Laura Novitzki, President
Laura grew up in Duluth and attended both the University of Minnesota, Duluth and the University of Minnesota where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Community Health Education, a Graduate degree in Environmental Health and Safety, and a Graduate degree in Natural Resources Science and Management. Following college, she worked as an environmental educator for the National Park Service and the Minneapolis Park Board. Since 2004, she has been working as an environmental consultant in the Duluth area, with specific experience in environmental assessment and remediation, safety, ecological risk assessment, quality management, and industrial hygiene. Since childhood, Laura has had a love for animals and a natural instinct to try to help wildlife in need. Through the years, she has come across a number of orphaned or injured animals and has volunteered with three wildlife rehabilitation organizations. One of her most memorable wildlife tales is when a duck fell from the sky right in front of her after hitting a power line. (That duck was successfully rehabilitated and released.)

Jackie Dolentz, Vice-President
Jackie grew up in the Duluth area and has a Masters in Health Service Administration and an MBA.  She started volunteering at Wildwoods after a call she made seeking help for a beautiful bird who struck a window at her place of work (thanks to the instructions she received, it fully recovered).  That phone call put her in touch with others who felt as strongly as she did about helping wildlife.  The rest is history.  She started volunteering and then her love of Wildwoods evolved to joining the Board of Directors in 2018.  When not working, you can find her hanging out with her husband and four-legged kids, roller-skating or learning/attempting to curl.

Connie Gunderson, Secretary
Connie Gunderson, PhD, LISW, is an associate professor at The College of St. Scholastica. Having completed her undergraduate studies at The College of St. Scholastica in 1981, she worked in Germany until 2012. She completed her MSW in clinical social work at the Alice Salomon Hochschule in Berlin, Germany and received her PhD from the University of Bremen, in Bremen, Germany. Her areas of scholarship include Relational-Cultural theory, human trafficking, and international refugee resettlement. Her life passion is to protect the beaver, nature’s eco-engineer and a keystone specie, through education and ethical/environmentally sound land and water management.She has written, edited, and published numerous books and articles grounded in Relational-Cultural theory to address social issues including trauma and addiction, human trafficking, diversity, and the environment.

As a former volunteer at Wildwoods, she is touched by the commitment and care for our four legged, winged, and finned beings. She would like to support Wildwoods staff, volunteers, and interns; provide community based educational programs about Wildwoods; and help secure the financial resources necessary to maintain the high quality of services Wildwoods provides for our region.

Ryan Irlbeck, Treasurer
Ryan is a former CPA with an Accounting degree from the University of St. Thomas, and more than ten years of nonprofit management experience. He is the Finance Director for Life House, a Duluth nonprofit serving homeless and at-risk youth, and has held similar positions with both Community Action Duluth and Animal Allies. When not crunching numbers, he loves to commune with nature and all its critters. A favorite quote: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Mike Schrage
Mike Schrage is a Wildlife Biologist with the Fond du Lac Band’s Resource Management Division. Mike is a graduate of the University of Idaho and Virginia Tech and has been living in the Duluth and Cloquet area for the last 27 years. In his spare time he enjoys fishing and hunting, tending to his pollinator garden, and hiking the many trails around Duluth with one or more four-legged companions.

Cynthia Hagley
As an extension educator, Cindy shares the science of lake and stream management with coastal communities, property owners, educators, and resource managers. Cindy also develops outreach products and programs related to Great Lakes ecosystem research and monitoring, storm water management, shore land property management, aquatic plants and animals, and the relationship between land use and water quality. Cindy holds a M.S. in Aquatic Ecology/Limnology from the University of California Davis and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Minnesota.

Miles Ringsred
Stayed tuned for his bio!

Courtnie Carver
Courtnie graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Ecology with a focus on wildlife care. She first heard of Wildwoods from her college professor and was a lead intern in the summer of 2017. She came back to Wildwoods the following summer as an Animal Care and Rehabilitation Specialist.

She has dedicated most of her adult life to caring for animals. In addition to her time at Wildwoods, she has worked in education at a zoo, rebuilt kiwi bird habitat in New Zealand, and worked with behavior dogs at a large animal shelter. She currently works from home for a software tech company and dog sits through Rover.

In her free time she enjoys caring for her plants, creating stained glass art, volunteering at Animal Allies, and hiking with her three rescue dogs. She hopes to share her love for education, conservation, and biodiversity with the community through her work on the Wildwoods board.

Sheila Stevens
Sheila is originally from Crookston MN and moved to Duluth in 1991. She has bachelor’s degrees in Accounting, Financial Management, and Management. She is currently working in the Finance Department for the Duluth Public Schools and has over 20 years of finance experience. She has always had an affinity for animals and joined the board to help continue the support of wildlife.

Morgan Beryl
Stay tuned for her bio!

Kelly Looby
Stay tuned for her bio!

Pamela Foster
Stay tuned for her bio!