As a young girl Danene was drawn to helping sick and injured animals. While earning a B.S. in Biology and Marine Sciences from Rutgers University she began volunteering at the Adventure Aquarium in NJ. There she had an opportunity to travel to South Africa to support the wildlife rehabilitation efforts during the Treasure oil spill. While in Africa she discovered a passion for wildlife rehabilitation and was introduced to the IWRC.
Danene also has an A.S. in Veterinary Technology. In 2006 she completed her clinical externship at Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research in Newark, DE and joined the oiled wildlife response team. Aside from spending a few years in Texas, she remained at Tri-State until 2018. While in Texas, Danene worked as the Director of Placement at the Vet Tech Institute of Houston. It was there that she noticed a need for veterinary technicians within wildlife rehabilitation. Danene has also contributed to multiple spill response exercises, training workshops, and has participated in national and international wildlife response planning.
Danene currently lives in Davis, California where she works as Readiness Coordinator for the Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) at UC Davis’ School of Veterinary Medicine. She is passionate about protecting the Earth’s wild species and their habitats through education and collaboration. As a brand new board member she hopes her enthusiasm for sharing knowledge and mentoring to the next generation of environmental advocates and veterinary technicians will contribute positively to the IWRC.
In her spare time Danene enjoys practicing martial arts, yoga, being outdoors, traveling, and spending time with her family.
