is inherited.
“I learned this from my mom,” she said. “My parents were not wealthy. I was the first one to go to college in my family. But my mother did whatever she could.”
Even without financial means, Stark’s mother was the leader of the local Brownie and Girl Scout troops, organized community efforts and taught her daughter that generosity was not tied to income. “My parents always said, ‘We did not have the same opportunities as you have. It’s so important to give back to your community.’ I always felt that way. And I taught my children that way.”
Honoring Those Who Came Before: The Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Today, Stark chairs and supports an array of organizations, each reflecting a deeply personal conviction. She has been involved for over two decades at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, helping lead its annual Spirit of Achievement Luncheon. The event honors global female leaders spanning interests in medicine, science, philanthropy, entrepreneurship and the arts while raising critical funds for biomedical research. “We’ve honored so many women over 20 years,” Stark said, citing figures ranging from Senator Barbara Boxer to Hillary Clinton, and most recently designer Bobbi Brown and philanthropist Lauren Bush Lauren. “Highlighting women and women of achievement is so important, inspiring the next generation of young girls.” einsteinmed.edu
Protecting Those Who Come After: Hearing the Ovarian Cancer Whisper
Women’s health advocacy runs through nearly all her work. Stark has long supported breast cancer awareness initiatives and speaks candidly about friends who have gone through the breast cancer journey. “Young girls now are getting diagnosed in their early 40s,” she said. “One in eight women will be diagnosed. It’s important to get the message out there. Don’t be afraid. Take charge of your own health. Don’t be afraid to get a mammogram. It’s worse not to do anything. Women are afraid of hearing the answer. But we have to bring that message to them, that we are warriors and there are many support groups.”
Stark’s mission also extends to Palm Beach-based Hearing the Ovarian Cancer Whisper, which funds ovarian cancer research, supports patients in financial need through the Jacquie Liggett Angel Fund and promotes early detection and education. Stark has chaired this women’s luncheon for years. “The same thing with ovarian cancer as breast cancer,” she said. “Women don’t want to go to their doctors. They don’t want to know. But early detection saves lives.” ovariancancerpbc.org
Bringing Her Creative Flair to Charity: Lenox Hill Neighborhood House & Holiday House
In New York, Stark is deeply committed to Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, the historic social service organization that provides education, housing support, food programs and healthcare access to vulnerable New Yorkers. For over 20 years, Stark has designed tables for the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House Gala, channeling her love of aesthetics into service. lenoxhill.org
She has also chaired Holiday House, which benefits the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, designing showhouses and tabletops in the Hamptons and Palm Beach. The design-driven nonprofit was founded by Iris Dankner, herself a breast cancer survivor. “If I can draw attention to anything, that’s my mantra,” she said. holidayhousenyc.com
Tri County Animal Rescue: Saving All Souls, Big or Small
But if there is one cause that ignites Stark the most, it is animal rescue and adoption.
“Adopt, don’t shop. With over 3 million dogs being euthanized every year, my major passion is animal rescue,” she said, referring to her work with Tri County Animal Rescue, a 100% no-kill shelter serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach. “Never before have our shelters been so overwhelmed with dogs that are not wanted. Dumped, abandoned, abused.” tricountyanimalrescue.org
Stark’s commitment to animals did not emerge in isolation. Before devoting so much of her life to rescue work, she spent nine years working in pediatrics at Roosevelt St. Luke’s Hospital in New York. The through line is obvious. “The same love and advocacy I had for children who couldn’t speak for themselves, I transferred to saving animals who also don’t have a voice,” she said. For Stark, both callings come from the same instinct: to protect the vulnerable and fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.
That instinct has found one of its strongest expressions through Tri County Animal Rescue, founded by Suzi Goldsmith. Since 1996, the shelter has saved more than 89,000 dogs, many of them pulled from horrific conditions, abandoned homes, overcrowded facilities and high-kill shelters just before euthanasia. Stark speaks of Goldsmith with enormous admiration, crediting her with building not just a shelter, but a sanctuary. She also points to the organization’s willingness to work with other rescue groups, including Big Dog Ranch Rescue and Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League, to respond to emergencies ranging from hoarding situations to natural disasters.
For Stark, rescue has to go beyond saving the animal in front of you. It also means confronting the systems that keep producing cruelty. One of her most urgent causes is the push for an animal abuse registry, first in Florida and ultimately nationwide. Modeled after existing offender registries, the proposal would publicly identify convicted animal abusers and prevent them from adopting, buying or otherwise gaining access to animals again. Stark believes such a measure is long overdue. “These abusers don’t stop,” she said. “They move, they adopt again and they do it all over.”
The Andrea and John Stark Free Veterinary Fund for Those in Need
Her advocacy also reflects a practical understanding of why animals wind up at risk in the first place. Together with her husband, John, Stark established the Andrea and John Stark Free Veterinary Fund for Those in Need at Tri County Animal Rescue. The goal is simple: keep pets in loving homes when financial hardship is the only thing standing in the way. Veterinary care, food and basic supplies can mean the difference between stability and surrender. In Stark’s view, prevention is as important as rescue.
Stark believes abuse has worsened in an increasingly angry society. “It’s gotten worse. We’ve never seen anything like this before,” she said. She follows and admires activists like Joey Tuccio, Paul Mueller and the Kris Kelly Foundation on Instagram, people who expose animal cruelty and help push abusers toward accountability. Through their social media, they have saved countless animals. Stark also praises Lee Asher, who created the Asher House sanctuary in Oregon to rescue, rehabilitate and offer a lifelong home to animals in need.
Stark is not simply helping individual animals, though she has done that for years. She is trying to change the culture around them, pressing people to see rescue animals not as damaged, but as failed by humans and deserving of a second chance. For Stark, giving voice to the voiceless means more than compassion. It means action, protection and refusing to look away.
“Save a Soul”
Stark, among others, strives to transform the high-kill shelter system; she is planning a New York event called “Save a Soul” to save dogs from euthanasia and get them adopted, inspired by her admiration for youth activist Sir Darius Brown, who makes bow ties for shelter dogs to make them more attractive for adoption. Brown, who grew up in an underprivileged area, is now studying at Morehouse College through the Bill Gates Scholarship and has been spotlighted by ABC on National Hero Day and People magazine as a top teen entrepreneur. Brown represents the kind of creativity and heart Stark believes can move people from sympathy to action. The event will center around community, culture and giving, possibly featuring soul food prepared by Brown’s family. “Why don’t others create ‘Save a Soul’?” Stark asks.
In a world that is losing its compassion and becoming increasingly divided, Stark returns to the lesson she learned as a child in a family without excess: “Give back, and you will have such good karma. Redirect things in your life to helping others. Give a voice to the voiceless.”
It is not a slogan for her. It is a mandate and her mantra.
By Jeremy Murphy
