Liberty Wildlife | About Us: Contact

Megan Mosby, Executive Director
meganm@libertywildlife.org
Photo by Jeff Haymes

Megan has been an avid natural history buff since her childhood in central Texas was spent turning over rocks in the creek, catching garter snakes, and feeding the backyard birds with her mother. Her favorite toy was the backyard tree that provided hours of entertainment for her in the upper limbs watching the birds, caterpillars, spiders, and ants as they moved through the seasons. Guilty of dragging every orphan animal home to try to raise when the mother was found missing, surely led to the present passion for rehabilitation.

After attending the University of Texas at Austin, she began a long career as a teacher. Teaching school allowed her to share her love of nature with the young adults that she worked with for almost 30 years. During this time she moved to Arizona where she finished a Master’s Degree at ASU. Simultaneously, volunteering at Liberty Wildlife since 1984 allowed a new and improved venue to share her love of the out of doors and the native inhabitants while providing nurturing for those in need of human help. She became the Executive Director of Liberty Wildlife and attained a certificate of Non-Profit Management from ASU. Now, leading the organization to a new location in Papago Park competes with a desire to read, write, hike, scooter, and nature watch when ever possible.

Jan’s extensive background in the care and treatment of wildlife allows her to occupy a central role at Liberty Wildlife overseeing the medical care for more than three thousand animals admitted to the center every year. Jan came up through the ranks of the organization, starting out as a volunteer in daily care and education and working with Dr. Orr from the early 1990’s. During this time she has stayed current, taking veterinary technician and wildlife rehabilitation courses every year. She was hired as Animal Care Coordinator in 2000. In this role Jan sets up general hospital procedures at the facility, orders all medications and hospital supplies and manages a group of 36 medical services volunteers. She assists in the teaching of the ten week training course, working with Tanya Wyman, DVM. She works closely with all of the veterinarians that volunteer their time, and coordinates surgery and exams with specialists. She also works in tandem with US Fish and Wildlife and Az Game and Fish on incoming wildlife and wildlife issues. Jan oversees the daily care and orphan care departments and is responsible for the well-being of the education collection. She is involved with the care, diet, physicals, and training of the education animals. Jan also volunteers time to give education programs.

She is very involved with Liberty’s new free flight program. In that area she has attended training on bird behavior from Barbara Heindrich and Robby Sinkler. Jan also oversees the releases of rehabilitated birds, ensuring they are prepared for their life in the wild and that they are released in a suitable habitat. Jan’s easy way with animals and people makes her an invaluable asset in a business that can be hectic and stressful.

Terry was raised on an airport in Northern Illinois. After High School, he moved with his family to Florida where he graduated cum laude with an AS degree in aerospace technology from Manatee Community College in Bradenton. After one semester at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, he returned to Illinois where he attended the University of Illinois in Urbana, graduating with a BS in business administration in 1971. After moving back to Florida, he worked for Eastern Airlines in various positions and also taught as an Adjunct Professor at Manatee. Moving to Atlanta, Ga., in 1980, he was a shift manager for Eastern in the ramp control tower and also managed the International Operations Office until taking a job as a pilot with Eastern Metro Express in 1985. Along with flying as a captain and pilot instructor, he was the Manager of Flight Training, the FAA Designated Examiner for the BAe-3100, and the Local Air Safety Chairman for ALPA until 1988. Taking a job as a captain with America West Airlines brought him to Phoenix in 1989 where he worked as a line pilot and Check-Airman. He began volunteering for Liberty Wildlife his first year in Arizona and was appointed Rescue/Transport Coordinator in 1993. Performing a growing variety of functions for the group including education, training, writing for Wingbeats, Nature News and producing This Week at Liberty, he assumed the position of Operations Director after he medically retired from airline flying in 2008.

Gail’s love of animals and nature and her background in sales and marketing makes her a natural for the position of Volunteer Coordinator. Liberty Wildlife functions with the help of over 300 volunteers, and recruitment, maintenance and training are ongoing issues. Gail believes passionately in the mission to nurture the nature of Arizona and enjoys connecting with members of the public who have found their way to Liberty’s door. Every potential volunteer who comes to Liberty has something to give and it is finding this match with the organization and paving the way for a long relationship that inspires her. Gail first saw Liberty Wildlife at an education program at the Tempe Arts and Crafts fair and was dazzled by the beauty of the animals and intrigued with an opportunity to learn more about the natural history of the Sonoran desert. She volunteered in orphan care, daily care and education before being hired in 2006. She now recruits volunteers, runs the hotline volunteer area, and is involved in various projects from PR to writing for the Liberty publications.

Melissa has been giving her time and using her skills at Liberty Wildlife for over 12 years. She has a deep belief in the mission and philosophy of the foundation. In her position as daily care coordinator she oversees the preparation of special diets for education and ICU animals and accomplishes the general feeding and cleaning of the animals with a crew of volunteers that fluctuates from 25-35 individuals. She works with vendors negotiating costs and scheduling deliveries to keep the animals fed, and the costs down. She schedules and oversees daily care volunteers as well as handling the scheduling over four hundred programs annually for the education outreach program. In the past two years she has been instrumental in the addition of two lucrative new fund raisers for Liberty Wildlife. Melissa had the vision for these events, planned them, coordinated donations, volunteers and all of the details with the outside groups. The motorcycle run Born to Be Wild and the golf tournament Birdie fore Birds are becoming well known events in the Valley and contribute greatly to Liberty Wildlife. Melissa’s extensive background as an animal science technician adds depth to the organization as she is able to assist in medical procedures such as anesthesia, triage and help in assessment of treatment of trauma patients.

Laura has been involved with Liberty Wildlife for nearly eight years and currently leads the Research and Conservation team as the Project Coordinator and Lead Biological Technician. She also oversees the seasonal Orphan Care Department, dedicated to hand raising injured and orphaned passerines. With a background in wildlife biology and a passion for wildlife conservation Laura has been involved with many wildlife projects involving mammals, reptiles and avian species. Having knowledge and training involving the research and conservation of Arizona’s native wildlife, specifically human/wildlife conflicts, Laura has been dedicated to assisting other organizations and corporations throughout the continuous expansion here in the valley, to ensure the safety of all native wildlife.

Carolee majored in Business and after two years of managing an office for a Podiatrist, went to work at Motorola Semiconductor Products. The majority of 34 years at Motorola was spent in Sales Business Management positions. She ran a Corporate Wide program for the Sales/Marketing organization before becoming the manager the North American Commission Group for 3-5 years. Caorlee then progressed into a Sales Segment Business Manager position. Upon retiring from Motorola in 1998, she was requested to be a sub-contractor with Motorola to assist in the development of a computerized Quota Compensation system. She volunteered for the Auxiliary of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale in 1998 and shortly thereafter became a Board member for five years, served as Treasurer for three years, and President one year. Carolee joined Liberty Wildlife in 1998 as an Orphan Care volunteer, then assisted with data inputting before becoming the Office Admin for 2 years while periodically assisting the Bookkeeper. After retiring from that position, she returned to part-time status handling the bookkeeping responsibilities for Liberty Wildlife.

Peggy has been a resident of Arizona since 1974. In 1999 she began volunteering with Liberty Wildlife’s Guardians, which raises funds for Liberty Wildlife through the annual benefit, Wishes for Wildlife, and is currently the President of that group. She acts as a Rescue/Transport volunteer and is an active member of Liberty’s Education group as well as serving on Liberty Wildlife’s Board of Directors.

Alison Kocek was born in Mesa, Arizona. She eventually moved to Tucson and received a B.S. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology with an emphasis in Ornithology from the University of Arizona in 2004. She began volunteering at Liberty Wildlife shortly after graduation, learning the many facets of rehabilitation. She also began interning in the Research & Conservation Department, honing her skills in field work. She was then hired to manage the Orphan Care department in 2005 and preformed the fulfilling but tedious job of caring for thousands of orphaned passerines and shorebirds. After the orphan season ended, Alison went on to learn a great deal about animal nutrition and behavioral enrichment by working in the Nutrition Services department at the Phoenix Zooand creating diets for most of the animals in the zoo’s collection. In 2006, she went on to intern at the Maui Bird Conservation Center in Makawao, HI. Here she studied and cared for critically endangered Hawaiian birds such as the ‘Alala, Nene, Maui Parrotbill and Puaiohi. Alison then moved to Maine for the summer of 2007 to become an Island Supervisor for Audubon’s Seabird Restoration Project - "Project Puffin." Here she lived on a small island while managing, researching and protecting its active seabird colonies. She then returned back home to Arizona in fall of 2007 to become the Lead Wildlife Biologist for Liberty’s Research & Conservation Department. Here, Alison is able to pursue the important issue of solving human/wildlife conflicts using quality scientific research and conservation methods.

Nina grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she spent a lot of time camping and hiking with her family. She attended California University of Pennsylvania and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology. After college she moved to Maryland and went to work for the Maryland Department of Agriculture. During her time in Maryland she went back to school to get her Masters Degree. She attended Towson University and graduated with a Master of Science in Environmental Science.
Shortly after graduating, Nina and her husband decided to move to Arizona. The outdoor opportunities drew them out west. Nina joined Liberty Wildlife in the summer of 2006 as a volunteer. She was quickly hired to be a Wildlife Biologist for the Research and Conservation Department of Liberty Wildlife. Nina continues to volunteer, participating in daily care, medical services, and educational programs. In addition to working as a Wildlife Biologist and volunteering, she is also the Administrative Assistant. Nina loves spending each day learning something new about Arizona’s wildlife and is happy to be part of an organization that gives native wildlife a second chance.