Black Pine Animal Park Staff & Volunteers

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ABOUT US

Welcomed

Black Pine Animal Park

1426 W. 300 N.

P.O. Box 02

Albion, IN 46701

(260) 636-7383

Contact Us

"Be the change you want to see in the world."

- Ghandi

Our Staff

[ Senior Staff ] [ Interns ] [ Volunteer Staff ] [ Board of Directors ]

	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.
	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.
	Jessica Price is the park's Senior Zookeeper. Jess began volunteering at Black Pine when she was just 14 years old. Following graduation from high school, she went on to graduate with a B.S. in Zoo Science from Friends University in Kansas. She was a volunteer coordinator and zookeeper at the Sedgewick County Zoo in Wichita before being lured back to Indiana where her family still lives. Words cannot express how proud we are to have Jess managing the husbandry and enrichment programs full time at Black Pine, as well as supervising and mentoring many student interns. Jess is passionate and capable, and it shows in everything she does!
	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's responsibilities include developing new programs and sources of funding. She also designs and maintains this website and assists the Senior Zookeeper with daily husbandry routines, coordinators the volunteer program, and other office tasks. Her background is in supervision, administration, customer service, and information technology, so her varied skills help her accomplish many projects to benefit the park.
	Josh Price, Operations Manager, rounded out a powerhouse 'package deal' when he joined the volunteer staff in October 2004. Josh and Jess were married in July 2005, and in July 2006 he joined the staff full-time. Josh was formerly employed by the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, KS as a zookeeper and in the zoo maintenance department. Josh designs and oversees the construction and maintenance of virtually all service buildings and animal habitats for the park and is largely responsible for the rebuilding of Black Pine during the Relocation Project. His talent and ambition has made the new site a wonderful new home!

To learn more about joining our staff, click here!

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.

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.

Cris Hensley

Terry Reyes

Mark Thaler

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.

Tabitha Barbree

Karen Hoag

Linda Kratzat

Jaime Magnuson

Mark Thaler

Jenna Schmidt

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.

Amy Kreg

Ashley Kidd
Candace Brawner

Carolyn Case
Carrie Martz
Denise Elliott
Dianne Lengerich

Donna Kelly
Emily O'Brien

Jim Blomberg

Julie Parsons-Dare

Karen Lemire

Kelly Sinak

Kristen Duncan

Kyle Stephens
Mark Johnson

Paul Cureton

Renee Runkle
Sara Augsburger

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.

Brenda Cureton

Cia Gorsuch

Diana Leffel
Dianna Voors
Jami Alexander

Jamie Fisher
Janet Heyman

Janet Uffelman
Jan Swaim
Jessica Johnson
Jim Kratzat

John Lengerich

John Toles

Kellie Adkins

LaMont Tipple
Larry Leffel
Lynn Toles
Mandi DeGregory
Marty Thomas
Mike Antoine

Randy Vaughn

Ryan Cureton

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.

Candace Brawner is a student at San Diego Candace Brawner and Minnie, a mini-horse 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 with Kamar, a Burmese python

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 with Choker, a red-tail boa

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!