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 Mollie Hogan - Founder and President
In high school and through my 20s I was a professional singer in numerous musical ensembles performing in rock, folk, & country/western bands in Montana and California. My interest in becoming a professional in the wild animal field began in 1980 when I toured the Moorpark College Teaching Zoo for the first time and came face-to-face with a mountain lion. I was hooked! As a student at Moorpark, I worked with that very mountain lion as well as many other wild and exotic birds, mammals, and reptiles. Upon graduation, I moved to Sedona, Arizona, where I managed an animal shelter for a year. When an employment opportunity opened up at the Los Angeles Zoo’s Cat Show, I moved back to California for my dream job. We raised and trained a wide variety of cats for the show: ocelot, bobcat, lynx, caracal, serval, clouded leopard, cheetah, and two very special mountain lions named Phoenix and Sage. During my time at the L.A. Zoo, the “Cat Show” evolved into a native animal presentation called “Wild in the City.” When the show was suddenly terminated in 1993, the animals were relocated to the Moorpark facility where, at the time, I was also a part-time instructor. I applied for the proper permits and then founded the Nature of Wildworks Wildlife Center relocating the animals to our current facility.
Wildworks is truly a dream career, and our organization now provides lifelong care for fifty non-releasable wild animals, encompassing 17 different species, that participate with our staff and volunteers in educational outreach programs for children and adults throughout Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.
In addition to Wildworks, I recently founded Cat Business, a behavioral consulting company providing specialized training and problem-solving services for felines and their humans. Check us out on the web at www.catbusiness1.com.
mollie@natureofwildworks.org
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 Kirstyn Teran - Animal Care Supervisor and Volunteer Coordinator
Hello! My name is Kirstyn and I'm originally from Naugatuck, CT. I like sunny days, drawing, and I absolutely love animals! My involvement in the animal field began when I volunteered at Mystic Aquarium and the Institute for Exploration as a docent, where I was active in exhibit interpretations and the Whale and Penguin Enrichment Teams. I decided at that point that I really wanted to work with animals and ended up moving to sunny California to attend the Exotic Animal Training and Management Program at Moorpark College where I was given the amazing opportunity to work with a variety of animals including a mountain lion, crane, hawk, Capuchin monkeys, coatimundis, llamas, sheep, water buffalo, a cockatoo, tamarin, along with various reptiles and invertebrates, and my favorite the Abdim's stork! After graduation I received a job at Woodland Hills Private School acting as the Assistant Animal and Nature Specialist, taking care of their 60 barnyard animals and teaching classes to their Pre-School and Elementary students. Now I find myself at the Nature of Wildworks and I can't be more excited to be a part of the facility and, of course, to be with the animals!
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--- Volunteers ---
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 Regan Nelson - Tara the red tailed hawk brought me to Wildworks. In 1992 a friend told me about a wildlife presentation she had seen, and the beautiful red-tailed hawk that was part of it. I invited the wildlife group to my classroom and she was right. The hawk was amazing. I had never been so close to a wild creature, and my students were in awe of her and the other animals.
When that program closed down a few years later, I found Mollie and the Nature of Wildworks. She invited me to meet her and the animals… and I felt like I had found my very own heaven. I met bobcats and mountain lions and servals, and, of course, Phoenix the mountain. The most special part of that day was seeing beautiful Tara the red-tailed hawk, who was now with Wildworks.
From then on, Mollie brought Tara and other animals into my classroom. Soon we arranged yearly programs for over a dozen other classrooms. It was so important to me for these urban kids to have a personal experience with the animals and to be able to connect with nature.
Three years ago I retired from teaching. I’ve enjoyed helping with Wildworks events. The most fun is being able to do enrichment with a couple of the animals. When I met Bobby the Bobcat, it was love at first sight. And, since I can’t take any of them home, I sponsor two of the animals.
I feel truly blessed to be a part of Wildworks, to know Mollie (I always tell her she is my hero) and all the others who make Wildworks possible. And, always, it’s the animals. Being around them makes my heart smile.
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 Sol Spitz - I am an animal behavioralist working with patterns of behavior. Actions performed more than once are patterns and can evolve into habits. Patterns of behavior are influenced by the physical balance of the animal. I have developed programs for horses, dogs, and the human component in the equation. My skills-orientated learning programs clarify mind and body unity, using rhythm and direction to develop coordination and confidence.
I moved to Tucson, Arizona, in 1977 with the determination to learn as much as possible about horse behavior. There I met Norme Sande who had an easy rapport with horses, including shoeing them, doing ranch work, and riding in general. Norme introduced me to Ray Hunt, who is well known for Natural Horsemanship. Ray’s mentor was Tom Dorrance, who along with his brother Bill, are considered to be the godfathers of the modern Natural Horsemanship movement. Ten years later I attended horse shoeing school in northern California and continued to be mentored by Tom.
When Moon, the gray wolf, came to Wildworks as a shy young animal, I decided to use my training expertise to teach him the skills he needed to be sociable and travel to outreach programs. It was a long process, but, Moon became one of Wildworks’ most spectacular program ambassadors.
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 Peter Haberl - Although I was born in New York, my German parents and I moved back to Germany when I was just over a year old, and there I spent most of my youth. In 1982 I moved back to the U.S., first arriving in San Francisco. I traveled around California for a while, then settled in Venice, which I found to be too crowded (and dangerous). To avoid the crowds, I moved to Corral Canyon in Malibu, where it was too quiet and 20 minutes to the nearest market! Finally, I ended up in Hollywood, got married, and started my first volunteer job in 1986 at the Ethiopian Refugee Center in South Central LA.
There are no speed limits in Germany (where I learned to drive), so when I lost my license in California to speeding tickets, my wife and I moved to India for a year. We both loved to travel and moved again to Thailand for two years, where we explored southeast Asia. When we came back to Hollywood, the Ethiopian Center had closed down so I began volunteering at Meals on Wheels, and I’ve been working with them for seven years now. I had saved an advertisement from the L.A. Times that said Wildworks was looking for volunteers. I’ve always had pets and love animals, so in January 2006 I called The Nature of Wildworks and signed up. But I didn’t work with animals: I trimmed trees—lots of them--for about a year! It was a very worthwhile project, though, because I helped to greatly reduce the threat of fire in the oak forest surrounding the animal compound. One of my favorite animals at Wildworks is Foxy the fennec fox, and my best project so far has been building a brand new and much larger enclosure for little Foxy.
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 Heather Bourse – I have always loved animals and I grew up in the San Fernando Valley, where I had many wildlife encounters in my backyard and where I first experienced animal husbandry in highschool. I went to the Los Angeles Zoo Magnet Center and in my senior year I was fortunate enough to have a class that involved helping zoo keepers care for the Tapirs, Sumatran Tigers, Snow leopards and Flying foxes. Along with animals, I am interested in educational outreach and exhibition design. I have a B.A. in History and I plan on getting a Masters in Museum Studies. I hope to one day work in a museum or learning institution where I can help with educational programing and outreach. After receiving my B.A from Cal State Northridge I started volunteering at The Nature of Wildworks in 2009. Volunteering at The Nature of Wildworks has been a very rewarding experience. The animals and people at Wildworks are terrific and I am thrilled that I am able to combine my interest in education through outreach programs with my love of animals at Wildworks.
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 Lin Tanenbaum – I am a native of Southern California and grew up in the San Fernando Valley, when there were still orange groves on the next block. I have always loved all animals. Growing up we had a dog, a duck and two chickens. Later on cats were added to our family. I actually started learning about and working with exotic and native wildlife as a Docent at the Los Angeles Zoo in 1997. Two years later I became a volunteer at a large wildlife sanctuary where I became proficient at pulling poop and changing water for many large cats. I also learned about enrichment and animal handling there. After 10 years at that location, I discovered that the Nature of Wildworks had a volunteer program. In February of 2010 I came for an orientation and have never left. I retired from the working world in May of 2010, and can now spend more time with the animals. At Wildworks I have done cage cleaning, enrichment and animal handling at outreach programs. I truly enjoy giving out enrichment and doing outreach programs. I feel very fortunate to be at Wildworks and, even though I came on the wildlife scene late in life, I very much appreciate the opportunity to learn about and interact with these wonderful animals. I like the opportunity to share information about wildlife and the Wildworks residents with the people I meet, and teaching them about coexisting with wildlife.
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 Catherine Morris - I have always been enthralled with animals growing up, and I blame my dad! When he was younger he wanted to be the curator of the San Diego Zoo! I guess he passed his love of animals down to me. I grew up in Pacific Palisades and lived in San Luis Obispo for 3 years while attending Cal Poly. I am currently switching my studies from engineering to biology. I love science and genetics!
I have a special interest in reptiles and have been working with and studying them for the past 6 years. My obsession started with my first crested gecko named Bink and it rapidly grew. I have worked at multiple reptile stores, and many people referred to my apartment in SLO as a mini zoo. I have kept or cared for almost all main reptiles kept as pets, as well as a few more exotic species. I have participated in many field herping trips to track down and photograph anything we could find, but mainly rattlesnakes. Currently, I own a beautiful Dumeril’s Boa, 6 ball pythons, and 24 leopard geckos. I have run somewhat of a rescue for leopard geckos and have rehabilitated a few dozen. As I write this, I have my latest rescue, Coral, sleeping in my sweatshirt hood.
Although reptiles are my specialty, I also love furry critters, and I own a chinchilla, Michael Meyers. I have always liked sugar gliders and fennec foxes, so I was very excited to be able to work with Foxy at Wildworks. I am hoping that this volunteer experience will help broaden my knowledge of wild and exotic animals.
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 Dustin Zdenek - I'm proud to say that I was born and raised in Agoura Hills, CA. My grandfather was one of two doctors in the San Fernando Valley back in the day when they did house calls. My father grew up in the Valley also and, as a young man, had quite a variety of animals including some exotics. Many of my family members share my love and passion for people and animals. Some travel the world to help in relief programs and others help save endangered species. I guess helping others in need of help is in the Zdenek genes!
I’m especially fond of African servals and used to own a Savannah cat. That’s how I learned about Wildworks. Savannahs are the offspring of a serval and a domestic cat and are legal to have as pets. Like the serval, these hybrid cats are spotted and when a friend saw my Savannah she asked if I’d ever been to The Nature of Wildworks. Soon after that I connected with the organization and have been a donor since 2006. Now, as an on-site volunteer, I also enjoy giving my time to help care for all the animals, including Boxer and Happy Cat, the resident African servals.
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 Lorie Zerweck - I was born and raised in northern California into a family affectionately referred to as “The Zerweck Zoo.” Animals have always been an important part of my life. I currently work as a freelance producer/production manager in television and film, but it’s the furry, feathered and finned creatures that are my true passion. In 2005, I created a non-profit animal newspaper, The Pet Gazette, promoting animal wellness, awareness, and rescue for both domestic and wild animals. Staying true to my family’s nickname, my home is often the recipient of orphaned raccoons, kittens, and other critters for surrogate care as well as housing my own brood of furry children. Over the past several years I have volunteered with many organizations, but the animals at the Nature of Wildworks have stolen my heart. I am honored to be part of such an extraordinary group of creatures, big and small, wild and tame, two-legged and four; a place where I can share a green bean with a fox, give a raccoon a rub, or listen to a puma purr. Being at Wildworks is an incredibly exquisite experience and much more rewarding than the red carpet!
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 Jess Nikolai -
Hi there! I was born and raised in Santa Clarita, CA. I first started working with exotic animals at the Placerita Canyon Nature Center in Newhall, CA, where I performed animal presentations and other educational programming, lead guided nature hikes, and cared for a collection of California wildlife (including mammals, birds of prey, reptiles, amphibians, and arachnids). I also spent some time at William S. Hart Park (also in Newhall) working with their barnyard animals and a herd of bison. I am a 2011 graduate of the Exotic Animal Training and Management program at Moorpark College. There I was lucky enough to work with a variety of exotic animals (such as Red-handed tamarins, a Moluccan cockatoo, and sugar gliders) as well as more California natives (my favorites!), including a mountain lion, bobcat, coyote, raccoon, and Golden eagle. I am a licensed falconer and have experience hunting with red-tailed hawks. I've also done wildlife rehabilitation, focusing mainly on Virginia opossums (my all time favorite animals!). I love spending time in the outdoors and am an avid hiker/nature lover. I am also currently pursuing a degree in Wildlife Biology. I love my job as Animal Care Supervisor and Volunteer Coordinator, and it is such a privilege being able to work around such amazing animals and people!
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 Patrick Hogan - I’m Mollie’s brother’s son, Patrick Hogan, which I suppose would make me her nephew. I began volunteering here at the very young age of 10 and have been doing it ever since in my  spare time. I am now 19 and my girlfriend, Jessica, and I live up near Yosemite. Now we can both volunteer when we visit. Two for the price of one!
I’ve always had cats and dogs and have a snake named Bob but, when I came to Wildworks, I got the chance to raise a baby bobcat (Thunder) and coyotes (Trickster and Mesa). I’ve helped my Aunt Mollie with the shows and was the narrator of a cat training video. Now Jessica and I help her on the computer. I don’t have a favorite animal, since they’re all great. I’m also drummer, like my dad, and have played in various bands. My dad and I have side-by-side drumsets in his garage and we practice together—very loudly!
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 Lon Cohen - I moved from New York to LA in the late 70’s to pursue a career as a hard rock guitar player and although I worked with many “wild” animals in that field, my true passion has always been to work with “real” animals. Growing up, I kept and raised many critters including boas, pythons, chameleons, caimans, geckos and amphibians to name a few but was always drawn to animals of all kinds. One of my greatest joys is traveling to remote locations and experiencing these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat. When I heard of the great work Mollie was doing with the Nature of Wildworks, I jumped at the chance to support her and to work with the animals at her compound in Topanga Canyon. Currently, I own and run my own music business in North Hollywood, but my favorite part of the week is when I volunteer at NOW… Have you ever heard a mountain lion purr?
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 Nathan Smith - I'm from San Luis Obispo, CA and moved to Simi Valley last year to take animal science classes while applying to the EATM program at Moorpark college. I have always loved animals and have known since I was little that I wanted to work with exotic animals in captivity. I have had many pets including a bengal cat (50% asian leopard cat, 50% tabby) and also have a green tree python. I volunteered at a zoo and an animal shelter back home and was looking for somewhere around Los Angeles county to get some more animal experience and found The Nature of Wildworks. After looking at their website and seeing the animals and reading their bios I was very excited to volunteer. I haven't been here at Wildworks long but it's a really great place and helping and working with the animals has been an awesome experience! I really like all the animals at Wildworks but Pirate the mountain lion and the raccoons Ron, Harry and Hermione are probably my favorites.
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 Hannah McCoy - I am a Licensed Veterinary Technician originally from Atlanta, Georgia. Although I enjoy the medical stuff, I really like working in behavior modification and training more. I have "switched gears" and currently work with owners who have pets with behavioral problems, and also do pet photography. I love watching the "light bulb" moment when an animal gets it! I really love photography, music, exploring around outside, bath products and green tea ice cream. :) I think Asian Elephants are the bomb, and I hope everyone knows they are going extinct, and tries their hardest to get involved in conservation efforts to save them!
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 Vanessa Vandawalker - I was born and raised in Ohio but relocated to Venice, CA in October of 2011. I moved to California for a change of pace as well as to reconnect friends and family who made the move before me. Animals have always been an important part of my life and I can’t think of a time that I didn’t have a least one pet. I’ve cared for everything from dogs to iguanas but have always most identified with cats. Once the dust had settled from my cross-country move, I realized I’d been spending too much time thinking about “my plan” and wanted to give back. My love of big cats and an internet search led me to Wildworks. Now my Sunday morning highlights include feeding Pirate, the sweetest Mountain Lion in the World, hanging with Boxer the friendly Serval and cleaning up after Merry the curious Goat. Being among the animals and people at Wildworks is such an honor. Without this experience I would have never known the joy conjured by the loud purr of a happy Mountain Lion.
Thanks Wildworks!
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 Steve Levinson - My full-time job is being a manufacturer’s rep in woman’s apparel. I’ve always been an animal lover and have a real fascination for exotic animals. One of my clients is Topanga Home Grown and when I stopped in to do business with them one day they told me all about Wildworks. I started out volunteering to directly care for the animals, cleaning enclosure and doing projects but then I found my niche.
Each week I go to Whole Foods Market in Woodland Hills and pick up donated produce.
Although my favorite animal is Bobby the bobcat, the only animal I see regularly is Merry the goat. Her pen is right next to the animal kitchen where I drop off the fruits and vegetables. When she sees me she always has this “What do you have for me?” look on her face. I’m so glad I can do something to contribute to the health and care of the animals.
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 K.K. Dodds - I love animals. After adopting dogs and cats, feeding hummingbirds, wood peckers and oriels, admiring majestic hawks, calling to illusive owls and spying on racoons, skunks and opossums in the night-I realized it was time for me to help them beyond donating, it was time to engage with them, learn from them- but mostly it was time to be with them!
At my orientation tour of wildworks I couldn’t wait to volunteer. my days here have become the highlight of my week. What could be better than Moon, the white wolf, loping over to greet you in the morning? “Who Who-ing” with Hootie, the Great Horned Owl, or scratching the necks of the affectionate, purring mountain lions, Pirate and Envy? Not to mention hand feeding the tiniest baby opossums!
I love my Mondays at Wildworks. Thank you Molly, Jess, Hannah, Hootie, Moon, Stark, Pirate, Envy, Fire... (Ok, Ok, I hear the music, I’m wrapping it up) Thanks guys.
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 Glynnes Pruett – I am 25, have loved animals my whole life and am extremely happy to be a part of the Wildworks family! Born in Macon, Georgia we had a variety of animals on our property including, domestic pets, wild life and farm animals. For the majority of my life I have lived in Southern California and have had many different pets over the years. I have also trained and cared for other people’s animals as a trainer and a sitter. After receiving my Bachelor’s in Communications in three years from Cal State University Fullerton, I turned my focus to something that makes me truly happy, working hands on with animals, especially exotics. The Nature of Wildworks is a fantastic place for me to gain experience and do what I love while I am currently studying Animal Science at Moorpark College and applying for the Exotic Animal Training and Management program. My primary interests are in Animal Behavior and Enrichment and I am considering pursuing this as a Masters degree in the future.
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 Rachael Greenstone - I am 20 years old, born in New Jersey, yet I moved to California at a young age. We decided to get our first dog after the move and I was hooked ever since. I currently have 3 dogs, a green tree python, 2 corn snakes, and 2 leachianus geckos. I am a full time student, and work at law firm in Beverly Hills. In the future I plan on attending the EATM program at Moorpark College and eventually work with big cats. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to volunteer at the Nature of Wildworks. This is the perfect introduction to the animal "world". Working with these amazing animals is the highlight of my week. They are all inspiring and I learn something new from them every day.
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Click here for more information on our Volunteer Program & Protocol.
Click here for the Volunteer Application Form
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