Biography: Molly Mednikow

Founder and Executive Director

Amazon Community Animal Rescue, Education and Safety



Molly Mednikow is a native of Memphis, Tennessee. After graduating from St. Mary’s Episcopal School, she attended college at Emory and received a B.S. in Political Science from the University of Georgia. After working in Washington for two years, she returned to Atlanta where she received her MBA at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business of Georgia State University. Simultaneously she worked as the Marketing Director of the Executive MBA Program for GSU.

Following her graduation, she began working in her family’s jewelry business, and opened her own store in Phipps Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2005 she received the Retail Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Buckhead Business Association. During her years in Atlanta, she won several Philanthropy Awards for her service to many charitable organizations, including the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, Prevent Child Abuse Georgia and the Atlanta Symphony.

She found time to dedicate time to another charity, Rivers of the World. As a Board Member, she traveled and organized annual trips to the Peruvian Amazon to deliver school supplies to very remote jungle villages. Her first trip to the Amazon occurred in 2006, and the trip changed her life forever. Thereafter, she saw the world through new eyes. A particular sadness for her, as a lover of animals, was the mistreatment of domestic animals. “One could not walk three feet without stepping over a severely ill dog, lacking hope or opportunity in this environment.” She said.

By 2004, her interests in Peru had grown to the extent that she made a life-altering decision. She stepped away from her jewelry business to spend a year in the Amazon. In 2005, she finalized her decision and made her move official, selling her family business back to family members. Mednikow lived in the Peruvian Amazon until 2008, when she returned to the USA to open an office from which her charity could grow. Her charity, Amazon Community Animal Rescue, Education and Safety (Amazon CARES) remains the only charity in the entire Peruvian Amazon region dedicated to the protection of domestic animals and wildlife. Programs extend far beyond animal health, and CARES is recognized for humane education, assisted animal therapy, and volunteer driven travel to areas with no access to veterinary care.

In addition to opening the most modern Veterinary clinic in the town of Iquitos, the Capital of the region, CARES purchased 2 acres of property on the Rio Itaya where they operate a no-kill animal shelter.