Who We Are
City Wildlife was created to address the need for wildlife rescue and rehabilitation in Washington, DC. Over the past several decades, urban development has reduced local wildlife habitat and wild animals have had to adapt to living in close proximity with people. Each year, hundreds of wild animals in DC are unintentionally harmed by people and the urban environment.
Our goals are:
- To manage a rescue center to assist sick, orphaned, and injured wild animals and return them to the wild;
- To promote the enjoyment of native wildlife and harmonious co-existence with wild animals; and
- To protect the District of Columbia’s wild places for animal habitats.
What We Do
Prior to our opening in 2013, there was no wildlife rehabilitation center in Washington, DC. The nearest wildlife rehabilitation center was an hour away and many injured animals in the District were not able to make the journey.
In 2007, City Wildlife founders Anne Lewis and Jim Monsma came together to try and figure out a way to fill this gap in animal care.
Why We Need You
We rely heavily on volunteers to help us with Lights Out, Duck Watch, educational outreach, and animal care.
GuideStar, the world’s largest source of information on nonprofit organizations, has just awarded City Wildlife platinum status, its highest rating! GuideStar evaluates organizations for transparency as an aid to encouraging effective and impactful donations. City Wildlife is proud to have achieved its most prestigious level.
Meet Our Staff and Board
Jim Monsma, Executive Director
Jim Monsma has 25 years of experience in the animal protection field in the Washington, DC area. An avid birder and amateur naturalist, Jim has a keen interest in preserving native birds and other wildlife. He helped launch City Wildlife and the Lights Out DC program for the protection of migratory birds before becoming the director of Second Chance Wildlife Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland, in 2012. He returned to City Wildlife in October 2018.
Kristy Jacobus, Clinic Director
Tufts University (D.V.M.)
Kristy is a 2014 graduate of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. Following graduation, she completed a one year rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the University of Pennsylvania and then a one year wildlife and conservation medicine internship at the Tufts Wildlife Clinic. Kristy has had a long standing interest in wild animals. She worked as a keeper at the Bergen County Zoo in Paramus, NJ and Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park before she decided to attend veterinary school. In her spare time, she enjoys swimming, SCUBA diving, and watching Netflix.
Charlotte Lambert, Animal Care Manager
University of Delaware (B.S., Wildlife Ecology and Conservation; B.S., Agriculture and Natural Resources)
Charlotte graduated in 2017 from the University of Delaware with a double major in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation and Agriculture and Natural Resources. After graduation she completed several jobs including a seasonal position at Tri-State Bird and Rescue. She is an apprentice wildlife rehabilitator and wants to continue helping injured and orphaned wildlife. Charlotte enjoys traveling and the outdoors. She studied abroad in 2016 to Tanzania and hopes to go back soon!
Kim Hodlin, Director of Communications
University of Maryland – College Park (B.S., Biology: Ecology and Evolution)
Kim graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park where she majored in Biology with a concentration in Ecology and Evolution and minored in Creative Writing. While at college, Kim interned at Zoo New England and The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. Since graduating, Kim has interned at Ducks Unlimited and worked at animal hospitals in both Boston and Washington, DC. Kim has a strong interest in conservation and wildlife rehabilitation.
Kasey Birtz
Registered Veterinary Technician
Apprentice Wildlife Rehabilitator (MD)
New England Institute of Technology (A.S., Veterinary Tech.)
Kasey is a Registered Veterinary Technician and Wildlife Rehabilitation Apprentice. She graduated from the New England Institute of Technology with a degree from the veterinary technology program. She has worked in several small animal practices, including an emergency and specialty hospital. Kasey fell in love with wildlife medicine at the New England Wildlife Center in Massachusetts. Originally from Rhode Island, Kasey moved to DC to take the Animal Care Manager position at City Wildlife.
Karen Alroy, Consulting Wildlife Veterinarian
Tufts University (D.V.M., M.P.H)
Karen gained her training in wildlife and exotic animal medicine at numerous places including the Tufts University Wildlife Clinic, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the Wildlife Health Center at U.C. Davis, and the Southeastern Cooperative for Wildlife Disease Study at University of Georgia. She conducted advanced clinical training in small animal emergency medicine as an intern at Friendship Hospital for Animals in Washington, DC, and advanced research training as a Fogarty Scholar at Johns Hopkins University.
In addition to treating orphaned, injured, and ill wild animals at City Wildlife, Karen enjoys teaching and training volunteers and being a part of public stewardship of the environment. She has strong interests in the connections between human, animal, and environmental health and conducts research on infectious disease and epidemiology. She is a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation. Currently, Karen is employed at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA.
Gregory Costanzo, Consulting Wildlife Veterinarian
Cornell University (D.V.M.)
Gregory graduated from Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2009. Following graduation, he completed a one-year internship in small animal medicine and surgery at Long Island Veterinary Specialists. He then worked as an emergency veterinarian at Southern Arizona Veterinary Speciality and Emergency Center in Tucson, Arizona while also volunteering at the Tucson Wildlife Center (TWC). Gregory is currently a staff veterinarian at Stahl Exotic Animal Veterinary Services (SEAVS) in Fairfax, VA.
Mary Ashley Laine, Consulting Wildlife Veterinarian
Virginia Tech (D.V.M.)
Mary Ashley graduated from Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech in 2014. She completed several externships in wildlife medicine, including at the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro, Virginia, and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia. She worked as a Wildlife Veterinarian at City Wildlife from 2015 to 2016.
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AVMA Fellows photo shoot in Washington DC Sept. 15, 2015.
Kuki Hansen, Consulting Wildlife Veterinarian
Glasglow Veterinary School (B.V.M.S.)
University of Minnesota (M.P.H.)
Dr. Hansen has worked with farm, companion, and exotic animals, but holds a particular interest in fish and marine mammals. Most recently, she has worked as an ocean and science policy fellow on Capitol Hill. She also volunteers with the Humane Rescue Alliance and PGSPCA. She graduated from Glasgow Veterinary School, Scotland in 2001 and holds a Masters in Public Health from the University of Minnesota and board certification from the American College of Veterinary Preventative Medicine.
Board of Directors
Anne Lewis, President
Maryanna Kieffer, Vice-President
Ginny May, Secretary
Lisa Olson, Treasurer
Lisbeth Fuisz
Peter S. Glassman, D.V.M.
Paula C. Goldberg
John Hadidian
Veska Kita
April Linton
Helen O’Brien
Mike Prucker
