I am a 71-year-old married woman, retired from a successful career, a survivor of two bouts with cancer, mother of three plus two stepchildren and grandmother of 12.

Seven years ago, I started the process to become a wildlife rehabilitator and today, I am licensed by the state and federal government and own and operate a non-profit wildlife rescue facility.  We learned to care for many species of wildlife but decided to specialize in opossum.  These misunderstood little critters are gentle, do not carry disease and are not biters.  They are so unique – almost magical – from birth to death.

In addition to the work of rescue, rehabilitation, and release, we present public educational programs for both adults and children.  We also offer workshops at our facility for rehabbers, techs, ACO’s and volunteers.

I prefer to mentor in-person at least once and provide support by phone, email, text, etc.

During covid I mentored using short videos followed with discussion.  It’s not the same as in-person learning – in my opinion -you really need a hands on experience.

During covid I wrote and published a children’s book titled From Pouch to Couch: Why Lavender the Opossum Lives in a House.  I wanted children who meet our opossums to understand wild animals are not pets.  The book has lots of information about opossums that all ages can enjoy.  “I love teaching both children and adults about opossums.”