Staff Members Archive – Page 2 of 3

About Andy Weber – Director of Field Programs

June 17, 2019 / Leave a Comment

Andy serves as Director of Field Programs for theTurtleRoom (tTR). He is in charge of project development, logistics, fieldwork, and permitting. Together, Andy and Steve (tTR Executive Director) co-lead turtle surveys in Pennsylvania. He is also becoming more involved with the Terrapin Nesting Project: Leeds Point, which is led by Casey (tTR Protocol Manager / Field Project Manager) and Chris (tTR Director of Animal Husbandry) Leone in New Jersey. He also hopes to see other field projects get off the ground.

Andy received Associate’s and Bachelor’s Degrees from Penn State University in Wildlife Technology and Wildlife and Fisheries Science, respectively. After college, he attended Tennessee Technological University for his Master of Science in Biology, where his work focused on sampling methods and basking behavior of turtles in a small lake.

Andy lives in Honesdale, PA with his wife Jess, daughter Laurel, turtles, cats, and dog.

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About Liam Whitmore – World Turtle News Editor

April 26, 2019 / Leave a Comment

Liam is a zoologist and conservationist from the UK and is currently studying for his Ph.D in Ireland. Liam obtained his M.S. in Zoology with Conservation from Bangor University, Wales in 2018. He has always had a fascination with the natural world and tries to experience as much of it as possible, whether that’s through his travels, work or wildlife photography. After knowing the career path he wanted to take in zoology/conservation, Liam then took a keen interest in reptiles, particularly turtles and tortoises after starting to research and read about them in his own time and during his degree.

Through a lot of luck, Liam is now studying marine turtles for his Ph.D with the main focus on marine turtle fibropapillomatosis (FP). FP is a tumor forming disease afflicting all seven marine turtle species but affects green turtles (Chelonia mydas) most. He studies in Limerick, Ireland but also gets to venture to Florida occasionally for his research.

Liam also keeps a leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius) and common musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus) at home, which forms one of his hobbies. He also is an amateur wildlife photographer.

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About Scott Hendrickson – Conservation Husbandry Specialist

June 11, 2017 / Leave a Comment

Scott is a Conservation Husbandry Specialist for theTurtleRoom. Scott has been working with reptiles and amphibians since childhood. His keen interest in chelonians started early and he was lucky enough to have parents that donated their time taking Scott looking for herps in the field, scouring every pet shop in the New York area and visiting zoos, museums and aquariums. Scott was inspired by the writings and work of Gerald Durrell at a young age and recognized the value of assurance colonies and captive breeding as an active ex-situ conservation tool. Scott has a degree in Biology and worked as a wildlife educator at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, NJ.

Some of Scott’s current projects include Sternotherus carinatus, Cuora amboinensis kamarona, Cuora flavomarginata, Rhinoclemmys punctularia, Kinixys homeana, Malacochersus tornieri, Chelodina longicollis, Chelodina mccordi, Chelodina parkeri, and Pelusios nanus. His group of C. flavomarginata is part of the TSA Taxon Management Group for the species.

Scott is a member of The New York Turtle and Tortoise Society, the TTPG, and the TSA. His avocation is to do his part in the conservation of endangered chelonians. Scott is also a founding board member of The Anxiety and Depressions Initiative, a 501c3 organization that promotes the benefits of an active and healthy lifestyle while living with anxiety, depression and related disorders.

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About Kevin Minto – Video Production Coordinator

March 9, 2017 / Leave a Comment

Kevin is the Video Production Coordinator for theTurtleRoom. He is responsible for creating and producing (with the help of other team members) the educational content that you see on theTurtleRoom’s YouTube channel and also provides support to the Senior Director. Kevin was introduced to turtles at a very young age from his older brother who kept them as pets. Growing up there were always turtles in and out of the house. Having spent twenty years filming and editing skateboarding, he now brings his passion for film to chelonians. Kevin primarily works with Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin ssp.) and North American Box Turtles (Terrepene sp.). Kevin’s passions outside of turtles are his family, skateboarding, biking, kayaking, hiking and film. Kevin lives in the Northeast with his wife, two daughters, three dogs, and their bale of turtles.

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About Michaela Wiersema – Staff Writer, Senior Keeper

April 6, 2016 / Leave a Comment

Michaela has been an avid reptile enthusiast for as long as she can remember and has been keeping multiple species for more than a decade. Her passion for chelonians in particular began about ten years ago when she was gifted with a newly hatched Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina). This fueled a love for Terrapene that eventually expanded to many other species. She currently works with Indotestudo forstenii (Forsten’s Tortoise) and Manouria emys emys (Asian Brown Forest Tortoise), and has worked with over thirty other species. A guest speaker at several reptile events and regular REPTILES magazine author, she loves to share her passion for chelonians with others. Michaela is pursuing a career as a medical doctor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and is also a dedicated marathoner and horse trainer.

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About Casey Leone – Field Project Manager

January 19, 2016 / Leave a Comment

Casey serves as as a Field Project Manager for theTurtleRoom, focused on running the Terrapin Conservation Initiative. Casey has been a zoo keeper and agriculture specialist at Six Flags Safari, working with many different species both marine and land. Using positive reinforcement, animal training plays a large role in her position at work. She is able to work hands on with a wide array of species that include Giant Anteater, Giant Aldabra Tortoise, Barn Owl, and many more. With her background in horticulture, Casey will also be designing and maintaining a large garden, using recycled material, to both feed and enrich the lives of many different species at the safari. At home, she is second in command at Garden State Tortoise, with her husband Chris. Her current project is raising Chelonoidis nigra and Aldabrachelys gigantea. Together they maintain over 50 different species and subspecies of turtles and tortoises from around the globe.

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About Lisa Enders – Treasurer

January 19, 2016 / Leave a Comment

Lisa is a CPA with over sixteen years of public accounting experience and a Master of Taxation degree Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. She is currently the Tax Innovation Leader for a large regional public accounting firm in Pennsylvania. From 2013-2019, she was the Treasurer of a local organization with an annual budget of more than $600,000.

Lisa was introduced to turtles when she met her husband, Steve, and for the last 15+ years has continued to be lured in by the unbearably cute little hatchlings. Her favorite species are Geoemyda spengleri (Vietnamese Black-Breasted Leaf Turtle), Sacalia quadriocellata (Four-Eyed Turtle), and Sacalia bealei (Beal’s Eyed Turtle). In her spare time, Lisa enjoys spending time with Steve, reading, knitting, crocheting, gardening, and snuggling with their three cats.

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About Rodney Lewis – Copy and Photo Editor

February 27, 2015 / 1 Comment

Having helped establish the World Turtle News, Rodney has recently moved into the role of Copy and Photo Editor bringing together his strong communication skills with his love of photography. Rodney is particularly keen on street photography using the backdrop of London City where he works. He can be found on instagram as @justscreaming.

He currently performs Unix administration for the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences at King’s College London. A role that he enjoys immensely as IT support in the academic field allows him to build bespoke solutions and flex his IT problem solving muscles.

Unusually for a Brit, Rodney is a keen baseball fan and follows the New York Mets. Rodney lives in Chelmsford, Essex, UK with his wife Becky, two cats and the Hermann’s Tortoise (Testudo hermanni) Kaiju that sparked his love of Chelonia.

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Andrew Hermes, Board Member and Special Projects Assistant

About Andrew Hermes – Board Member, Special Projects Assistant

February 12, 2015

Andrew Hermes is the creator of Arizona Tortoise Compound where he is 100% dedicated to the captive care and breeding of over 40 different tortoise species/subspecies and also works with a handful of freshwater turtle species. Continuing to learn and better himself as a tortoise caretaker, Andrew is an active member in the tortoise community by contributing to many different tortoise organizations, rescues, forums, and captive tortoise breeding efforts. He participates in AZA Studbooks and SSPs, and has set up an adoption program to rescue and rehome native Arizona Desert Tortoises (Gopherus morafkai). For theTurtleRoom, Andrew fills several roles including Board Member and Special Projects Assistant. Articles written by Andrew can be found in REPTILES magazine, Radiata Journal, TortoiseForum.org, and ReptileApartment.com. Furthermore, Andrew is a member of the Turtle Survival Alliance, Turtle & Tortoise Preservation Group, and The Turtle Conservancy. Visit him and his amazing chelonians at arizonatortoisecompound.com.

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