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Louise Shimmel, Executive Director, Louise@eRaptors.org founded and manages the day-to-day operations of CRC. A state and federally licensed rehabilitator since 1985, Ms. Shimmel has substantial experience in wildlife rehabilitation, has participated in all the Skills Seminars offered by the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (IWRC), done short externships at the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota School of Veterinary Medicine, completed the radiographic certification class required by the state, and worked closely with local veterinarians on wildlife cases.

She has substantial non-profit administration experience, including four years as president and/or executive director of a general wildlife rehabilitation organization which, during her tenure, saw a 15-fold increase in average annual income, an increase in annual patient load from 100 to 2000 animals, and established a central care facility. Ms. Shimmel has eighteen years experience in presenting educational programs for all age groups.

She has a BA (Stanford) in Drama & English and an MBA (University of Chicago Graduate School of Business) in finance and accounting; several years of business experience including four years as an international commercial banking officer for one of the nation's largest banks; as well as substantial writing and editing experience.

Ms. Shimmel served for seven years on the board of directors (two as president) of IWRC, the primary professional association in the field; has served for fifteen years as the assistant or an associate editor of The Journal of Wildlife Rehabilitation, for five years been an instructor of IWRC's Basic Skills class, teaching classes in the western US and Canada; and has presented conference papers and authored articles on emaciation protocol for raptors, blood transfusions, and other topics. Locally, Ms. Shimmel was co-founder and first president of Oregon Wildlife Rehabilitation Association, and assisted the state Department of Fish & Wildlife to improve standards for wildlife care by re-writing the state licensing exam.

Laurin Huse, Assistant Director, Laurin@eRaptors.org

This position was funded for the first three years by the generous support of the Kinsman Foundation.

Laurin has been with Cascades Raptor Center for 6 years, spending one year as a volunteer and demonstrating a remarkable dedication to the birds and the work we do. To 'reward' her, we kicked her upstairs . giving her the title of Assistant Director and 'doubling' her salary. In 2002, however, we were able to get her position funded as an AmeriCorps volunteer, and in 2003, with a grant from the Kinsman Foundation.

Her responsibilities include volunteer coordination (finalizing our volunteer manual, volunteer recruitment, orientation and training, scheduling, appreciation), event management (particularly our annual Earth Day Open House), and the training and enrichment of our bird 'ambassadors' - our non-releasable permanent resident education birds. She is also an excellent rehabilitator - having taken the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council two day Basic Skills class on her own, and then, with our help, some of their advanced skills seminars, and state certification training for taking x-rays.

Laurin has an eclectic background, growing up in Fairfax, Virginia, but spending almost every summer with relatives on Kauai, Hawaii. She has attended the Savannah College of Art and Design, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts in Portland, studying primarily textile design and print making. She brings a great new artistic vision to much of what we do. She has her own letterpress business.

Having Laurin on staff has provided a fresh outlook on all that we do, a greater depth of management, another eye on the birds and ear for the volunteers, and a commitment of long term continuity for the organization.

Kit Lacy, Education Director, Kit@eRaptors.org

Special Thank You: Our sincere gratitude to the Ahrens Foundation for funding this position for the first two years.

Kit was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. After attending universities in Wisconsin, she and her soon-to-be husband Tim Greenfield, headed west to Oregon. She enrolled at the University of Oregon and began working in an ecology lab. She completed a master's degree in biology, specializing in communication and social behavior of iguanas, and currently teaches biology at Lane Community College.

Kit began volunteering at CRC in January of 2002, has taken the two-day IWRC basic skills class in wildlife rehabilitaton, is an animal care shift leader and has been part of the education team at CRC since its beginning. She especially loves training the birds as ambassadors to the public. She shares a special bond with Ki, the red-shouldered hawk, who Kit helped train. She also enjoys sharing her love of biology with the many visitors of all ages to the center. Kit will be contacting schools and other groups about our educational programs, and helping to develop new curriculum to meet school needs.