Gail B.

I wanted to be a veterinarian but needed experience working with vets. A friend was volunteering for the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota (WRC) and I got connected to The Raptor Center (TRC) through a college class. Both facilities were on the St. Paul Campus at the University of Minnesota. I started volunteering at a time when both organizations were relatively young and they needed help. I became hooked on wildlife behavior as well as the medical part of rehabilitation. I volunteered twice per week at TRC and the rest of the time I was not in class or not working I was at WRC. I learned a lot and am so thankful I got the experiences I did. Those two Centers connected me with the state wildlife rehabilitation organization and became a Board member and served for about 12 years. I learned a lot about educating wildlife rehabilitators through newsletters and conferences---no online content at all back in the 1980's and 1990's! I also started attending the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (NWRA) conferences. I have been to at least 30 conferences. I now present at NWRA almost every year. When my husband and I moved to northern Minnesota I applied and received my State and Federal permits. He was a Conservation Officer and told me that I "had" to get my permits because "who would he bring the injured animals to otherwise"? We moved back to the Twin Cities in 2007 so I could start a job at TRC as their Education Program Manager--overseeing all aspects of their Ambassador Animal program. IN 2018 I became the Program Coordinator for Partners for Wildlife a grant funded initiative through TRC that help wildlife rehabilitators to strengthen their competency, help build communities and build capacity in the sector.