Our Board of Directors

President

Kelly was one of the founding members of the Southern Tier Wildlife Center, Binghamton, NY. In addition to holding a License to Collect and Possess to hold live animals for education, she has been a state and federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator since 1981 and has served on the NYSWRC Board of Directors for nearly as long. Kelly works part time for the Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve as an education assistant in Rensselaerville, NY. She does live education programs as “Wildlife Alive.”

Vice-President

Lauren is the Wildlife Center Director of Wildlife Center of Long Island in Huntington, New York. At WCLI, she oversees the care of 2,000 patients annually and twenty non-releasable educational animals. Lauren has been licensed as a New York State Wildlife Rehabilitator since 2007. Lauren is a NYS Licensed Euthanasia Technician and holds federal and state rehabilitation and education/exhibition licenses.

Lauren graduated from Connecticut College with a Bachelors Degree in Zoology in 2006 and obtained her Master’s degree in General Education from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY in 2008. While Lauren’s love for the coastal habitats surrounding Long Island is deep, part of her heart will always be in the North Country!

Lauren’s main role at NYSWRC is with planning and executing our annual conference and virtual seminars. She loves logistics and you’ll often find her at our conference registration table.

Outside of NYSWRC, Lauren enjoys spending time with her husband, toddler and her domestic animals. She enjoys rowing, exploring outdoors and dabbling in various (& unfinished) craft projects!

Vice-President

Sarah Holmes Bookbinder is a CWR and Class II RVS rehabilitator specializing in raccoons. She is the Executive Director and co-founder, along with her husband, Paul F. Bookbinder, DVM, DACVS, of the Charles N Gordon Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, a raccoon-only rehabilitation, medical and training microcenter in Earlville NY. The Bookbinders are co-authors of the 200+ page pdf of Gordon Wildlife's Raccoon Rehabilitation Protocols which has been downloaded by wildlife professionals in over 40 states and 8 countries. Gordon Wildlife offers internships and training programs and provides medical assistance to rehabilitators around the state. Sarah lectures in the offseason. She is particularly passionate about public outreach and helping potential rehabbers navigate the licensing process. In addition to her Class II RVS license, Sarah holds federal and educational licenses and currently serves as Chair of the NYSWRC RVS Committee.

Treasurer, Membership Director

Virginia Frati founded the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center Inc. in Hampton Bays, NY after a 23 year career as an Administrator with Suffolk County Department of Public Works.  She has a Class II Wildlife Rehabilitation License from New York State with RVS Authority, and a USFW Permit for the Rehabilitation of Migratory Birds.  Ginnie appeared in the March 2007 edition of People Magazine recognizing animal rescue heroes.  Her short story "Nice Bird" was published in the well-known Chicken Soup for the Nature Lover's Soul.

Secretary

Release Editor

Veronica currently works full time as the Executive Associate to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. After obtaining her Class I Wildlife Rehabilitation license she joined the SPCA’s Wildlife department in 2002 as a Volunteer. Prior to that, in 1999, she had joined the Messinger Woods Wildlife Care and Education Center as a volunteer for injured and recuperating wildlife and served as a board member for the organization for several years. She currently serves as a shift supervisor at the SPCA’s Wildlife Department.

Veronica has a Master of Science degree in Anthrozoology from Canisius College and is also involved in the Sustainability and Community Garden committee, an active group of multi-disciplinary faculty members, administrative staff and students. A strong advocate for the conservation and regeneration of wildlife habitat, Veronica is deeply aware of the inter-relatedness and inter-dependence of all living things and the necessity to protect ecosystems. Veronica is also the chapter coordinator of the Jesuit Honor society and continually promotes the Jesuit ideals of compassion for all living beings and the Pope’s “Laudato si’: On Care for Common Home”. She is a passionate advocate for the protection of all remaining natural habitats and the health of the planet as a whole.

W.I.N.G.S Initiative

Kate has a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy from Wheaton College, MA completing a capstone project on motivating conservation using philosophy which focused on NY grassland species. As an undergraduate student she studied environmental ethics for a semester in Bhutan and separate semester in Scotland. In 2024, Kate completed a Master's degree in Sustainable Communities from Northern Arizona University with a thesis focused on wildlife conservation and care communities, in particular wildlife rehabilitators. Kate currently works in Rensselaerville, NY at the Huyck Preserve, a land trust, nature preserve, and biological field station. Her interests include wildlife conservation, public education, community building, and environmental protection.

At NYSWRC, Kate helps to head up our W.I.N.G.S Initiative, a mentoring program for wildlife rehabilitators. Kate is also heavily involved in our annual conference planning as the main point of contact with our wonderful speakers for our Annual Conference!

Scholarship & Grant Committee Chair

Social Media Committee Chair

Lori has been a NYS licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator since 2018, acquiring a Class II license in 2021 and adding an RVS license on October 21st of 2022. She specializes in small mammals, with a special interest in fox, opossum, and cottontails. She enjoys offering educational opportunities to the public specifically on wildlife rehabilitation and how humans can safely and peacefully coexist with native wildlife. In addition to wildlife, she worked for a couple of years with native and exotic species for a program that provided educational experiences to the public. 

She has an Associates of Science degree and has nearly completed a Bachelor of Science in Human Services. Lori spent thirty-eight years working for nonprofits in the Human Services field in a variety of roles that enabled her to advocate for and support individuals with disabilities to meet their personal goals.  In March of 2021, she made the decision to seek early retirement to focus her time and resources on wildlife rehabilitation.

Matt has been with Hawk Creek Wildlife Center since 1992. Currently the Operations Manager, he is an experienced Class 2 wildlife rehabilitator, wild animal handler and trainer, with a degree in Biology from Buffalo State College. Matt is oil spill trained, chemical immobilization certified and has rabies vector certification. His credentials include being a board member of Hawk Creek Wildlife Center and The New York River Otter Project, Inc. He has acted as a guest naturalist on Princess Cruise lines and has presented papers at both the national and international level.

Matt oversees Hawk Creek‘s facilities, the barn owl propagation program, and animal care. Hawk Creek rehabilitates several hundred animals a year and permanently houses non-releasable birds of prey and other carnivores. Matt is also an environmental educator, reaching thousands of children annually. Hawk Creek currently presents over 2,500 educational programs in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. He is currently working on becoming a Falconer.

Amber has been involved with wildlife rehabilitation for 20 years. She started out in Ohio specializing in raccoons. Upon moving to New York she got her license here and eventually her RVS license. In addition to wildlife she has also worked as a zookeeper at The Wild Animal Park in Chittenango NY.

She holds a BA in psychology and German from Bowling Green State University as well as a Masters in Forensic Science from National University.

Kate has her Bachelor of Science in Biology and spent 18 years as a zookeeper of various exotic and native wildlife at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. She moved onto directing two programs at Clear Path for Veterans training service dogs and assisting Veteran families. Currently, Kate works as the Director of Programs at Associates for Training and Development, a nonprofit covering ME, VT, CT, NY, and PA helping mature adults return to the workforce.

Kate founded Mission Mayhem Wildlife Rehabilitation during the height of the pandemic to return to her passion for animals and their well-being. She primarily rehabilitates orphaned raccoons, working closely with the Charles N. Gordon Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.

Nat Smith LVT, CWR (they/them) is the Founder & Coordinator of Mutual Aid Wildlife Rehabilitation Center (MAWR), a project that rehabilitates wildlife and engages in popular education at the intersection of social and ecological justice. Their work focuses on reciprocity, community and kinship building and ecosystem solidarity, a concept that champions the interconnectedness of all beings, the necessity of the leadership of the marginalized and the decolonization of conservation. 

A short film about the work is linked here.

Nat became a wildlife rehabilitator in 2009 and became the first full time veterinary medical staff at Wildcare in San Rafael, CA where Nat worked for 6 years before moving back to New York and founding MAWR. Nat is also a NYS Master Naturalist and a counselor at Camp Fruit Fly in Corning NY, a summer camp for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, where Nat introduces the concept of queer ecology and the natural world as chosen family.

Nat serves as the Finance & Development Director for House of gg, a sanctuary space of rest and respite primarily for Black Transwomen, is Faculty at the Transgender Strategy Center (TSC) and is a Facilitator with A Bookkeeping Cooperative (ABC). Nat is the creator and co-editor of Captive Genders: Transembodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex, AK Press.

Nat stewards land in unceded Haudenosaunee territory in the Finger Lakes Region of upstate NY with their partner Jay, a dog, three cats and two snakes. Nat can often be found being weird in the woods, reading comics, hobby farming dahlias, playing cello and crocheting, but not all at once, maybe.

Melissa holds a BS in Conservation Biology from the College of Environmental Science and Forestry, as well as a graduate certificate in Wildlife Forensic Sciences from the University of Florida. She currently works in the field of Wildlife Health as a Research Support Specialist with the New York State Wildlife Health Program based at Cornell Wildlife Health Lab. Previously, Melissa worked in general, emergency/specialty, and exotic small animal medical practices, at a farmed animal sanctuary, and as a field technician for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, monitoring protected species with a focus on herpetofauna such as bog turtles and timber rattlesnakes.

 With diverse experience in the veterinary field, including advocating for and teaching good husbandry of exotic animals, Melissa is focused on the intersection between the illicit pet trade and native wildlife, particularly as it pertains to health. Additionally, she is a fairly newly fledged (2024) licensed wildlife rehabilitator, starting this journey with my beloved chelonians.

 Melissa’s background and professional tract have been instrumental in continuing to shape her personal beliefs about human-other animal interactions and the world that we all share. How we treat the earth and its inhabitants matters, and we should all make active, educated choices and live with intention.

Dr. Laura Jaworski grew up in Massachusetts and received her Bachelor's degree in Animal Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She graduated from Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in 2013 and moved to New York to practice small animal medicine.  Dr. Laura's volunteer work for wildlife rehabilitators deepened her interest in rehab and led to a special interest in birds of prey and orthopedics.  She became a falconer in 2017, a NYS wildlife rehabilitator in 2019, and a federal wildlife rehabilitator in 2022. 

Dr. Laura works with other rehabilitators, nature centers and falconers alike.  In her  free time, she enjoys participating in raptor education programs for the general public. 

Kyra began her animal care at age 7 with hermit crabs and hamsters, the gateway pets. From there, the critters got bigger and livelier and included dogs, cats, and rabbits. In middle school she started “Camp Chu-A-Lot” for local classroom pets such as guinea pigs, mice, rabbits, rats, and fish who needed a place to stay during the summer months (as she lived next to an elementary school). Kyra wanted to become a licensed rehabilitator so that she could care for the wildlife left with Sean Casey Animal Rescue where she was volunteering. At age 15, after her mother asked the NYSWRC registrar if she could please take the NYSWRC ABC course, she attended the conference. At age 16, she passed the NYS Wildlife Rehabilitator exam. Of note, the NYSWRC registrar initially thought the ABC course would be too gory for this 15 year old.

Kyra rehabilitates wildlife in her garage where she has set up an area especially for animals and have the ability to quarantine individuals if necessary. She specializes in caring for small mammals and marsupials. She has a Bachelors of Science in Zoology and works at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in Manhattan as the necropsy technician. She also helps with the exotics department when her schedule permits.