Wildlife Rehabilitators of NC

Board of Director Nominees

Nicki Dardinger

Laurel Degernes

Kelli Ferris

Christina Hildreth

David Scott

Linda Woodruff


			Nicki Dardinger Nicki Dardinger was inspired to work with wildlife in high school when she had the opportunity to participate in a research project studying the biology and ecology of Northern cardinals, white-tailed deer, and timber rattlesnakes. She received her undergraduate degree in Animal Science from Cornell University where she focused on wildlife and exotics. While at Cornell, she participated as a volunteer at the Cornell Raptor Program where she got her first experience working with captive raptors. This facility provided her experience with conservation education, captive breeding of raptors, and raptor rehabilitation.
	Nicki went on to attend graduate school at Cornell, where she studied the ecology of the Massasauga rattlesnake, an endangered species that has been greatly affected by the landscape changes brought by humans. As a graduate student, she served as the Education Director for the Cornell Raptor Program where she taught undergraduate students how to handle captive raptors, and managed the education programs at the center. In 2006, Nicki moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where she joined the team at Carolina Raptor Center as the Director of Education. She led a team of seven educators that presented over 600 education programs annually to over 50,000 people. As the Director of Education, Nicki developed a consulting program, and traveled nationally to assist nature centers and wildlife rehabilitators incorporate best practices in raptor husbandry and training into their management program. She believes strongly in the power of conservation educators to have a meaningful impact on the public and help people understand how the choices they make every day can have a positive impact on the environment. Currently, Nicki works in the office of Government Relations and Grants at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte where she works with a team that manages the college’s federal, state, and private foundation grants. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Hounds4Heroes, a Charlotte-based non-profit that works to place companion animals from shelters and rescue organizations with military veterans who suffer from mental health issues relating to combat experiences. She volunteers with the North Carolina Zoo’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and assist with their permanent resident raptors, and serves on the Symposium Committee for the Wildlife Rehabilitators of North Carolina. Nicki lives in Concord, North Carolina, with her dog Gracie, five cats, three snakes and six turtles that have served as ambassadors for their species and inspired hundreds of people to make a difference for wildlife.She is an avid gardener, and enjoys hiking and backpacking and spending quality time with her dog.

		Laurel Degernes Laurel is an Associate Professor of Avian Medicine and Epidemiology at NC State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, and has been on the faculty there since 1992. She has been specializing in birds since 1985, and is board certified in avian practice. She completed an internship at The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota in 1986, and worked for another 4 years as staff veterinarian at that facility. She completed a residency at NCSU in companion avian medicine in 1992.
	She completed a Masters of Public Health degree in epidemiology at the School of Public Health, UNC Chapel Hill during a recent sabbatical leave. She was one of the founding board members for Piedmont Wildlife Center, and is on the advisory board for the Carolina Raptor Center, the North Carolina Falconers Guild, and Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research (Newark, DE). Laurel has given at least 10 presentations at past WRNC conferences, and has coordinated the advanced track lectures and labs at our conferences since 2009. She serves as the faculty liaison since the conference location was moved to NC State College of Veterinary Medicine last year. She is currently running for her second term on the board of directors.

		Kelli Ferris Kelli K. Ferris is a 1996 graduate of North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. After three years of companion animal private practice, she returned to NCSU CVM in 1999 to develop the Community Campus Partnership program.
	Hurricane Floyd followed shortly after and Dr. Ferris directed the three-month-long operation of the Emergency Field Hospital and Animal Shelter to care for over 400 dogs, cats, and livestock evacuated from Eastern North Carolina following flooding associated with the hurricane. Dr. Ferris is one of the original founders of the State Animal Response Team (SART) concept developed following Hurricane Floyd to coordinate animal emergency planning and response at the local, state, and national level. This model has been adopted throughout the United States since that time. Additional disaster response activities have included hurricane flooding response in Western NC, assisting LSU with their sheltering activities following Hurricane Katrina, and coordinating veterinary care for many individual animal cruelty cases and large animal hoarding cases across North Carolina. She continues to direct Community Campus Partnership program activities that provide veterinary students hands-on service learning opportunities in small animal medicine and surgery utilizing a Mobile Surgery Hospital, shelter medicine and animal disaster response, as well as animal cruelty investigation, animal hoarding, and animal fighting investigations. She serves as a SART board member serves and is a sworn animal cruelty investigator. Dr. Ferris is a member of the International Veterinary Forensic Sciences Association, American Veterinary Medical Association, North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association, and is a member and has served as Chair of the Executive Council for North Carolina State University Academy of Outstanding Faculty Engaged in Extension and Engagement. Dr. Ferris is married and is the mother of three grown children. She has one dog, two cats, and two cockatoos and is entertained year round by the wildlife that visit her garden and the swifts that summer in her chimney.

			Christina Hildreth Christina is a Registered Veterinary Technician employed by Carolina Veterinary Specialists in Huntersville. She works as the Avian/Exotics Specialty Technician with Dr. Lauren Powers. Christina is a 2003 graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Art (concentration in Graphic Design). Christina is also a 2005 graduate of Blue Ridge Community College with an Associates Degree in Applied Animal Science (Accredited Veterinary Technology Program). Her passion has always been wildlife, whether depicting it in her artwork, or applying her veterinary skills to assist in the healing and rehabilitation of animals. It is for this reason she continues to work as a veterinary technician and do artwork on the side.
	Christina spent two and a half years volunteering at the Wildlife Center of Virginia. She then went to Disney’s Animal Kingdom to complete a Professional Wildlife Internship at the Veterinary Hospital. After the internship, she went on to work at the University of Florida’s Veterinary Medical Center with Oncology and Nutrition Services in the small animal hospital. Christina returned to Virginia for a position as the Community Practice Service Technician for Virginia-Maryland Regional Veterinary Medical Center. Marriage relocated her to the Charlotte area in 2008. Upon moving to Charlotte, NC, she became a volunteer at the Carolina Raptor Center and then completed an internship with CRC. Christina was then employed part time with CRC until funds were no longer available. Although she works at Carolina Veterinary Specialists full time, she still continues to volunteer when possible at the Carolina Raptor Center. Her desire is for all to recognize and appreciate the wildlife around them. Christina wants to encourage others to be good stewards of wildlife so future generations can enjoy it too.

		David Scott David has over 15 years experience with wildlife rehabilitation involving many species of birds including shore birds and birds of prey. He has worked as a volunteer veterinarian with several different organizations in IL, KY and CA. He is now employed as the first staff veterinarian at Carolina Raptor Center (CRC) in Charlotte.
	In addition to his veterinary background, he has 20 years experience as a software\electrical engineer and he is always looking for new and meaningful ways to merge medicine and technology. He has just recently published a new book on raptor rehabilitation and has created a medical records software database package called RaptorMedTM that runs the clinic at CRC. Education D.V.M., University of Illinois, Dean’s List, May, 1997, with Honors B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois, Dean’s List, May, 1988, with Honors

			Linda Woodruff Linda has been an active wildlife rehabilitator for three years and treasurer with Wildlife Rehab Inc. for the past two years. In addition she assists with the printing and mailing of her local rehab group’s newsletter as well as participating in several local promotional events each year. She also helps with developing various marketing materials to use as handouts for various educa- tional programs. A half day per month she takes “on call” and answers a “hot line.”
	Her twenty-five year career with Xerox brought her to Greensboro, NC in 2004 from Lubbock, Texas where she was a member of the local wildlife rehab group. Linda graduated from Texas Tech University with a B.B.A. in Accounting and is a licensed CPA. In addition to her passion for wildlife Linda has had Wire Hair Fox terriers for over twenty-seven years and is a volunteer with the American Fox Terrier Rescue as an animal transporter. Her background in marketing (30 years) as well as finance gives her a unique perspective on many issues. She enjoys working in a team environment where many individuals can share ideas and develop an action plan and actually achieve a result that could not have been done by just one person. She loves using her “analytical” skills to find a way to accomplish something that initially was not perceived as possible, due to the overall initial projected cost. She enjoys problem solving. Linda has acquired extensive knowledge and experience in regards to wildlife rehabilitation, and feels she can well represent those members just beginning their journey into this realm and offer new ideas to benefit all members.