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STAFF
RESOURCES & CALENDAR
Table
of Contents
ABOUT
US
Privacy
Policy
SPECIAL
EVENTS
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VISIT
US
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HOW
TO HELP
THE
ANIMALS
OUR
STAFF
Internships
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CONTACT
US
 
Welcomed
Black
Pine Animal Park
1426
W. 300 N.
P.O.
Box 02
Albion,
IN 46701
(260)
636-7383
Contact
Us
©2008
Professional Animal Retirement Center, Inc.
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"Be
the change you want to see in the world."
-
Ghandi
Our
Staff
[
Senior Staff ] [ Interns ] [ Volunteer Staff ] [
Board of Directors ]
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Karen
Hoag, founder of the park, currently serves as a board director. She is
pictured with Scarlet, a cougar she raised from birth. Karen's life-long
passion for animals is largely responsible for what Black Pine is today and
she continues to contribute invaluable knowledge and inspiration to all
involved in carrying out her vision and mission.
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Dr. Jay "Doc" Kumaran is Black Pine's staff
veterinarian. Doc and his wife, Patrice, own and operate Allpet
Hospital & Laser Surgery Center in Fort Wayne, a practice that began
in 1972. Doc's many years of experience both in his native India, as
well as a U.S. primate research center, brings to the park rare and
practical skills to serve a diverse exotic population. In 2006 the
Kumarans announced an extraordinary pledge to donate 100% of their services,
and to build and furnish a new vet clinic on site at Black Pine to service
the animals and enhance our intern training program. Construction is
slated to begin in an existing building once permanent animal habitats are
complete, hopefully sometime in 2008. We are fortunate to have their
dedicated support and unmatched professional services! To learn more
about our veterinary program, click here.
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Lori
Gagen began volunteering at Black Pine in 1995 when the park first opened
the gift shop. In February, 2006, she joined the paid staff as Director of
Development, a position made possible through a grant from the Dekko
Foundation. Lori accepted the role of Executive Director in August
2008. Her responsibilities include overseeing the animal husbandry
program, supervising volunteers and interns, managing customer relations and
administration. She is also working to develop new programs and
sources of funding and handles all marketing for the sanctuary. Her background is in supervision,
administration, customer service, and information technology, so her varied
skills help her accomplish many projects to benefit the park.
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Tabitha Barbree completed an internship at Black Pine
in 2006 and decided to stay in the area and continue volunteering at the
park. In June 2008 she accepted a part-time position as lead
keeper. Tabitha's background includes pharmaceuticals, veterinary
assistance, wildlife field studies, and caring for domestic cats with
special needs. She is employed full-time at Parkview Noble Hospital in
Kendallville, IN.
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To
learn more about joining our staff, click here!
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On May 18, 2008, Black Pine
welcomed "Jungle Jack" Hanna to visit the sanctuary and meet
hundreds of local fans. Many of our dedicated and passionate staff were
on hand, including, front row, from left: Lori Gagen, Jessica Price,
Cris Hensley, Dianne Lengerich, Tabitha Barbree, Anne Lawson, and Amy Kreg.
Middle row: Terry Reyes, Karen Lemire, Jenna Poynter, Jim Blomberg,
Donna Kelly, Sara Augsburger, Jaime Magnuson, Debbie Ambrose, and Ryan Cureton.
Back row: Laura Gray, Lynn Barlow, Brenda Cureton, Renee Runkle,
"Jungle Jack" Hanna (guest), Allison Pepich, Carrie Martz, Paul
Cureton, and Jan Uffelman.
Our
volunteers...
The following
volunteers logged nearly nearly 10,000 hours during 2007 in service to Black Pine's
mission. Click any underlined name to visit that volunteer's
personal profile page! If you are interested in volunteering, click
here for an online application.
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Senior
Volunteer Staff:
Senior
staff members are those who have a long tenure at Black Pine. They
have the same levels of authority as the paid staff and therefore
have access to restricted areas and can make management decisions
as needed.
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Cris
Hensley
Terry Reyes
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Mark Thaler
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Volunteer
Assistant Zookeepers:
Assistant
Zookeepers are the only staff authorized to shift and work in
close proximity to big cats, cougars, bears, and/or chimpanzees.
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Karen Hoag
Mark Thaler
Linda Kratzat
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Renee Runkle
Dianne Lengerich
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Volunteer
Junior Zookeepers:
Junior
Zookeepers are authorized to shift and work with all animals
except the big cats, cougars, bears, and chimpanzees. A
select number of fully trained junior zookeepers are authorized to
shift the monkeys and bobcats for cleaning purposes only.
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Amy
Kreg
Carrie Martz
Denise
Elliott
Donna Kelly
Jamie
Fisher
Jim Blomberg
Karen
Lemire
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Kelly Sinak
Kristen Duncan
Kyle Stephens
LaMont Tipple
Paul Cureton
Sara Augsburger
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Volunteer
Staff:
Those
listed below perform a variety of volunteer services, including
animal husbandry for a variety of birds, reptiles, pasture
animals, and small mammals. Some are in training to become
Junior Zookeepers. Some are volunteering in other areas,
such as helping in the gift tent, conducting guest tours, working
at special events, organizing camps and educational activities,
helping with maintenance and new construction, etc.
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Brenda Cureton
Diana Leffel
Gail
Rawles
Janet Heyman
Janet
Uffelman
Jan Swaim
Jessica Johnson
Jim
Kratzat
Joe
Pegan
John Lengerich
John
Toles
Kellie Adkins
LaMont
Tipple
Laura
Gray
Lynn Toles
Mandi DeGregory
Marty Thomas
Ray
Schuster
Ryan
Cureton
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Our interns
excel...
Our internship program
is flourishing and we are so proud of the ambitious
students who hail from area universities and high schools. Interning at Black Pine
provides students planning a career in animal science a unique
opportunity to learn practical skills in a fun, interactive environment
while helping really make a difference in the lives of our rescued and
retired animals. Those who have completed the program have gone on
to paid positions in some of the nation's finest institutions, including
Shedd Aquarium, Brookfield Zoo, Washington Park Zoo, Columbian Park Zoo,
Northwest Trek, Yosemite National Park, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and
the Zooquarium at Cape Cod. Read
a student's project paper here.
Candace Brawner is a
student at San Diego  State
University. She is pursuing a BS in biology with an emphasis in
zoology and plans to graduate in the spring of 2008. Candace came to
Black Pine's internship program in 2007 to gain new "real life"
experiences that exceed her textbook knowledge so she can ultimately make
a difference in the survival and lives of animals. She hopes
following graduation to become a full-time animal caretaker at an
accredited zoo. Candace is a guest of Tabitha Barbree, a (volunteer)
Assistant Zookeeper at Black Pine, while completing her internship so far
from her home in California.
Kelly Sinak is a
graduate of Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, IN and now a junior at
Purdue University majoring in neurobiology
and phsiology, with a concentration in pre-veterinary studies. Her
career interest lies in primarily exotic animal medicine. Kelly
plans to attend veterinary school and some day work at a zoo or with
exotic animals in some other capacity. She is participating in the
internship program during the summer of 2007 and commutes from her
family's home in Fort Wayne.
Mark Johnson is a
student at the University of Illinois, Champaign, studying pre-veterinary
sciences. He chose to intern at Black Pine to expand
his experiences with a variety of animals, and to take the opportunity to
educate others about the animal world outside of companion animals.
Having completed a study abroad program that took him to South Africa,
Mark was enthusiastic to further expand his knowledge of exotic animals in
his pursuit to become a veterinarian. Mark is a guest of Renee and
Harry Runkle of Albion while interning during the summer of 2007.
To
learn more about joining our staff, click here!
Our Board
of Directors...
Renee
Runkle, President
Mark
Thaler, Vice President
Dianne
Lengerich, Treasurer
Karen
Hoag, Secretary
Craig
Bender
Barbara
Leatherman
Anna
Lytle
Robin
McCormick
Lynn
Toles
Please... Click here to read more
about Professional Animal Retirement Center, our non-profit
organization!
Thank
You, Thank You, Thank You
to
all of our staff!
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