Board of Directors

Kelly MartinPresident, Legislative and Ethics Committees Chair

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.”

Cheryl HoopleSecretary

Cheryl Hoople, NYSWRC Secretary
Cheryl is a licensed rehabilitator who has been with the Wildlife Department of the SPCA of Erie County since June of 1999. She is also a member of the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association. Cheryl has received her certificate for oil spill training and RVS training. In addition, she took the basic training for and joined EARS. She has been actively involved with the Board of Directors of NYSWRC since January 2002 and has assisted in the arrangements for the annual NYSWRC conference each year since that time. In 2003 Cheryl was nominated for and accepted the position of Secretary for NYSWRC.

Barbara HollandsVice President

Barbara has been a state and federally licensed Class II wildlife rehabilitator since 1988. Barb specializes in small mammals and rabies vector species. Barbara was the North East Regional Director for the Emergency Animal Rescue Service Disaster Response Team for nine years and responded to over seven hurricanes, including Katrina. She currently is a team responder for NYS, CODE 3 Associates, and a National FEMA Animal Disaster Response Liaison.
In addition, Barbara has a nuisance wildlife license, is certified for Chemical Immobilization, Oil Spill Training, and Rabies Vector Species. One of her tasks as a board member, in conjunction with the NYS DEC Special License Unit, is to conduct the NYS Rabies Certification Course each year.

Barb has a Masters of Science in Adult and Public Education with a Certification in Human Resource Management from Buffalo State College. She has been a Veterinary Technician since 1985 in multiple animal realms. She currently works for the Webster Police Department in the Animal Control Unit, at Rochester Community Animal Clinic as a surgery technician and an Associate Professor for Medialle College in Veterinary Science.

Scott MeachamTreasurer, By-Laws Committee Chair

Scott has been involved with Wildlife Rehabilitation since 2007, having volunteered at the SPCA Serving Erie County’s Wildlife Department and the Messinger Woods Wildlife Care and Education Center. He is a NYS Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator and a member of the National Wildlife Rehabilitation Association. His work at the SPCA Wildlife Department includes being a Shift Supervisor for over 10 years and also a participant in educational outreach activities involving wildlife throughout Western New York. Current projects include coordinating NYSWRC’s efforts to establish cooperative programs with similar rehab organizations in Belize.

Having earned a B.S. in Business Management from Penn State University and an MBA from the University at Buffalo, he serves as the Director of Business Operations for a large law firm in the Buffalo area. When not taking care of wildlife he spends a good portion of his free time flying around New York State as a licensed Private Pilot.

Eileen Hagerman

Eileen Hagerman first became involved in the field of wildlife rehabilitation in 1996 when she began volunteering at Volunteers for Wildlife, Inc. on Long Island. Eileen’s time volunteering at the center inspired her to head to school for Veterinary Technology. She graduated from LaGuardia Community College in 2002 with an Associate’s degree in Veterinary Technology.

In April of 2003, Eileen became the Wildlife Clinic Supervisor at Volunteers for Wildlife. In 2005, Eileen stepped into a new role as the organization’s Executive Director. During her seven year tenure as executive director, she was a key part of the successful move of Volunteers for Wildlife’s long-time home to a new property in Nassau County.

Eileen holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration in Veterinary Technology Management from SUNY Delhi as well as a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management from Stony Brook University. She is now a Veterinary Technician at an animal hospital. Eileen is an active weekly volunteer, rescue transporter and rehabilitator with Volunteers for Wildlife. She holds a Class I Wildlife Rehabilitation license and is an IWRC Certified Wildlife rehabilitator. Eileen joined NYSWRC’s Board of Directors in November, 2016.

Beverly Jones

Bev has been involved with wildlife rehabilitation since 1985. She began her wildlife work as a volunteer at the Ross Park Zoo and the Southern Tier Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Binghamton, New York. Bev attended SUNY Buffalo and obtained a BS degree in Environmental Science. She spent a year and a half at the Conservancy Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Naples, Florida and worked with a wide array of subtropical wildlife. Later, she had the privilege to work three summers as a hack site attendant for the Peregrine Fund. She graduated from Medaille College’s Veterinary Technician program in 1999. Bev was employed as a wildlife veterinary technician at the SPCA Serving Erie County from 2000 to 2018. Bev currently works as the Nature Program Coordinator for Pfeiffer Nature Center in Portville New York and volunteers for WildCare of Western New York.

Matt Zymanek

Matt Zymanek 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 The New York State Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, 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.

Virginia (Ginnie) Frati

Ginnie is the Executive Director and Founder of the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center in Hampton Bays, Long Island, New York. She is a retired secretary/administrator for the Suffolk County Department of Public Works. As well as being a board member for NYSWRC, she is also a member of the National Wildlife Rehabilitator’s Association, the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Association, and the East Hampton Group for Wildlife.

Ginnie has successfully completed both the IWRC’s Basic and Advanced Skills Seminars. She is a N.Y.S. Certified Euthanasia Technician, N.Y.S. Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator (Class 2) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Permit Holder for the Rehabilitation of Migratory Birds. Ginnie is also a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Permit Holder for Possession of Live and Dead Specimens.

Ginnie’s story “Nice Bird,” regarding a goose she once rehabilitated, appeared in the top selling book Chicken Soup for the Nature Lover’s Soul.” She was also featured in an article in People Magazine regarding animal heroes.

Lauren Schulz

Lauren is the Wildlife Center Supervisor of Volunteers for Wildlife, Inc in Locust Valley, Long Island, New York. At Volunteers for Wildlife, she oversees the care of 2,000 patients annually and thirty 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.

Terri MurphyNominating Committee Chair

Terri has been a state and federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator since 1999, earning her Class II license in 2001. She began her love of wildlife after taking wildlife rehabilitation courses at Erie Community College, taught by Michael Olek of Messinger Woods. She was instantly hooked and spent three years as a shift manager for the new Messinger Woods Wildlife Hospital.

After several years of rehabbing squirrels, bunnies, woodchucks, possums, hawks and owls, she rehabilitated her first fawn and never looked back. She now specializes in white-tailed deer and the Virginia opossum.

She has been on the NYSWRC Board since 2006, is a member of NWRA and the National Opossum Association. She has been the neonatal care specialist for the Lakeshore Humane Society since 2008, is a foster mom for the Erie County SPCA, and a board member for the Tango Fund, which was established in 2012 and offers complimentary physical therapy for animals in need.

Terri is a graduate of Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations and spent 24 years as office manager for the Williamsville Teachers Association and Executive Assistant for the New York State United Teachers.

Jennifer TopolskiInformation & Education Committee Chair

Jenny has been a NY-licensed rehabber since 2014, and received a Class II license in 2017. She volunteers with Urban Utopia Wildlife Rehabilitation primarily in an administrative and educational capacity. She works full time as a jeweler and is also very involved with the small business community in NYC. She lives in Manhattan and loves to explain to city-dwellers how much wildlife there really is in our urban space, and how to appropriately interact with them.

She was pleased to join the NYSWRC board in 2017.

Rebecca Pou

Rebecca has been a licensed Class I Wildlife Rehabilitator since 2015. She had pet birds as a child and credits the humble rock dove with setting her on her wildlife rehabilitation journey. After obtaining a BA in English and American Literature at NYU and an MSLIS from Pratt Institute, she found herself drawn to the birds trying to make it in the big city. She considers herself lucky to get to work with urban wildlife and many migratory species as a rehabber at the Wild Bird Fund in Manhattan. Professionally, she is an academic archivist.

Cathy Wolfe

Cathy is a Wildlife Rehabilitator who has been licensed in New York, Australia, Colorado, her home state. She was also licensed for RVS while working in Colorado. She has been working in the field of wildlife rehabilitation since 2005, and has a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies with a specialization in Conservation from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Cathy started her wildlife career at Greenwood Wildlife rehabilitation center in Colorado where she helped shape their current program. She was the first Mammal Nursery Manager and her job included training volunteers and staff, writing protocols, and releasing countless numbers of successfully rehabilitated wildlife.

Since then Cathy has worked, volunteered, and completed internships at other wildlife centers such as Wild Bird Fund (NY), The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota, and The Progressive Animal Welfare Society (WA- her current home). Cathy is a former board member and current committee member of NYSWRC.

Jean AldenMembership Committee Chair

Jean’s involvement with wildlife rehabilitation began in 1993 when she became a volunteer at the Buffalo Zoo in the Rare and Nocturnal Mammal Department. In 2001 she completed the Bird Banders training course from the Braddock Bay Bird Observatory and in 2002 received her oil spill training certification. Jean was a volunteer shift supervisor at the Erie Co. SPCA’s Wildlife Hospital for 19 years. She has been state licensed since 1999 and received her US Fish and Wildlife license in 2018. Jean has a BA degree in Elementary Education from the University of South Carolina and prior to her involvement in wildlife rehabilitation she was a teacher and assistant principal. Jean has a special interest in rearing orphaned wood ducks, turkeys and cottontail rabbits.

Veronica Serwacki

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.

Advisory Board

Andrea L. Sammarco, ESQ.

Andrea L. Sammarco’s practice is primarily concentrated in the area of civil litigation and counseling. For over 20 years, she has assisted small businesses, municipalities and individuals in the areas of labor and employment, contracts, healthcare and benefits law.

Andrea was previously affiliated with Hiscock & Barclay, LLP, in the firm’s litigation department, before leaving to form The Sammarco Law Firm, LLP. She is admitted to practice in New York as well as the United States District and Bankruptcy Courts for the Western District of New York.

Andrea is past Chair of the Erie County Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Committee, and a regular presenter at CLE accredited regional and statewide conferences on topics of general interest, including alternative dispute resolution, labor and employment, and other issues. In addition to being a long time member of the Erie County Bar, Andrea has held memberships in the the Labor and Employment Relations Association of New York, the New York Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association, the New York Sate Bar Association. Andrea is also a certified mediator through the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Andrea received her law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo, with a Certificate of Concentration in State and Local Government Law. Andrea served as Attorney for the Town of Pendleton, New York from 2004 – 2013. More recently, Andrea serves as local counsel for class-actionwage and hour litigation on behalf of Buffalo Bills cheerleaders.

She is currently the Chair of the Board of Directors of Niagara Hospice, Inc., as Board Member of The Hospice & Palliative Care Group. Inc., and as Advisory Board Member and legal counsel to the New York State Wildlife Rehabilitation Council.

Andrea is a New York State licensed wildlife rehabilitator, and has volunteered for numerous charitable organizations, including the Bless the Beasts Foundation, the Erie County SPCA Wildlife Department and others, and served as in-house counsel for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a national animal rights/welfare organization. She lives in Clarence, New York with her husband Scott.

George V. Kollias, DVM, PhD

Diplomate – American College of Zoological Medicine

Jay Hyman Professor of Wildlife Medicine, emeritus

Research/Clinical Interests
Wildlife Health and Conservation, specifically Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology, Reintroduction Medicine

Education and Training
1982 University of California, PhD
1974-1976 University of California Davis, Residency in Wildlife/Zoological Medicine
1972 University of Missouri, DVM
Westcott Hospital for Animals, Detroit, MI, Intern, Small Animal Practice

Board Certification
American College of Zoological Medicine

Karen Moran, DVM

Dr. Moran received her degree in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University in 1995. After graduation, she worked in a small animal practice until 2004, when she began work at the Erie County SPCA. Dr. Moran is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, and she works closely with the wildlife department at the SPCA. In her “free time,” she cares for turtles and snakes at home where she lives with her husband and son and an ever-changing array of animals. Dr. Moran was the recipient of the 2008 Veterinarian of the Year Award.

Noha Abou-Madi, DVM, MSc

Noha Abou-Madi graduated from the University of Montréal, Québec, Canada, completed a residency in anesthesiology then in zoological medicine at the University of Florida. She worked at Silver Springs Inc. in Ocala, Florida and at Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida, before accepting a position at Cornell University where she is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences in the Zoological Medicine Section. Her clinical work is centered on conservation medicine, integrating the practice of zoological and wildlife medicine to the training of students and residents in this field. Her research interests are mainly clinical and aimed at improving the health of species of wild and captive animals.

Diplomate – American College of Zoological Medicine

Clinical Associate Professor, Section of Zoological Medicine
Section Chief of Zoological Medicine
Research/Clinical Interests
Anesthesia
Elephant Medicine

Education and Training
1989-1991 University of Florida, Residency in Zoological and Wildlife Medicine
1988-1989 University of Florida, Combined program: Third year residency in Veterinary Anesthesiology and Training in Zoological and Wildlife Medicine
1986-1988 University of Florida, Residency in Veterinary Anesthesiology
1986 University of Montreal, Master of Sciences (Veterinary Clinical Sciences)
1984 University of Montreal, DVM

Board Certification
2004 American College of Zoological Medicine