Symposium 2013 Speakers

Kim Ashby
(Rehabilitating Orphaned Opossum, Advanced Skills for Rehabilitating Orphaned and Injured Opossum)
Kim Ashby holds a North Carolina Wildlife Permit for Small Mammal Rehabilitation and began working with orphaned and injured wildlife in 2006. She is the Assistant Director of the Board of Directors for Wildlife Welfare, Inc. She earned a BS in Nursing from The Catholic University of America and, when she worked outside the home, was a Certified Emergency Nurse with a special interest in trauma nursing. Kim lives in Raleigh, NC with her husband and sons. The Ashbys began home educating their children in 1999. She is the owner of Creative Tutors, Wake Co, NC, a certified Interactive Metronome Provider with Pediatric IM certification and an Irlen Syndrome Screener.

Pamela Bayne
(Songbird Medicine & Critical Care, Songbird Bandaging / Splinting/ Supportive Care Lab)
Pamela Bayne taught biology and physical science in the public school system after graduating from UNC. She also worked with veterinarians in Israel developing bovine breeding programs and in Kentucky assisting with thoroughbred examinations. Pamela began wildlife rehabilitation working with an experienced rehabilitator in the mid-1980s, has worked at several NC rehabilitation centers, and now is the Executive Director of Triangle Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic (TWRC) in Durham. She holds USFWS and NC rehabilitation permits and has served on the board for several wildlife facilities.

Kathryn Benson
(Sub-Q Fluids Lab)
Kathryn Benson is a third year veterinary student at North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine. She has volunteered at Carolina Raptor Center, is a current member of the Turtle Rescue Team at NC State, and is an active member of the Wildlife, Avian, Aquatic, and Zoo Medicine club (WAAZM)

Linda Bergman-Althouse
(The Professional Wildlife Rehabilitator - Treating the Human Animal)
Linda Bergman-Althouse is a certified wildlife rehabilitator who has served the down east coastal communities of North Carolina and the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter for fifteen years working clinic in rehabilitation, mentoring new volunteers and facilitating tour groups. Linda is a board member and President of Wildlife Rehabilitators of North Carolina, Inc. In addition, she serves the WRNC general membership on the Cage Grant, Chimney Swift Tower Grant, Emergency Disaster Fund, Newsletter, Website and Board Nominating committees. Proactively concerned with loss of wildlife habitat due to progressive development throughout the United States, Linda continually rallies support for the protection and stewardship of America's extraordinary natural resources by guest speaking at events held by civic or environmentally conscience organizations. She grew up in rural Macon County Illinois with lots of chickens and is an author, Eastern Illinois University Alumna, a retired U.S. Marine, College Psychology Instructor, Industry Training Employee Development Specialist and a staunch advocate for animal rights and conservation. She resides in Onslow County, North Carolina with her husband, John, and five (indoor only) cats; Cybill, Kitty, Pearl, Seven and Frizbee.

Halley D Buckanoff, BS, CVT, CWR
(Debilitated/Emaciated Orphans, Considerations for Managing Injured Adult Mammals in Captivity)
Employed at the North Carolina Zoo at the helm of the Valerie H Schindler Wildlife Rehabilitation Center overseeing rehabilitation practices, center operations, and mentoring of more than 150 volunteers and interns; Halley is a graduate of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR with a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology, she is also a Certified Veterinary Technician with 10+ years of emergency, exotic, zoo and wildlife medicine and husbandry experience, in addition to becoming a Certified Wildlife Rehabilitator through the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council.  Halley is a board member for WRNC. She has completed graduate level course work in animal population management and animal nutrition.  Her experiences include work as a field biologist mist-netting, trapping, banding, tracking and radio-collaring birds; currently she holds a USFW banding permit and is conducting post-release survival studies on common rehabilitated backyard birds in conjunction with Guilford College. 
Halley believes that the wildlife rehabilitation community are entrusted professionals and as such stewards for wildlife and wild places, relied upon to stay up-to-date on practices and provide conservation education.

Jean Chamberlain
(Enrichment: Every Animal Deserves a Toy, Imprinting)
Jean and her husband have been rehabilitators for 20 years, rehabilitating raptors for more than 15 years.
She presents many wildlife education programs each year. She helps organize and teach the wildlife rehabilitation course at her local community college. She designed and teaches WRNC's Refresher and Basic Courses and co-chairs the committee that organizes the symposium each year.
Jean is past president for WRNC, is on WRNC's Board and is the web administrator for WRNC. She created Raptor ID on IWRC's website and is on the Curriculum Development Committee for IWRC's online courses.
Jean has an undergraduate degree in mathematics and completed 2 years of post graduate work in human information processing (learning and perception). She taught high school mathematics for several years and is now retired after a 20 year career in Information Technology.

Carolyn Collier
(Mammal Physical Exam Lab)
Carolyn Collier is a third-year veterinary student and member of the Class of 2014 at the NCSU-CVM. Carolyn hails from Richmond, Virgina, and graduated from the College of William and Mary with a BS in Biology. She is the current president for WAAZM (Wildlife, Avian, Aquatic and Zoo Medicine) and has served as the Turtle Rehabilitation Coordinator for the NCSU-CVM Turtle Rescue Team. Additionally, Carolyn is an aquarist for the CVM's saltwater aquarium and poison dart-frog vivarium.

Nicki Dardinger
(Fundraising)
Nicki 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 first experienced working with captive raptors.  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 and joined the team at Carolina Raptor Center as 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. 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 board and the Symposium Committee for the WRNC. 

Laurel Degernes, DVM, MPH, Diplomate ABVP
(Avian & Reptile Hematology, Avian & Reptile Hematology Lab)
Dr. Laurie Degernes is an Associate Professor of Avian Medicine at NC State University, and has been on faculty at the College of Veterinary Medicine since 1992. She completed an internship in raptor medicine at The Raptor Center at the Univ. of Minnesota and a residency in companion avian medicine at NC State Univ. She is board certified in avian practice, and has devoted her career to avian medicine for more than 27 years. She is on the board of directors for WRNC and is co-chair of the WRNC Symposium.

Daniel S. Dombrowski, M.S., D.V.M.
(Amphibian Medicine & Rehabilitation)
Currently the Chief Veterinarian at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS) and Adjunct Faculty at the North Carolina State University (NCSU) College of Veterinary Medicine. In 2006, earned a D.V.M. from NCSU with a focus in zoo medicine and advanced courses in reptile, fish, invertebrate, avian, and wildlife medicine. In 2006, Dr. Dombrowski also received the Wildlife, Avian, Aquatic, and Zoological Medicine (WAAZM) Proficiency in Zoological Medicine Award. He earned an M.S. in Biology and B.S. in Biology from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond Virginia.  Dr. Dombrowski has been an author and coauthor of several publications in pharmacology, natural history, and 2 book chapters focusing on invertebrate medicine. Interests include wildlife health and conservation, science education and veterinary medicine.  

Dr. Christine Eckermann-Ross
(Alternative and Holistic Treatments for Wildlife)
Christine Eckermann-Ross attended the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and has worked with Avian & Exotic Animal Care in Raleigh, NC since her graduation in 2000.  She is an adjunct professor at NCSU-CVM and serves on the House of Delegates of the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society as a representative of the American Association of Veterinary Acupuncturists.  Her practice integrates both “western” medicine and complementary therapies including acupuncture, herbal medicine, food therapy and massage. Prior to veterinary school, Dr. Eckermann-Ross enjoyed working in a research setting in the departments of neurochemistry, physiology, and radiation oncology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She studied acupuncture with the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS), and received certification in veterinary acupuncture in 2005.  Dr. Eckermann-Ross continued her study of traditional Chinese veterinary medicine (TCVM) at the Chi Institute of TCVM in Reddick, FL, earning certification in Chinese herbal medicine in 2007.  She has also studied food therapy and advanced acupuncture techniques at the Chi Institute. She has had the honor and pleasure of bringing acupuncture to a variety of unusual species at the North Carolina Zoo.  In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Eckermann-Ross lectures internationally on both “western” medicine and TCVM.  Her writing appears in texts and journals including The 5 Minute Veterinary Consult - Small Mammals, several lay magazines, The Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery, Exotic DVM Magazine, The Veterinary Clinics of North America – Exotic Animal Practice, and The American Journal of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, and two TCVM textbooks published by the Chi Institute. 

Nina Fischesser
(Large Mammal Rehab)
Nina has been a licensed rehabilitator since 1991, was the founding WRNC president, and works with Avian, small mammalian, and reptilian native NC species. She holds a BA in Therapeutic Recreation from Southern Illinois University and presently earning a MA in Environmental Education and Communication from Royal Roads University in Victoria, Canada.
Nina has been employed for 7 years at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, NC, teaching wildlife rehabilitation and wildlife education through experientially based program as a BS in Biology with a Concentration in Wildlife Rehabilitation. Nina was employed by the North Carolina Outward Bound School as a field instructor for 11 years, and is a strong believer in experiential education through wilderness adventure and wildlife rehabilitation.

James R. Flowers, Ph.D.
(Wildlife Parasitology )
Dr. James Flowers gained a PHD in Zoology from NCSU through investigations of parasite identifications & parasite life cycles. He has been a faculty member of the Parasitology Group at the College of Veterinary Medicine of NCSU since 1997.

Dr. Jenessa Gjeltema
(Mammal Bandaging/Splinting Lab)
Jenessa Gjeltema is currently a zoological medicine resident at North Carolina State University.  Jenessa received her doctorate of veterinary medicine from North Carolina State University in 2011, and completed a private referral practice internship following her graduation.  She began working with wildlife as a volunteer at the Valerie H. Schindler wildlife rehabilitation center in 2004, and served as a student liaison for the Wildlife Rehabilitators of North Carolina during veterinary school.  She has also gained valuable experience related to wildlife while working as a wildlife diversity technician for the Wildlife Resources Commission.  She continues to have a clinical passion for wildlife rehabilitation.

Jennifer Gordon
(Waterfowl Rehab)
Jennifer is a state and federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator and currently serves as the director for Carolina Waterfowl Rescue when she is in charge of caring for approximately 2000 birds a year. She is a board member at Possumwood Acres Wildlife Sanctuary and previously served on Wildlife Rehabilitators of North Carolina (WRNC) board. Jennifer also founded a global network for waterfowl rescues that branched off into several overseas chapters. Jennifer is certified in chemical immobilization and holds a wildlife damage control agent license. She has training in Hazmat and Emergency Response. She is currently pursuing a certificate in nonprofit management at Duke University and is working towards her veterinary technician designation. Jennifer has received numerous awards for her work with wildlife and was recently honored to receive the North Carolina Governors Wildlife Achievement Award in association with the NC Wildlife Federation.

Tammy Greevers
(IWRC/NWRA Minimum Standards)
Tammy Greevers attended Truman State University in Missouri where she acquired her Bachelor of Science in Biology. She was involved in undergraduate research,
specefically analyzing the histology and morphology of reproductive organs in freshwater pond snails. Past internships have included the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota and the Wildcat Sanctuary, also located in Minnesota. Currently, she is the paid intern at the Valerie H. Schindler Wildlife Rehabiliation Center at the North Carolina Zoo.

Dr. Vanessa Grunkemeyer
(Wound management for Wildlife and Case Presentations )
Dr. Vanessa Grunkemeyer is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Exotic Animal Medicine at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She graduated with distinction from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2007. She then completed a small animal rotating internship and an avian and exotic animal residency at the University of Tennessee, College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Grunkemeyer is a board-certified avian specialist whose primary clinical interests include wound management and backyard poultry medicine.

Elizabeth Hanrahan
(Birds that Eat on the Wing (chimney swifts, swallows, nighthawks, and flycatchers), Beginning Basics of Bird Care)
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.  Elizabeth and her husband live in Ocracoke. 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  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, volunteering for Ocracoke Preservation Society and providing Environmental Education curriculum and classes at Ocracoke School.

Carla Johnson
(Introduction toWildlife Rehabilitation, If you can’t see them, are they there?: Zoonoses, Handling Wildlife Calls)
Carla has been rehabbing for over 20 years, is on the board of WRNC and Wildlife Rehab, Inc., her local rehab group. She has coordinated wildlife rehabilitation classes through the local community college in Winston-Salem, NC and presented countless environmental education programs to the surrounding community. Carla is responsible for maintaining WRNC's membership records, is on the symposium committee and helped put together and teach the refresher course for WRNC. She is currently the vice president for WRNC.
In her spare time, she rescues dogs from puppy mills and natural disaster situations, is the Southeastern Region coordinator, treasurer as well as one of the board of directors for Chihuahua Rescue & Transport, a national 501(c)3 organization and enjoys working to place unwanted Chinese Crested dogs.

Dr. Leslie Martin
(Biosecurity for Patients and Humans )
Dr. Leslie Martin received her DVM from the University of California at Davis. Following graduation, she worked in exotics and small animal practices, seeing dogs, cats, exotic animals and wildlife patients. Dr. Martin worked for a local wildlife clinic for 2 years. She is currently practicing in Research Triangle Park. Dr. Martin was a board member for the Wildlife Rehabilitators of North Carolina for the past 3 years.

Dr. Greg Massey
(Aquatic Avian Medicine, Large Bird Bandaging & Protective Padding Lab for Raptors & Aquatic Birds)
Dr. Greg Massey graduated from the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine in 1989. He has worked as Hawaii’s endangered species veterinarian, a wildlife veterinarian at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine’s Wildlife Health Center, and now as an analytical consultant at the SAS Institute. Greg is also a diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners specializing in avian medicine. He has 20 years of experience providing medical care to aquatic birds and conducting research on their husbandry and medical treatment.

Wendy Massey
(Large Bird Bandaging & Protective Padding Lab for Raptors & Aquatic Birds)
Wendy has been rehabilitating aquatic birds for more than 20 years. She also specializes in emergency responses involving animals and has responded to over 100 incidents around the world. She has designed and supervised the construction of numerous aquatic bird rehabilitation facilities and created the Louisiana oiled bird rehabilitation center during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico with the capacity to care for 2,500 birds.

Dr. Mintcy Maxham
(Songbird Medicine & Critical Care, Songbird Bandaging / Splinting/ Supportive Care Lab)
Dr. Mincty Maxham graduated from NC State College of Veterinary Medicine in May 2012. She worked as a volunteer, intern, and rehabilitation supervisor for the Piedmont Wildlife Center before vet school, and she is now serving as a volunteer veterinarian and consultant for the Triangle Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic.

Betty O'Leary
(Avian Physical Exam Lab, The Making of a Beak & Coping)
Betty has been working with raptors for 25 years. She worked 23 years at Carolina Raptor Center, and is now volunteering at Tuft's Wildlife Clinic in MA. She has cared for both the permanent resident birds used for education, and the birds in rehabilitation. She has a raptor banding permit and for 4 years she operated a hawk watch and raptor banding station during fall migration at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. She enjoys teaching others on raptor rehabilitation and care, and performing necropsies.

Toni O'Neil
(Introduction to the Rehabilitation of Eastern Gray Squirrels, Fluid Therapy, Open Forum)
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. Toni is president and a board member of WRNC.

MaryEllen Rogers
(Seabird Rehab)
MaryEllen developed the sea turtle nest protection project on Sullivans Island and volunteered at the SC Aquarium. One day a week, she volunteered at the SC Center for Birds of Prey. She is an environmental activist.
Mary Ellen bought the Sea Biscuit beach cottage on Oak Island as a rental investment in 2003. Then she moved in 2 years later.  She had retired from real estate and signed up as a volunteer at Ft Fishers Aquarium. She found no local facility for injured birds and decided to start one. She drove to the Morehead City area every week for over a year in order to gain shorebird experience. State and federal permits were received in March of 2007. Veterinary assistance is donated by local doctors. A team of transporters bring injured birds to the clinic. She returned to part time employment in order to support her new career in wildlife care. Donations finance the shelters day to day expenses and grants take care of capital improvements.

Dr. Lynsey Rosen
(Small Mammal Emergency & Critical Care)
Dr. Lynsey Rosen is a clinical veterinarian for the Exotic Animal Medicine Service at North Carolina State University. She received her veterinary degree from St. Matthew’s University and went on to complete a rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the University of Tennessee followed by an internship in exotic pet, zoological, and wildlife medicine at Oklahoma State University.

Dr. Korinn Saker
(Metabolic Bone Disease in Wildlife)
Dr. Korinn Saker is a boarded veterinary clinical nutritionist and director of the Nutrition Program at NCSU-CVM.  Her training has been in comparative species nutrition, with specific emphasis on critical care nutritional support.

Angela Santaniello
(Capture, Restraint and Transport of Large Birds)
Angela holds a bachelors degree in Urban Studies with a focus on non-profit management from Furman University.
Angela has served as the Rescue Coordinator for Carolina Waterfowl Rescue for the last several years. She triages thousands of calls and orchestrates rescues for hundreds of birds each year.  Angela has extensive field experience which includes handling and capturing birds as well as coordinating larger rescues.  
Angela teaches classes for the rescue as well as working in the rehabilitation department caring for injured birds.

David Scott, DVM
(Raptor Medicine Clinical Cases, Emergency and Critical Care Support for Injured Raptors, Large Bird Bandaging & Protective Padding Lab for Raptors & Aquatic Birds)
Dr Scott graduated from the veterinary school at the University of Illinois in 1997.  He is currently the staff veterinarian at the Carolina Raptor Center in Charlotte. He recently published “The Handbook of Raptor Rehabilitation” and is the developer of the RaptorMed patient management system. Dr. Scott is a current board member of WRNC.

Walter Sturgeon
(Keynote Address)
Walter Sturgeon is the retired Deputy Director of the NC State Museum of Natural Sciences and considered an expert on arctic nesting birds and cranes. Walter maintains a captive population 60 cranes of 7 species for conservation, education and research. He has been a team member of Operation Migration for the past 9 years and serves as member of their non-profit Board of Directors.

Jackie Wylie
(Basic Cottontail Rehabilitaton for the Beginner)
Jackie has her NC Wildlife permit for small mammals. She has been rehabilitating small mammals since 2007. Jackie is Secretary and Director at Large, with an emphasis on fundraising and special events, with Wildlife Welfare, Inc. Jackie works full time with Nationwide Insurance where she is a field underwriter.