About Wildlife Rescue League

Beth Axelrod has volunteered for multiple animal advocacy organizations for over 30 years. She became involved with WRL as a Helpline volunteer in 2007. She has served on the Board of Directors since 2011, as President from 2013-2017 and as Vice President and Treasurer from 2017-2022, as well as chairing the Wildlife Center Task Force with the goal of establishing a wildlife center in Northern Virginia.

Prior to retiring, Beth had a 30 year career in Real Estate Management and was a Vice President of a real estate development firm. She managed projects full-cycle with a focus on team management and training, ensuring statutory compliance with multi-jurisdictional condominium acts, and that construction standards met the specifications of contractual documents. Beth also prepared operating budgets for multiple projects, served on all Declarant Boards of Directors, prepared financial reports for investors and acted as a liaison for the Developer involving complex negotiations regarding legal issues.

Beth resides in Centreville, where she enjoys landscaping with a focus on wildlife, creating gardens, a pond, and wildlife and pollinator habitats. She is a VDWR and USFWS permitted wildlife rehabilitator.

Philip S. Church is a graduate of Ohio State University and spent over 32 years working for the Defense Logistics Agency as a logistics and contracting specialist, focusing largely on procurement automation. He has been the At Large representative to the Fairfax County Animal Services Advisory Commission since 2001 with time as Chair, Vice-chair, and Secretary.

In addition to other humane organization work he was a primary member of Humane Deer Management which was a key partner in the five year deer spay effort in Fairfax City, VA. He has been a member of the Mantua Citizens’ Association Board since 2010 and joined the WRL Board of Directors in Dec 2020.

He and wife, Patricia, have three children and live in Fairfax, VA.

Lana de Moraes Africano is a realtor with Compass in Alexandria, Virginia, and a partner in the staging business, Door2Door Decor. She is a wife and a mother of three sons, two daughters-in-law, as well as a grandmother to one grandson. As a military family for 21 years, Lana and her family lived in various locations, including overseas and across the United States, which has given her a unique perspective on the housing market and the needs of relocating families.

Lana helps clients buy and sell homes while utilizing her staging expertise to enhance property presentation. She loves to problem-solve, which allows her to find creative solutions for her clients’ needs. She is licensed in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., providing her clients with comprehensive support across multiple markets. Her real estate career offers the flexibility to manage a full-time schedule while also prioritizing her family.

In addition to her real estate work, Lana has been a long-time volunteer with various organizations, including the American Red Cross and the Boy Scouts of America. She also volunteers with the Helpline for Wildlife Rescue League, finding it rewarding to help animals and assist people in solving wildlife-related problems.

Born in Brazil, Lana speaks Portuguese fluently and can get by with Spanish, adding to her ability to connect with a diverse range of clients. She combines her professional skills and community involvement to make a positive impact in her field and local area.

Jessica Andersen, is the current Rehabilitation Program Manager at the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center, where she has worked in rehabilitation, education, and outreach since 2015. Previous to BRWC, she started her rehabilitation career with an internship at the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro, CA in 2013, and continued on to complete a year-long Apprenticeship at Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation in Texas in 2014, working with Texas native wildlife in a rehabilitation setting as well as with livestock, domestics, and exotic rescues.

She enjoys birding, hiking, wildlife photography, traveling, and spending time with her two indoor-only cats, Nugget and Freya.

Stan Ellis is a retired IT management professional with over 28 years of experience in the IT sector for the military and public organizations. He has been married for over 50 years and has 3 children and 3 grandchildren. His formal education includes a BA in mathematics, a fairly recent MBA, and certificates in Accounting and Nonprofit Management. His current interests include music performance (euphonium), foster care of rescue dogs, and, more recently, involvement in the Wildlife Rescue League on the helpline.

Since the late 70s, Stan has had a passion for serving on the boards/councils of numerous nonprofits. Over the years, those have consisted of homeowners’ associations(3), churches(3), human rights groups(1), arts and cultural(1), and community services(3). From these, he has a total of over 60 ‘board years’ which includes 30 years serving on the board of a local volunteer fire department, primarily in the role of treasurer/finance chair.

Thomas Ingle is the Chief of Field Services at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter, where he is dedicated to advancing the county’s commitment to positive outcomes for wildlife in the community. Before joining Fairfax County, Thomas held leadership positions in animal control agencies in both Montgomery County, MD, and Washington, DC. In these roles, he promoted human-wildlife coexistence and effectively addressed urban wildlife conflicts resulting from ongoing development and habitat alteration.

A native of the DMV area, Thomas developed a deep appreciation for animals and nature through his extensive time outdoors.

As a federal financial professional, Chris has more than twenty years of experience in financial reporting, enterprise risk management, internal control implementation, auditing, and financial operations. Currently, she serves as the accounts payable subject matter expert at her agency and has experience in project management and agency reorganization planning.

In the fall of 2020, Chris joined the Wildlife Rescue League as a Helpline volunteer and is eager to contribute her knowledge and skills to WRL as a member of the board. In her personal time, Chris enjoys gardening, actively participates in her neighborhood HOA committees, and is an avid birder. She resides in Springfield with her two formerly feral cats, Black Cat and Cheeto, who are now enjoying the comforts of indoor life.

Jennifer Rokasky graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science. Since 2005 she has worked with Prince William County Schools. She started out as a high school science teacher, teaching Earth Science and AP Environmental Science. In October 2012, she started a new role as an Energy Education Coordinator with the division’s Facilities Department. In this current role, Jennifer works managing utilities, monitoring schools’ energy usage, and making suggestions for improvements, and will soon be implementing the school division’s first-ever Solar Power Purchase Agreement program.

Outside of work, Jennifer has served on the board of the Prince William Education Association and Virginia Education Association and has been chair of the Communications and PR Committee, Co-Chair of the LGBTQ+ Ad-Hoc Committee, and a Resolutions Committee Member. She currently serves as Zone 1 Director on the NEA LGBTQ+ Caucus. She has been a Helpline Volunteer with Wildlife Rescue League since October 2021, and recently completed transporter training and is looking forward to learning that aspect of WRL.

Olivia Sedita is a corporate attorney with experience working alongside boards and leadership teams on governance, compliance, and strategic decision-making. In pursuit of her long-standing interest in animal protection, she is beginning her Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Animal Law to deepen her understanding of the legal and policy frameworks that shape animal welfare and to apply that knowledge in advocacy and nonprofit leadership. Olivia is passionate about the intersection of law, ethics, and animal welfare, and looks forward to bringing this perspective to her role on the Wildlife Rescue League Board.

After moving to Northern Virginia in 2024, Olivia quickly became involved with several local animal nonprofits, including the Wildlife Rescue League, where she began assisting as a helpline volunteer after she and her husband used WRL’s services to place four orphaned baby raccoons in their yard with a rehabber. She is also actively involved with Virginia German Shepherd Rescue, from which she adopted her German Shepherd, Ramsey. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and exploring outdoors with her husband, Will, and dog, Ramsey, as well as spending time with her beloved guinea pigs, Milo and Curly.

Elena Taube Bailey has diverse and in-depth experience in academia and the private and public sector, including the DoD, CIA, ODNI, and the DoS. She currently serves as a senior national security analyst at the DoD, as well as, a part-time Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University in the Master’s in Applied Intelligence program. As an advocate of animal welfare, Elena serves as the Executive Director at Wild Things Media and as a Campaign Director of the nationwide Watch For Wildlife campaign, which aims to prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions across the United States. Elena also serves as a Board Member for the Wildlife Rescue League and for Wildlife SoS. As a Board Member, Elena contributes to the Development, Marketing and Communication Committees, and she helps leverage media for fundraising, education, and information sharing purposes, ultimately to help save wildlife lives.

Elena is currently completing a Ph.D. in Strategic Communication and an M.A. in Psychology from Harvard University. Elena received an M.B.A. from Georgetown University and an M.A. in Politics from New York University. Elena had pursued her undergraduate studies at Harvard University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and UCLA where she earned a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Middle Eastern Studies.

Rachel Feeney is a sixth generation Washingtonian with deep ties to the community and is thrilled to join the Wildlife Rescue League. She comes with a degree in Communications from Ithaca College as well as over a decade of experience working in marketing and events.

Rachel is excited to get back to her roots working with animal welfare, as she previously worked with the Humane Rescue Alliance focusing on their events and PR. She has been featured on local and national news, worked with celebrity animal advocates from Kirk Cousins to Carson Kressley, as well as managed and executed over 300 events in her career.

Holly Hazard is an animal protection, education and women’s rights advocate. For over 10 years, as Senior Vice President at The Humane Society of the United States she oversaw the Society’s Companion Animal, Equine, Wildlife and Animal Rescue Departments. Along with Doris Day she founded the Doris Day Animal League. During this time she launched Spay Day USA, lobbied and litigated protect wild horses and get chimpanzees out of entertainment and research. From 1985-1990 she was a partner in the first animal rights law firm in the nation and led the fight against toxicity and cosmetics testing. Holly has lobbied extensively at the local, state and federal level and managed a staff of over 120 people and a $20 million budget.

Currently she is Chief of Staff to state Senator Barbara Favola and founding member of a grassroots advocacy group, 4 Public Education, which promotes public education. She also serves on the Fairfax County Animal Services Advisory Board and on the Fairfax County Public Schools Adult and Community Education Advisory Committee. She has 4 adult children and 2 rescue pups.

Joan Vasbinder has been involved in education for over 40 years as a teacher, principal, and director at the University level.

She became involved with the WRL upon her retirement in 2017. She joined the Education Committee in 2021, working to create classroom lessons and presentations on wildlife for school age students.

Joan received a BS in Biology and Education and a MA in Administration and Supervision from the University of Texas at Austin.

She currently lives in Boone, NC with her husband and Rex bunny, E.B.

Carolyn S. Wilder is a former president of Wildlife Rescue League (WRL) as well as a volunteer on WRL’s helpline and a presenter to community groups and schools. Carolyn began her involvement with WRL in 2008 as a transporter while transitioning from a career as an attorney. Now retired, Carolyn devotes most of her time to WRL activities.

Carolyn has been a licensed attorney since 1979 and worked for nonprofit trade associations for almost twenty years as in-house counsel. She counseled the associations and its members on contracts, antitrust, trademarks and general legal issues.

Carolyn also served six years on the board of Senior Services of Alexandria.