Symposium 2014 Speakers

John Althouse
(Producing Great Photography of Wildlife)
"Nice picture, got any more?" This question was posed to John Althouse in 1985 as he sat at his desk in Garden City, New York, serving on active duty in the Marine Corps as the 1st District Personnel Chief for Manpower. "Actually I do," he said. "Bring some in, and we'll take a look at them." After reviewing several of the images, the  Public Affairs Officer turned to John and said, "you have 'the eye,' and could make a living as a professional photographer. And so it began. Being camera ready became a compulsion and passion for John, marking his path as a recognized photo artist in Japan, throughout the United States and as a routinely requested Associated Press contributor, as well as, earning quite the share of awards for photographic excellence along the way. John began his professional career as a staff photojournalist at The Daily News in Jacksonville, North Carolina and currently holds the Photography/Multimedia Chief position. Although covering all that is newsworthy, which takes enormous time and effort during random hours of the day or night, he describes himself as an outdoor and environmental enthusiast. His earnest love for wildlife photography fuels his artistic side for which he continues to be acknowledged. Born and raised in southeastern Pennsylvania, he grew up experiencing both the urban and rural world, developing an appreciation for composition and a discerning eye to anticipate and capture life's fleeting moments. John presently resides in Jacksonville, North Carolina with his wife Linda who is a wildlife rehabilitator and WRNC Board member.

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.

Linda Bergman-Althouse
(Squirrel Ailments)
Linda began volunteering at the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter in Morehead City, pursuing her passion in wildlife conservation and rehabilitation, seventeen years ago. She achieved her certification as a state wildlife rehabilitator and continues to actively volunteer at OWLS, working clinic in rehabilitation, mentoring new volunteers and facilitating tour groups. Linda is proactively concerned with the loss of wildlife habitat due to progressive development in Onslow and its surrounding counties and regularly attends community and civic meetings to voice those concerns through education, as well as, rally support. Linda holds a Masters of Science degree in educational psychology and is currently contracted by the Department of Labor to facilitate transition workshops for exiting military members aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Marine Corps Air Stations New River & Cherry Point and Army Posts Fort Bragg, NC & Fort Hood, TX.
Linda grew up in rural Macon County, Illinois, is Eastern Illinois University Alumna, an author, a retired U.S. Marine, College Psychology Instructor, Industry Training Developer & Line Build Designer, Wildlife Rescuer and Rehabilitator, current board member and Past President of Wildlife Rehabilitators of North Carolina, Inc. and staunch advocate for animal rights and conservation of our natural resources.  Linda resides in Onslow County, North Carolina with her husband, John and five (indoor only) cats; Cybill, Kitty, Seven, Shadow and Frizbee.

Cathy Burns
(Flying Squirrels)
Cathy became a Certified Veterinary Assistant through Coastal Carolina Community College in Jacksonville in 2007.Shortly after that she started volunteering at Possumwood Acres Wildlife Sanctuary as she was taking the Wildlife Rehabilitation classes offered also through Coastal. When she finished the classes she became a State licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator in 2008 for mammals and reptiles. She continued to volunteer at PAWS first as a Rehabber then assisting with the education programs both on site and then off site. She now coordinates all of the programs and presents most of them. 
In 2012 she was awarded the Golden Rule Education Award 2012 for Onslow County.
Starting in 2010 she became the facilitator of the Possumwood Acres Facebook.
She has operated her own wildlife rehabilitation center out of her property in Richlands NC since 2009. In 2012 with the completion of cages she became a Federally Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator.
In 2012 she was hired as an instructor for the Wildlife Rehabilitation courses for CCCC in Jacksonville, NC through their Continuing Education program.  She has also co-hosted the Open Forum sessions at the last two WRNC symposiums

Jean Chamberlain
(Preventing Bird-Window Collisions, The Songbird Rehab Dilemma)
Jean and her husband have been rehabilitators for over 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 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 is now retired after a career in Information Technology.

Dr. Jim Craig
(Birds and Their Habitats Along the Crystal Coast, North Carolina Reptiles)
James R. Craig, PhD, is an emeritus professor of Geology at Virginia Tech where he taught for more than 30 years.  Although he is a geologist by education and experience, he is also an accomplished birder who has traveled extensively. He writes a wildlife oriented column “Notes from Nature” that appears weekly in
The Tideland News. He is also co-coordinator of the Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Protection Program and deals with endangered sea turtles throughout the year.

Laurel Degernes, DVM, MPH, Diplomate ABVP
(Lead Poisoning in Wild Birds)
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.

Ashley Emanuele
Ashley is a third year veterinary student at NC State University.  She is planning on specializing in exotic animal practice, and has a strong interest in wildlife medicine and rehabilitation.  She is the Co-President of the NC State Turtle Rescue Team, a 501( c)3 organization run by veterinary students dedicated to the care and release of injured wild turtles and other reptiles/amphibians.  

Mathias Engelmann
(Raising Barn Owls from Egg to Release)
Mathias is the Senior Rehabilitation Coordinator at the Carolina Raptor Center. His responsibilities include the daily care of rehab birds - feeding, treatments, and new admission exams. He designs and constructs many of the new flight and rehabilitation cages. He also instructs new volunteers and interns in their training programs, maintains banding records, and coordinates raptor food deliveries.

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.

Dr. Joni Gnyp
(Treating Raptor Wounds and Injuries, Falconry and Wildlife Rehabilitation)
Dr. Joni Gnyp went to the University of Minnesota for her undergraduate degree and North Carolina State University for her Veterinary Degree. She works full time in her mixed animal veterinary hospital in Rocky Point, and she operates a small, but thriving Raptor Rehabilitation Center out of the veterinary hospital. The Cape Fear Raptor Center provides surgical and medical care to raptors that benefit from specific treatments that are limited to a veterinary setting. Her vision for the future is to be a resource to local rehabilitators who have raptors that have extensive injuries with the goal to treat and repair, and then return them to the original rehabilitator.
In her “free time” she trains and competes with German Shepherd Dogs with her husband in the sport of Schutzhund (European Police Dog sport) and practices falconry as a licensed falconer along with her husband. She has a Quarter Horse named Pitch who carries her on many mountain adventures.

Jennifer Gordon
(Preventing Disease and its Spread)
Jennifer is a state and federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator and currently serves as the director for Carolina Waterfowl Rescue where 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.

Elizabeth Hanrahan
(Rehab Case Studies, Yipes! I'm Out of Feeder Insects, Getting Your Federal Permit)
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.

Christina Hildreth
(The Team Approach in Handling Wildlife Patients)
Christina is a Registered Veterinary Technician employed by Carolina Veterinary Specialists in Huntersville, NC. She has been working with Dr. Lauren Powers as the avian/ exotics service technician for 4+ years. Christina is a current board member of WRNC. Past work and volunteer experiences have been at Virginia Wildlife Center in Waynesboro, VA;  Professional Wildlife Internship at Disney's Animal Kingdom Veterinary Hospital in Orlando, FL; Small Animal Oncology/Nutrition Technician at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL; Community Practice Technician at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg, VA; and the Carolina Raptor Center in Huntersville, NC.

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.

Brent Lubbock
(Keynote address at banquet)
Brent Lubbock is the  Membership and Development Projects Manager of Sylvan Heights Bird Park. He is a graduate of East Carolina University where he majored in public relations and communications.  He has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows nationally and in the state of North Carolina, promoting Sylvan Heights.
Brent acquired a diverse knowledge of aviculture from his many years working at the Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Breeding Center, where he also developed several avian educational programs, including the Sylvan Heights First in Flight Educational Bird Program. His skillfulness in training birds was demonstrated in this program as well as his role as trainer for the BBC documentary “Flight of the Snow Goose”

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
(Wildlife Rehabilitation of Small Mammals, Fluid Therapy, Capture and Restraint of Small Mammals and Birds)
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.

Michelle Ray
(Basic River Otter Care)
Michelle Ray has been an active wildlife rehabilitator since 1994. She is an independent wildlife rehabber and typically cares for between 300 and 400+ mammals and reptiles annually from her home in Lincolnton. Michelle was a vet technician for over ten years and has served as Hospital Administrator at an animal hospital in Charlotte for the past 11 years. She also works with Grandfather Mountain, The Nature Museum and Discovery Place in Charlotte, providing them with wildlife advice, and caring for some of their wild charges.

Ann Rogers
(Raising Mealworms)
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 Triangle Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic. She works both in their clinic and helps with fund-raising.

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.

Sam Young, DVM
(Turtle Shell Repair Lab, Emergency and Critical Care)
Dr. Sam Young is the owner/veterinarian of Uncommon Creatures Mobile Veterinary Services, an exotic/zoo animal exclusive veterinary practice serving the greater Charlotte and Piedmont area.  Dr. Sam is also contract veterinarian for the Greensboro Science Center and Sciquarium and the new Sea Life Aquarium at Concord Mills.  Dr. Sam interned at the Wildlife Center at Tufts University for a year after receiving his DVM from NC State in 2011 and a BS in Zoology in 2005.

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.

Additional speakers will be added as the program is finalized and we receive the speaker bios.