Symposium 2008 Speakers
Jean Chamberlain
Jean and her husband have been rehabilitators for 17 years, rehabilitating
raptors for more than 12 years. She is particularly interested in animal behavior
and involved in all aspects of education programs and training. She helped design
and teaches WRNC's Refresher and Basic Courses and organizes the symposium each
year. Jean is past president for WRNC and is the web adminstrator for WRNC and
IWRC. She is retired from a career in Information Technology.
Elaine Corvidae
Elaine Corvidae has been involved in raptor rehabilitation since 1996. She is currently a Rehabilitation Coordinator at Carolina Raptor Center in Huntersville, NC. In her spare time, she enjoys writing novels and brewing beer.
Alicia Cawlfield
Alicia Cawlfield is a current 3rd year veterinary student at NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine, and has worked with wildlife through internships and volunteering at the Piedmont Wildlife Center and through school since 2004. She is currently the veterinary student representative for WRNC.
Laurel Degernes, DVM, MPH, Diplomate ABVP
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).
Becky Desjardins
Becky was born and raised in Massachusetts. She graduated from Guilford College in Greensboro with a geology degree in
1995. During college she got hooked on birding thanks to her biology
professor, and following graduation did various bird field jobs until
hired by the museum as a research technician in 1998. In 2005 she was
promoted to Collection Manager. She has skinned over 1200 birds.
Kelly Douglass
Kelly graduated from NC State University in 2002 with a Bachelor's degree in
Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences and began working with the Commission in 2000
in the Nongame Program permitting section. She became the Captive Cervid Program
Leader for the agency in 2004, though has been involved in captive cervid issues
since 2002. Recently, she was given the responsibility of managing the Fawn
Rehabilitation Program and enrolled at State to obtain a Master's degree in
Wildlife Sciences.
Michaeleen Farrington
Michaeleen has been designing science education programs for 14 years. She was the Education Coordinator at the Science and Technology Center in San Diego California designing overnights, camps, adult and children venues in the areas of technology, forensics and space. She designed activities included in two published teacher guides for the IMAX films: Everest and The Magic of Flight. She was the Education Specialist for The Living Desert in Palm Desert California. There she was responsible for training 200 docents on desert ecosystems and environmental education philosophy. She designed education programs and camps, large venue programs, teacher training and was responsible for curriculum development. She developed animal handling guidelines and trained volunteers in handling reptiles, arachnids and birds of prey. She was a hummingbird rehabilitator for the park, raising and releasing Anna, Costa and Rufous hummingbirds brought to the facility.
She spent three years teaching in Japan and returned to the United States two years ago.
She is currently the Education Director at OWLS and responsible for curriculum development, program design and animal handling policies and procedures.
Andy Foshee
Andy Foshee has had the opportunity to carry his digital camera through Africa, Europe, China, and most recently the Amazon River in Brazil. He and his wife have taken over 15,000 photos at their favorite wildlife sanctuary, the Carnivore Preservation Trust in Pittsboro, NC - several of which have been used in local and regional publications. Since coming to North Carolina in 1992, Andy has been proud to have rolls of responsibility in several nonprofit organizations ranging from planning and participating in festivals and fundraising to black tie events. Andy and his wife reside in a log home of their own design in Chatham county and have two children - both of whom are four-footed, furry, and 'meow'!
Jeff Ginsburg
Jeff became interested in turtles about 20 years ago. She started with sea turtles, and gradually came to understand it is more important to 'act locally', and her love of turtles in her back yard began. She is an RN, who has worked with Cheryl Hoggard at Piedmont Wildlife Center where she learned a lot about rehab work in turtles. Gradually the complexities of turtle conservation took her over and changed her focus.
Jennifer Gordon
Jennifer is a state and federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator. She is the director of Carolina Waterfowl Rescue which takes in approx 500 birds a year. Her specialties are waterfowl and wading birds. She is a volunteer for several other wildlife groups including the Carolina Raptor Center.
Jennifer is Chairman of the Board for Possumwood Acres Wildlife Sanctuary. She also serves as a board member for Wildlife Rehabilitators of the Carolinas (WRNC) the state wildlife rehabilitation organization.
She is the founder of the Duck Rescue Network which seeks to network rehabilitators along with other rescuers across the county. They work on education, placement of non-releasable waterfowl, adoption assistance for domestic waterfowl, share health and care information and husbandry. They also coordinate rescues and transports across the country.
John Gerwin
John Gerwin is Curator of Birds at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. He has worked there for 20 years. His research focuses primarily on breeding bird nesting biology, on managed or "altered" landscapes. He is involved with projects studying Painted Bunting on the coast, Swainson's Warbler in the Coastal Plain, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in the mountains. He is now beginning a project on a globally threatened seabird in Haiti (that forages in water off NC), the Black-capped Petrel. He is the Chairperson for the Scientific Council on Rare, Threatened and Endangered Birds of NC. He also co-leads natural history ecotours to various tropical regions.
Elizabeth Hanrahan
Elizabeth Hanrahan began working in wildlife rehabilitation in 1985 while serving as Executive Director of the Hall County, Georgia, Humane Society. She received her initial training from veterinarians and has taken classes through IWRC, NWRA, Carolina Raptor Center and the Wildlife Center of Virginia. In addition she frequently presents papers, workshops and classes and has published for NWRA, IWRC, and WRNC and teaches at three campuses of College of the Albemarle. Volunteer activities while on Ocracoke included Sea Turtle rescue, and transport, first responder for the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, tour leader for NPS summer birding programs and trip leader for Wings Over Water Birding Festival.
After, moving to Edenton in March, 2006 she opened WREN- Wildlife Rehabilitation of Edenton.
The Center serves an area from the Outer Banks to the Virginia State line. WREN has a large group of wildlife transporters and volunteers. As of August 1, 2007 the WREN had received and treated more than 375 birds (including 1 baled eagle and an albino red tailed hawk), small mammals, turtles and 1 garter snake.
She has a B.S. in Business Administration, a M.Ed. in Marketing Education and an Ed. S. in Vocational Education Administration. Elizabeth supports Wildlife rehabilitation by providing private birding and eco tours in Eastern North Carolina and the Outer Banks. She and her husband, Dr. Calvin Hanrahan, a Physical Therapist, have two grown sons and recently moved to Edenton from Ocracoke.
Elizabeth is the current President of the Wildlife Rehabilitators of North Carolina.
The Hanrahan’s plan to move back to Ocracoke in approximately 3 years & 8 months.
Cheryl Hoggard, DVM
Tricia Hoover
Tricia has been rehabbing since 1987 and is state and federal permitted.
In 1991, she was a founder for Wildlife Welfare, Inc, a home rehabilitation network in the Triangle area and has remained strongly involved in the organization ever since. She also has taught yearly training classes in Raleigh, North Carolina, for wildlife rehabilitation since 1991; and helped put together training materials through the years. Tricia is currently Executive Director for Wildlife Welfare, working mostly with small mammals.
Carla Johnson
Carla has been rehabbing for nearly 20 years, is on the board of WRNC and Wildlife Rehab, Inc., her local rehab group. She coordinates wildlife rehabilitation classes through the local community college in Winston-Salem, NC and presents countless environmental education programs to the surrounding community for Wildlife Rehab, Inc. each year. Carla is responsible for maintaining WRNC’s membership records and for producing the membership directory. She is also on the symposium committee and helped put together and teach the refresher course for WRNC.
Beth Knapp-Tyner
Beth holds both state (NC/SC) and federal rehab & possession permits, including a special Fawn rehab permit. She averages 150-160 rehab admits per year. Some of them her favorite species to rehab; mid-to-large size mammals (otters, beavers, fawns) and birds including; owls, hawks & hummingbirds. She also presents education programs using live, non-releasable raptors for local clubs, summer programs, schools & groups.
She is the current vice president for WRNC and served for two years as their treasurer. She believes strongly in networking with other rehabilitators to promote both, the best care and situations for the animals and support for and by fellow rehabbers.
She has attended several rehab conferences, classes and special workshops and has also been a speaker/teacher at a few. She went back to school in her thirties to attain a specialized AS degree, is a certified Equine Sports Massage Therapist (ESMT), and was a certified Childbirth Educator and doula for several years. She says she is extremely fortunate to have a husband who is 110% supportive of, and helps whenever asked with, her rehab and education "habits".
Judy Makowski
Judy Makowski has been rehabbing with Wildlife Welfare, Inc for eight years. She has specialized in rabbits for most of that time. The number of successful releases (between 150-200 a year) shows that she has a gift for the delicate creature. Her best challenges are the rabbits that have been severely injured and need critical care. Judy is always available to help any new rehabber and will walk a trainee through each step carefully to make another successful release.
Chris McGrath
Chris has a
BA in Biology 1989, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY and MEM Natural Resource Ecology 1991, Duke University, Durham, NC. From 1991-Present(17+ years) he's been Wildlife Biologist, Supervisor, and currently Wildlife Diversity Program Coordinator in the Division of Wildlife Management of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. He is currently administering the staff (22 folks), overseeing grants and project activities, providing guidance and direction for program activities, coordinating regulatory matters relating to nongame or endangered species, and coordinating outreach and information exchange for the program
Teresa Morr
Teresa is a volunteer Habitat Steward with the North Carolina Wildlife Federation.
Betty O'Leary
Betty has been working at the Carolina Raptor Center in the rehabilitation department for 22 years. She has presented workshops, papers, and posters at various conferences and symposiums.
Toni O'Neil
Toni holds a B.S. in Zoology with a minor in Wildlife Management from the University of Maryland . She has been rehabilitating since 1991and holds both state and federal permits, specializing in songbirds and waterfowl. Toni has held administrative positions with ARC and has taught classes for CRC, ARC, and Carolina Wild Care, as well as teaching the Basic and Advanced Wildlife Rehabilitation courses through the local community college. She gives many presentations to schools, scout troops, and civic groups in her community. Toni believes in a strong state-wide networking system to assist rehabilitators at all levels, and encourages them to participate and become involved in reaching out to others. She believes that communication between rehabilitators is vital to further education, share ideas, and keep up-to-date on the changes in wildlife medicine. Currently, she is the Director of Possumwood Acres Wildlife Sanctuary in Hubert, NC, and enjoys working closely with the coastal residents of Onslow County.
Martha Petty
Martha Petty is a licensed home rehabilitator in Chapel Hill. She started rehabbing in 1994 when she received two baby gray squirrels from a WRRN class. Martha is a full time artist, when she is not rehabbing baby squirrels. She is also a member of WRNC, NWRA and IWRC, and volunteers with the Piedmont Wildlife Center.
Lauren Powers, DVM, Diplomate ABVP (Avian)
Dr. Lauren Powers is a 1994 graduate of Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. She completed a residency in avian medicine and surgery at North Carolina State University in 1997 and became board-certified (American Board of Veterinary Practitioners-Avian Practice) later that year. She has been a staff veterinarian at Carolina Veterinary Specialists and service head of the Avian & Exotic Pet Service since 2002 and regularly offers services to wildlife rehabilitators, nature museums, and a raptor rehabilitation facility. She frequently speaks at local and national veterinary conferences and has published numerous scientific papers and book chapters.
Mimi Rieth
Mimi Rieth is a licensed veterinary technician. She has been volunteering with the Piedmont Wildlife Center for over 4 years.
Ann Rogers
Ann has been a licensed home rehabilitator of small mammals since 1988. She
has been federally permitted since 1991. She is a founding member and volunteer
with the Piedmont Wildlife Center of NC. She works both in their clinic and
helps with fund-raising.
Additional speaker info will be added as it becomes available.