Jean has spent her life studying, caring for, and teaching about animals. Growing up on a dairy farm, she graduated from U Mass, Amherst with a  BS in  Natural Resource Studies.  She taught middle and high school biology and zoology for over 30 years and has spent countless hours volunteering in wildlife rehabilitation and educational facilities.

She loves to travel, photograph, and observe wildlife in the US and other countries including Panama, Thailand, the Galápagos Islands, Australia, and most recently Tanzania.  Just a few of her favorite experiences involved fostering a black bear cub, helping protect sea turtle nesting beaches and releasing hatchlings, and swimming with whale sharks.

She currently volunteers at the Center for Wildlife in Southern Maine, and hopes to continue to learn how to care for a variety of injured or orphaned animals!

Today she splits her time with us between program delivery (she is especially rewarded with the jobs where we are a special guest lecturer at the assisted living facilities and nursing homes) and her passion for enrichment!   None of us come even close to the creativity Jean brings to making sure the Ambassador Animals have visually and sensory-stimulating and engaging things to do and eat during their “downtime” at the Ecology Center’s USDA licensed wildlife sanctuary!

Jean lives in Strafford, NH.