Kimber Williams has always been an animal lover. The Texas native and “fifth generation country girl” grew up riding horses and counts among her childhood memories rescuing baby birds that had fallen from a tree and an occasional bunny that got lost in the fray. She had a dream of rescuing animals as an adult, though her ambition first took her in another direction.
Williams studied hard and earned her J.D. from the University of San Diego in 2008. She went on to launch her own business recruiting high-level attorneys for international law firms. And though her hopes of working with animals temporarily took a back seat, she eventually saw the opportunity to make that dream a reality.
“A lot of people during, and right after the pandemic, kind of had this epiphany or these aha moments [where they realized] life is short and there’s never going to be a perfect time. So, I bought this five-acre ranch in Ramona with the vision in mind that it would be a rescue ranch. We started with a lot of cleanup because it was definitely a diamond in the rough,” she says.
She’d had a name in mind for a while, Robin’s Nest Rescue (Robin is her middle name), and officially began taking in abused, abandoned, and neglected animals four years earlier. Robin’s Nest Rescue attained nonprofit status in 2023. She already had a trio of rescue chihuahuas—affectionately dubbed the Three Chimigos—then added a trio of pet pigs rescued from a hoarding situation to the crew. More animals soon followed.
“It organically snowballed,” Williams says.
Today, Williams runs the ranch with her mother, retired criminology and sociology professor Sue Williams, and husband, former Navy corpsman and physician assistant Nicholas Spear. Their menagerie has grown to 25 animals, including horses and alpacas, two tortoises, and a mini donkey.
Robin’s Nest helps rescue humans, too. Through its flagship program, Side by Side, the nonprofit offers no-cost therapeutic experiences aimed toward vulnerable populations—veterans, first responders, at-risk youth, exonerees, and others. Robin’s Nest’s motto is “We rescue them. They save us.”
“One of the benefits of working with animals is they don’t judge,” says Williams. “You can really see a lot of magic happen in those quiet moments where you’re not talking to a therapist, you’re not talking to another exoneree or a veteran, whoever that may be about what you’re carrying, what you’re going through, wherever you are in your journey. And it’s pretty powerful.”
And the Ramona community is rallying behind them. Though Williams has kept her day job—animal feed and specialized veterinary care doesn’t come cheap—local musicians have stepped up to support the ranch’s mission. In October, the rescue hosted its third annual Rockin’ Robin Music Festival & Fundraiser with a dozen acts performing.
“Seeing the community come and support us and believe in what we’re doing is just an amazing feeling,” says Williams.
Robin’s Nest also offers immersive farm tours where guests can get up close and personal with the animals and even has an Airstream on the property for those who want to experience ranch life for a night.
