Matthew Miller
Executive Director
Matthew comes to the New Mexico Wildlife Center with over two decades of nature-based nonprofit leadership experience. His work has included the start-up of outdoor environmental education centers in Mississippi, Indiana, and Alabama. While working with The Nature Conservancy he led watershed scale conservation planning, wetland mitigation projects and local initiatives combining environmental protection and sustainable economic development. Internationally, Matthew helped to design experiential science education programs for elementary students in Namibia utilizing the country’s national parks. He currently serves on the Education and Research Group for Leave No Trace Ireland. His educational background includes a B.S. in Recreation Administration and Natural Resource Management from Eastern Illinois University and a M.S. in Environmental Studies from Bard College. Originally from Illinois, Matthew began enjoying the outdoors at an early age. Travel and exploring the outdoors continues as a life-long pursuit that has taken him to all 50 states. Closer to home he has been enjoying the outdoors in New Mexico since the late 1970’s.
Dawn Wright
Assistant Director of Development and Administration
Dawn has a B.A. degree in Education from Anderson University. Her background includes teaching, providing technical assistance for service-learning in schools and community organizations, and nonprofit administration. She grew up in Michigan, attended college in Indiana, and lived in Texas for several years before moving to the Santa Fe area. In Austin, she worked at The University of Texas in the Dana Center’s Service-Learning department. In September 2001, she moved to Santa Fe where she joined the Center for Service-Learning, a nonprofit that provided technical assistance to mentors and teachers in the Southwest Region of the U.S. Working for eight years as director of an artists’ nonprofit organization provided Dawn with nonprofit administration experience in budgeting, grant writing, and volunteer management. She came to New Mexico Wildlife Center in June of 2015. Her love of animals comes from a childhood surrounded by pets and wildlife of all kinds. She was taught early on to respect animals and learn from them. As you can see from her picture, Dawn is really fond of wolves!
Jesse Kennedy
Office Manager
Jesse has a B.A. in Writing and Literature from Naropa University of Boulder, Colorado. After completing his degree, Jesse went on to work in Human Services for the next five years in an administrative capacity, supervising care for individuals with developmental disabilities. He did so first as a Residential Program Coordinator and then as an Associate Director. Jesse has a love for wild places and wild animals that comes from exploring the hills around Cerrillos, New Mexico in his childhood and continues as an enthusiasm for backpacking, gardening, and reading about issues in conservation and sustainability.
Laura Siegel
Communications Specialist
Beth Thompson
Education Coordinator/Trainer
Beth has been an environmental educator since graduating from Ramapo College of New Jersey with an Environmental Studies degree. Her career has included a wide variety of opportunities all across the United States! Some examples are: a season as a Deckhand/Educator on NJ’s official tall ship A. J. Meerwald (though she had never sailed before), caring for and teaching with raptors as a Naturalist Intern at the Sierra Outdoor School in California, and coordinating overnight programs at Glen Helen Outdoor Education Center in Ohio as Program Coordinator. Before joining the New Mexico Wildlife Center team, she was an Assistant Naturalist at the Center for Environmental Education at PNW BOCES in New York for over five years, teaching students in their classrooms or outdoors and caring for ambassador animals including raptors, reptiles and amphibians, and a small mammal. When not caring for or teaching with animals, Beth enjoys exploring new surroundings, singing in choral groups, and mastering the art of reading and walking at the same time so she doesn’t need to put the book down.
Amanda Pressly
Ambassador Animal Specialist 2
Amanda has worked with wildlife for about a decade, starting off as a volunteer at the Cascades Raptor Center in 2014. She worked her way around the globe, finding new and exciting opportunities to work with the unique species of New Zealand, Australia, and Malaysia. From there Amanda went into the zoological world working at facilities all over the United States including the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. While Amanda enjoys working with all species, she is at heart a bird nerd and excited to begin her adventure at New Mexico Wildlife Center.
Sidney Elliott
Ambassador Animal Specialist 1
Sidney is a dedicated wildlife professional with a degree in Wildlife Management and a strong foundation in animal care. Her journey began as a veterinary assistant, where she gained hands-on experience working with domestic animals, honing essential skills in animal health and welfare. Building on this foundation, Sidney has completed two different internships at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, where she shadowed the Wildlife Care Associates, and at a deer ranch as a Fawn Care Intern. These internships have deepened her understanding of exotic animal behavior, conservation efforts, neonatal care, and the intricacies of large animal care.
Most recently, Sidney worked with several different species of toucans. This role expanded her knowledge of avian care, including nutrition, behavioral enrichment, and the maintenance of specialized environments for tropical birds. Currently, Sidney is embarking on her first role in raptor care and wildlife education. This position marks an exciting step in her career, allowing her to expand her expertise while engaging the public in meaningful wildlife education.
Stephanie Lindsell
Wildlife Rehabilitation Manager
Stephanie earned dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Wildlife Ecology and Biology from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. She then went on to earn a Master’s of Science in Evolutionary Ecology from Indiana University in Bloomington. While working toward her Master’s, Stephanie began volunteering at WildCare Inc., where she worked as a wildlife rehabilitation and education volunteer before taking on the full-time role of Center Director in January 2019. As WildCare’s Director, Stephanie was responsible for overseeing the rehabilitation of approximately 1,600 patients annually, supervising the care and training of all education ambassador animals, and managing a large team of volunteers and staff. She has worked with a wide variety of North American wildlife, but she has a special affinity for under-appreciated species like opossums and vultures. Stephanie moved to New Mexico in summer 2021, working with Wildlife Rescue Inc. of New Mexico in Albuquerque before joining the New Mexico Wildlife Center team in April 2022. In her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with her extremely fluffy cat and extremely loud lovebird, playing video games, and trying new recipes.
Lizz Kendall
Wildlife Rehabilitator
Lizz has always been interested in working with animals. She earned Bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Psychology from Indiana University with a certificate in Animal Behavior. Lizz took a detour and trained to become an Advanced EMT and worked on both critical care transport teams and rural 911 EMS systems. Wanting to get back to her first interest, Lizz found the local wildlife rehabilitation center in Bloomington, IN, WildCare Inc., and began volunteering in 2019. She quickly took on more responsibility and began developing her skills working with native wildlife. Lizz became the rehabilitation team leader for raccoons and foxes, as well as assisting with bats. Lizz also began working with the education ambassador animals and worked her way into becoming the primary trainer for a pearl morph red fox, silver-haired bat, groundhog, and Harris’s Hawk (shown in her photo). Lizz was able to switch careers and begin working full time as a wildlife rehabilitator when she joined the NMWC team in January of 2024. When not caring for native wildlife, Lizz enjoys getting out in her kayak, hiking, reading past her bedtime, and playing hide and seek with her two cats.
Tony Carlson
Wildlife Rehabilitator
Tony graduated from Colorado State University in Fort Collins with a B.S. in Biology. After graduating he completed a rehabilitation internship with Rocky Mountain Raptor Program where he found his passion for wildlife rehab working with birds of prey. He continued to volunteer with RMRP until he moved to Maine for a Wildlife Rehabilitation Apprenticeship at The Center for Wildlife. Here he expanded into working with all birds, reptiles and amphibians, and small mammals. During the apprenticeship, Tony managed the center’s mammal and songbird nurseries as well as oversaw the care of pre-release patients during one of the center’s busiest years on record with over 2400 admissions. He is excited to continue his journey here at New Mexico Wildlife Center.
Avery Berkowitz
Staff Veterinarian
Avery started working in wildlife rehabilitation in high school in their home state of Oklahoma and hasn’t stopped since! They attended veterinary school at Tufts University, where they learned much more about wildlife medicine from the Tufts Wildlife Clinic. After vet school, Avery became the first staff vet at a rehab center in California and then Nebraska before coming to NMWC. Avery’s areas of particular interest include wildlife ophthalmology, avian orthopedics, and baby bird identification. They have appreciated the opportunity to experience wildlife rehab and biodiversity in various places across the country. Avery is very happy to be a part of the NMWC team and to help build upon and expand the possibilities for medical care and the future of NMWC.
Dennis Ortiz
Facilities Caretaker
A little bit about Dennis:
- United States Navy – Vietnam Veteran, 1968 – 1970, honorably discharged
- Professional bareback rider in the PRCA
- Horse trainer – horse ferrier, stunt man, and wrangler for movies: The Cowboy Way, Wyatt Earp, Natural Born Killers, Buffalo Girls, Desperate Trail
- Father, Frank Ortiz and I cared for the Rio Arriba County Fair Grounds, which later on became the wildlife center
- Caretaker for the wildlife center’s facilities since the 1980s
I have seen many changes and admire the direction it is going. I also appreciate the opportunity to be part of it and its future.
Board of Directors
Jeff Hanus
President
Robert Kiely
Vice President
Gary Goldstein
Treasurer
Sally Marquis
Secretary
Pam Sawyer
Board Member
Mark Castelin
Board Member
Terese (T.C.) Richmond
Board Member
Jennifer Rowland
Board Member