Heidi Volkhardt Allstead
Executive Director
Heidi has 20 + years of non-profit management experience across a variety of sectors and has a deep passion for supporting non-profit organizations’ with their next phase of growth. During her tenure in the non-profit community, she has lead organizations through developing a robust grants management processes, financial best practices, increased donor & community relationships, conducted strategic planning, succession planning, organizational audit processes, and board development trainings for many non-profit organizations.
Heidi earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Conservation with a minor in Biology from Northern Michigan University. Her previous work includes supporting water quality, watershed restoration projects, and land conservation efforts in the Great Lakes region. Heidi and her family, (including their two awesome dogs), have called Tahoe home since 2008.
Denise Upton
Wildlife Education Coordinator
After joining LTWC in 1995, Denise became one of our most hands-on volunteers involved with the daily care of wild birds and animals at LTWC. She served on the LTWC board for six years and as its president for two terms before being hired as Animal Care Director (ACD) in 2014. She started the live animal ambassador program shortly after becoming the ACD & helped develop our education outreach with these animals. In 2023 Denise stepped down as Animal Care Director & became the Wildlife Education Coordinator for LTWC. She has attended numerous wildlife rehabilitation conferences, including IWRC, CCWR & NWRA symposiums and training.
Eliza Cameron
Wildlife Rehabilitation Manager
In 2009, Eliza completed a certificate II in animal studies and Zookeeper internship at Taronga Zoo, Sydney. Her passion for working with animals was reignited in 2016 when she started as a nestling volunteer with LTWC. At the end of 2017, she became a lead volunteer and a veterinary assistant at a local animal hospital. Eliza is studying to become a licenced veterinary technician with plans to specialize in wildlife. In 2020, she became a wildlife rehabilitation technician for LTWC, working closely with the veterinarians to provide medical care and treatment plans for our rehabilitating birds and mammals.
Kassie Quackenbush
Wildlife Rehabilitation Manager
Kassie received her Bachelors of Science in Marine Biology from the University of Oregon in 2014. During that time she volunteered for a raptor center in Oregon, and interned for a sea turtle hospital in China. After graduation she moved to Florida to intern for a wildlife hospital in Naples. She began volunteering for Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care in 2020, and was hired as a Wildlife Technician in 2021. She is working full-time at a local small animal hospital as a Veterinary Technician in Training, with plans to specialize in wildlife medicine once she receives her certification.
Sue Harley
Wildlife Rehabilitation Technician
Sue started out in 2018 as a volunteer at LTWC and quickly identified with raptor and animal care support needs, joining our team as a Wildlife Technician in 2019. Her personal background brings knowledge and hands-on experience with wild and domesticated animal care. Sue has owned and managed a small ranch, which exposed her to a wide variety of both domesticated and wild animals wherein she developed care plans, food intake and preparation, housing development and maintenance, medical care as well as onsite and offsite vet care. Sue works with a variety of organizations to help monitor and protect the wildlife that encroach on private land and assists with the safe release of animals back into the wild.
Michelle Harvey
Wildlife Rehabilitation Technician
Michelle has twenty-two years of experience in the animal care field. She has cared for over a hundred different animal species. From beavers to bears, elk to elephants, turtles to tigers.
Michelle has worked for a large animal sanctuary, a veterinary clinic, a zoo and wildlife rehabilitation centers and has an associate degree in social science. She enjoys teaching and is an advocate for animal welfare. She has given guided tours, educational talks and classroom presentations.
Michelle believes we can create a kinder world for animals. Education and awareness are the key.
AnnDee Hafner
Wildlife Rehabilitation Technician
AnnDee started out in the Spring of 2022 as a volunteer at LTWC and joined our team as a Wildlife Technician in December of the same year. While she committed 4 decades in the human medical field (clinics, emergency departments, Red Cross) she also worked from a very young age on with horses; training, administering medications, and general maintenance of the horses and their environmental needs. She has taken on extremely challenging dogs deemed not adoptable and with tremendous care, in time, turned them around. Having always had a love and interest in wildlife, her experience(s) with domestic animals has provided a crossover to the compassion, patience and care needed for this newest chapter of her life.
Bruce Richards
Project Manager
Bruce is a retired Research and Development Director for the Hewlett Packard Company and has been working with LTWC since 2012. Prior to joining LTWC, Bruce and his wife Adele rescued and rehabilitated dozens of Golden Retrievers in the SF Bay Area. His 30+ years of experience in corporate governance, project management, budget control, and information systems has been vital to the evolution of LTWC as an organization. Bruce served as an LTWC Board Member for several years, and was instrumental in helping us secure, construct, and move into our new facility. He is the Project Manager for our construction projects, our IT manager, and works with many of the donors who make our work possible.
Aaron Anderson
Accounting Assistant
Aaron joined the LTWC team in 2022 to help with the accounting and administrative side of operations. With a background in web design and experience running small businesses, Aaron is also a lifelong animal welfare advocate who has volunteered and worked for animal rescue groups and humane societies. Aaron and his family have called South Lake Tahoe home since 2011.
Morgan Amsden
Facilities Manager
Morgan Amsden has been active part of LTWC for many years, serving as a Volunteer, Board Member, and as Board President for many years before becoming our Facilities Manager in 2020. As a Board Member and President, Morgan was instrumental in helping find LTWC a new home, which finally became a reality when LTWC secured a new property in 2014 and transitioned to it in 2019. He now oversees LTWC’s various facilities needs to ensure a safe, secure, and efficient environment for our staff, volunteers, and the wildlife in our care. He has lived and worked in Lake Tahoe for over 25 years as a small business owner and timeshare homeowner.
Board of Directors
Coralin Glerum
President
Coralin has been an LTWC volunteer and board member since 2015, and is a member of the LTWC Fundraising Committee. She is a retired college professor of exercise science and has experience in presentations, project planning, communications, budgets and research. She received her BA from the College of William & Mary and her MA at UC Berkeley. Coralin is the leader of our Fundraising Committee.
Greg Erfani
Vice President
After a career in sales and marketing leadership roles for Verizon and Starbucks, Greg now focuses his time on several Board positions in California, Nevada and New York, as well as real estate development and volunteer work for worthy organizations such as Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care. He and his partner love spending time between the mountains and the beach…determined in large part by what their Golden Retriever “Luna” demands at any given moment!
Stephanie Lenstrom, CPA
Treasurer
Stephanie has been involved with LTWC since 2009 and joined the Board as Treasurer in 2016. She has been a practicing CPA for over 32 years, the last 21 years here in South Lake Tahoe. In addition to assisting individuals and local businesses with tax planning and compliance, she has assisted numerous nonprofits with compliance and planning issues at both the federal and state level.
Lauren Kostka
Secretary
Lauren began volunteering with LTWC in 2020 and joined the Board in 2021, focusing on fundraising and marketing initiatives. Lauren has deep experience working at the intersection of marketing and technology, most recently at Meta (formerly known as Facebook Company), as well as for Google and Gap Online. A born communicator and coalition-builder, Lauren excels at herding cats and making ideas come to life beautifully and efficiently. Lauren received her BA in English Literature and Psychology from Georgetown University.
Kevin Willitts, DVM
Volunteer Veterinarian
Dr. Willitts, a graduate of Michigan State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine 1981, has been a practicing small animal veterinarian for over 40 years.
Dr. Willitts has been a volunteer veterinarian with LTWC since 1984, and an LTWC board member since 1990, previously serving as LTWC Board Vice President and President.
Cathy Ebert
Board Member
Cathy joined the LTWC Board January 2022. A graduate of the University of Nevada Reno, Cathy brings extensive experience after over 40 years in Financial Services and Real Estate. Cathy’s curiosity and keen observation of animals and the outdoors was sparked as a young child playing then working on her family’s ranch in Lamoille Canyon in eastern Nevada. When Cathy’s not volunteering, she can be found outdoors; in a kayak, on skis, snowshoes, or in hiking boots – always with a pair of binoculars around her neck trekking the trails of the Sierra.
Lauren Bachelder
Board Member
Lauren joined the LTWC Board of Directors in 2017. Lauren brings over 15 years of digital marketing and communications experience within the hospitality and healthcare industries.
Originally from South Lake Tahoe, Lauren is excited to serve her hometown community and support local wildlife. Lauren earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
Morgan Beryl
Board Member
Morgan is Executive Director of the Haywood County Arts Council, located in western North Carolina. While living at Tahoe, Morgan worked for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and spent her time volunteering at LTWC. Morgan participates on the fundraising committee which helps fund operations and capital improvements.
Sue Novasel
Board Member
Sue Novasel has been a board member of LTWC since 2008. She was the District V Supervisor for El Dorado County, California and served as a trustee to the Lake Tahoe Unified School District, serving as both president and clerk of the school board. Sue is a past chair of the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors and the California Tahoe Conservancy’s Board of Directors, along with serving on the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s board for 8 years.
Founding Board Members
Cheryl Millham
Board Member Emeritus
Cheryl was a cofounder of LTWC, and was key to its success. She served as LTWC’s original president, and was promoted to executive director in 1983. Cheryl helped care for and treat thousands of wild birds and animals, hosted two international wildlife rehab conferences in Lake Tahoe, delivered numerous papers at wildlife rehab conferences around the country, and trained hundreds of wildlife rehabbers.
Tom Millham
Board Member Emeritus
Tom was a cofounder of LTWC, wearing many hats including planning and organizing LTWC fundraising efforts, managing facility operations, organizing volunteers, and providing community outreach. Tom oversaw LTWC’s growth and led the team tasked with finding LTWC’s new home.
Robert Dietz
Board Member Emeritus
Bob was a cofounder of LTWC and a major financial supporter of the organization. Bob passed away in 2020.
Bob and Sue Rutherdale
Board Members Emeritii
Volunteers
Our work is not possible without our volunteers!
Volunteers are crucial to LTWC’s work, and the value of their time and dedication is immeasurable. They help feed and care for the animals staying with us, assist with animal transport and releases, pitch in with fundraisers and events, donate special skills and services and keep our facility running.
