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 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.

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.

Secretary, 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.

Treasurer, 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.

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.

Scholarship & Grant Committee Chair

Maggie has been a licensed NYS wildlife rehabilitator for 25 years, specializing in small mammals, game birds, and especially opossums. Additionally, she holds Federal, USDA and NYS LCP permits. She offers workshops to the public on wildlife rehabilitation and wildlife education programs to a variety of youth and adult groups, often utilizing one of her education opossums, which she holds under her LCP license. Maggie has also been actively involved in human/wildlife conflict resolution regarding coyote and fox. Additionally, she has developed a long standing interest in the ethical dilemmas that licensed wildlife rehabilitators face.

Currently, she is a consultant to a not-for-profit organization that provides educational programs and psychological and personal counseling to its resident adolescents, all of whom have developmental or behavioral challenges.  Her role is to help them develop a Wildlife Program as an integral component of their Animal Assisted Intervention initiative. 

Maggie earned a BA degree in psychology and special education and a NYS Teaching certification from Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, NY. She is a current member of NYSWRC and NWRA and is currently on the NYSWRC Board of Directors and previously served from 2013-2015. She resides in Carmel, New York (Putnam County, Reg. 3).

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.

Dr. Nina Schoch is the Executive Director of the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation, and has studied loons in New York’s Adirondack Park since 1998. She has a veterinary degree from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, a master’s degree in Natural Resources/Wildlife Management from Humboldt State University, and a bachelor’s degree in Biology-Behavioral Ecology from Cornell University.

Dr. Schoch practiced small animal medicine in New York’s Adirondack Park from 1991-2002 and has been a licensed wildlife rehabilitator since the mid-1980s, and enjoys wildlife photography, paddling, cross-country skiing, quilting, and knitting. She is a member of numerous conservation and wildlife health related organizations, and has written many scientific and lay articles about the results of the Adirondack loon research.

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.

She has been actively involved with the Board of Directors of NYSWRC since January 2001 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.

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.