As a co-founder of the Conservators Center, I have been involved at some level with every aspect of the facility's site development. As the Executive Director, I provide guidance toward the long-term success of our wildlife park.Our team worked together to develop infrastructure from the ground up, including animal care, educational programs, finance and donor management, communications, site development, administration, and construction and maintenance.The educational focus of our Center allows me to occasionally teach or facilitate adult educational courses and workshops on topics including husbandry of wild felids, case studies of veterinary issues with carnivores, the legal implications of changing ownership laws, and more.We participate in the animal welfare and education industries through our many collaborative efforts with universities, regulatory agencies and other NGOs around the world. We join and actively work to become leaders in reputable trade groups, and support other facilities and organizations with a similar vision.We have been involved in regulatory and legislative processes to ensure reasonable regulation of the species we keep. I served on a legislative study group and spoke to numerous legislative committees at state level. We also speak to county commissioners, health directors, and other officials regarding the creation and enforcement of regulations addressing animal welfare issues.I have consulted in the development of other facilities, assisted with facility dissolutions and animal placements, supervised animal transportation, and served as emergency fill-in staff at several locations.It is our belief that people within this industry must work together to preserve and manage the species we have, commit to protecting their remaining wild ecosystems, and serve the scientific community that allows us to better provide for these species both in situ and ex situ.

Co-Manager of a small private zoo housing a wide range of species including large and small felids, giraffe, Bactrian and Dromedary camels, Grevy's zebra, muntjac, mandrill, spider monkeys, Bennett's wallaby, capybara, ringtailed lemurs, nilgai, watusi cattle, ostrich and emu, scimitar-horned oryx, Asiatic bears, llama and other hoofstock, a full petting zoo, and many other species. Responsible for staff oversight, zookeeper duties for dangerous species, habitat maintenance, enrichment, emergency management, and providing assistance in other areas including visitors' services, gift shop, educational programming, and veterinary care as needed.

After serving for more than three years as a volunteer performing varied tasks including habitat construction, animal care, tour guiding, event planning and administrative jobs, I was hired to manage the office. I ran the day to day basic administrative needs of the organization, including all bookkeeping, and assisting with a wide variety of other tasks as needed. These miscellaneous tasks included animal transport, assisting with veterinary procedures, collecting information for grant proposals, helping a team prepare newsletters for mailing, training new volunteers in basic tasks, and assisting with construction projects. When need, I moved into working full time as a zookeeper for the collection of over 260 carnivores. During a time of major transition for the organization, I filled many roles as needed, learning a great deal about the husbandry of wild carnivores from birth to death, and about management of a non-profit organization.

I taught high school English and electives. Curricula included American, British and world Literature, writing, film studies, creative electives. Taught several levels from average to AP. Wrote curricula for the state of NC. Trained in AP Exam assessment, and took continuing education courses covering a wide range of topics including web page design, mythology, and testing assessment.