Lisa Culver, Chief Executive Officer
Lisa grew up in Northeastern Oklahoma on the edge of the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve in the heart of the Osage Indian Reservation in the town of Pawhuska. Lisa studied at Oklahoma State University before she traveled the world spending three years living in Panama and traveling throughout Central and South America. Lisa has spent her life working passionately to make a difference in the lives of people, animals and the world around us. Her 18 years in San Diego has included working as the Development Director for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America where she raised millions of dollars to help those who live with these diseases and the Director of Corporate Relations and Development for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. Lisa also brings a high level of expertise in business development and marketing from her work as the International Marketing Director for Ettan Press and Vice President of Marketing for Planesia. Lisa enjoys painting, art films, fine wines and sushi when she can find time away from her two young sons and her dog Ruby.

Wanda Cossette, Chief Operating Officer
Wanda grew up in a small town in New Hampshire and moved to Florida as a young single mother. After ten years of working full-time and taking night classes, she graduated with honors from The University of Florida with a BA in Anthropology. In addition, she has an AS degree in Business Management from Santa Fe Community College and a Certificate of Nonprofit Management from Chapman College. Wanda has worked in the nonprofit sector for over thirty years for six different nonprofit organizations and has been at Project Wildlife since 2007. Since moving to San Diego in 1997, she has also worked as the Director of Operations for ElderHelp of San Diego and as the Business Manager for The San Diego Food Bank. She enjoys playing cards with friends, is the mother of two, grandmother of four and lives with her husband and three dogs.

Adrianna Lewis, Director of Volunteers
Adrianna has lived in San Diego since she was 12, so considers herself a native. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UCSD with a BA in Anthropology, and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Oxford in Medical Anthropology, specializing in Anthrozoology. Previous to Project Wildlife, she managed the volunteer programs at Birch Aquarium at Scripps and the North County Humane Society & SPCA. In her free time, Adrianna volunteers for ElderHelp and various companion-animal/wildlife organizations. She is currently working on a novel based on her experience in graduate school.

Trish Jackman, Wildlife Rehabilitation Manager
Trish grew up in Southern California and received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California. After working as a volunteer wildlife rehabilitator, she went back to school and received a degree with honors in animal behavior and management. She moved to Oregon to work as a wildlife trainer and educator for Wildlife Safari and moved up to assistant curator, adding veterinary assistant, spokesperson, and raptor rehabilitation coordinator to her duties. She moved on to work as a vet assistant, and as a trainer and spokesperson for the Living Desert, before moving to San Diego to work as a senior keeper for the San Diego Zoo. In 2003, she shifted gears and accepted a position with the San Diego Humane Society as their mobile adoptions coordinator and eventually became the species specialist and supervisor for their offsite facility. She is certified in canine/feline behavioral evaluations and was a member of the task force sent to oversee animal intake and triage at Katrina and the San Diego fires. After 13 years in the field, she felt the pull of wildlife again and joined Project Wildlife as the manager of home care rehabilitators. When she’s not working she enjoys power boating and spending time with her pets and the occasional overnight patient.

Gabby Meadows, Triage Center Manager
Gabrielle grew up in the Los Angeles area with a love for helping animals. She graduated from California State University Long Beach with a Bachelors degree in Biology, option Zoology, and a minor in Chemistry. After graduation she worked as a Veterinary technician for several different Veterinary hospitals in Orange County. She then gained both management and working experience with California laws and Fish and Game permits working for Orange County Animal Control as the Licensing Administrative Supervisor. In June 2009,she moved to the San Diego area where she started volunteering at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park veterinary hospital. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her daughter, husband and their 2 dogs.

Sarah Whorley, Communications Manager
Sarah grew up in Orange County, CA and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from California State University, Chico. Throughout her college years Sarah volunteered at the local humane society and worked as a Kennel Technician for a veterinary hospital. As a result of these experiences, Sarah decided to focus her marketing and public relations career in the field of animal welfare. Shortly after moving to San Diego in 2003, Sarah landed a job with the San Diego Humane Society and SPCA. Sarah was the humane society’s Marketing Communications Coordinator for five years before leaving to pursue a dream she had set aside – playing volleyball at the intercollegiate level. For two seasons Sarah played Middle Blocker for San Diego City College where she was nominated to the All-Conference Team and named Athlete of the Week, despite being nearly a decade older than her teammates! After completing her athletic eligibility, Sarah decided to return to the animal nonprofit world and took on her current position with Project Wildlife. Sarah is a proud pet mom to two cats. When she’s not working to help animals, Sarah enjoys playing and coaching volleyball, hiking, reading, catching up on TV shows and spending time with her kitties.

Constance Canales, Gift Processor and Administration Specialist
Constance Canales is a former Project Wildlife intern whose experience established the foundation for her position as Gift Processor and Administration Specialist. A native to Southern California, she attended San Diego State University where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. Her love for animals began at the age of seven with the arrival of her first family pet, a cat named Rufus. Constance has been a volunteer for five years with organizations such as Birch Aquarium at Scripps, WiLDCOAST and The Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach. While out of the office, she enjoys reading, practicing yoga, scuba diving and discovering new restaurants.

Francesca Okiyama, Education Program Assistant
Francesca comes from a colorful ethnic background with a Japanese-Guamanian father and a Latina mother. Originally from El Paso, she was fortunate to spend part of childhood living overseas in Germany and Hawaii. She attended the University of Texas at EP pursuing an elementary teaching degree, but college plans were interrupted by the arrival of her daughter. Joining her mother’s home daycare was the perfect solution to the dilemma of earning income and being a stay-at-home mom. After moving to Denver, she was employed as a financial and principal’s secretary with the school district for over 10 years. While in Colorado, she was a member of a competitive fencing club for 5 years, got hooked on bird watching and volunteered with HawkQuest, learning to handle raptors for educational programs and public events. When her husband received a job transfer to beautiful San Diego, she was privileged to find the opportunity to fulfill a life-long passion of working with a wildlife organization. Currently, she keeps a full schedule by volunteering for Mama’s Kitchen, learning to play the mandolin, practicing yoga and taking Spanish classes.

Jane E. Meier, D.V.M., Supervising Veterinarian
Graduate of Purdue University, School of Veterinary Medicine. Internship in Zoological Medicine, Zoological Society of San Diego, 1975-1976. Associate Veterinarian for the Zoological Society of San Diego, 1976-1988. Presently in private practice caring for both exotic and domestic animals. 1996 to present, Supervising Veterinarian for Project Wildlife. Author and contributor to many scientific and popular animal-related articles, book chapters, and studies.