Board and Staff Members - Northwoods Wildlife Center

Meet our staff

Thanks to our talented wildlife rehabbers and dedicated board members, the Northwoods Wildlife Center is able to continue our mission in providing a better future for wildlife through education, rehabilitation, and research.

Bryon Black

Executive Director

After serving as a board member and volunteer, and after the previous director had to leave due to health reasons, Bryon felt that he could be more involved and effective for the Northwoods Wildlife Center as the Executive Director. He brings with him years of diverse experience from fields such as marketing, graphic design, web, and application development. Bryon has also had a life long interest and commitment in the health and well being of our wild animal populations.

Northwoods Wildlife Center rehabber releasing an osprey back to the wild

Amanda Schirmer

Head of Wildlife Rehabilitation

Amanda attended the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife Ecology with an emphasis on Research and Management, and minored in Captive Wildlife and Biology. She currently holds her Wisconsin advanced wildlife rehabilitation license. Amanda joined the NWC staff in 2014 and enjoys the opportunity to pursue and share her passion for wildlife and the natural environment through the wildlife rehabilitation work she does with Northwoods Wildlife Center.

image of Bart (education director) holding a red tailed hawk and showing it to a kid

Bart Kotarba

Wildlife Educator

Bart holds degrees in Wildlife Management and Biology with an emphasis in Environmental Education from UW-Stevens Point. He completed several internships-including one right here at NWC-where he was involved in all aspects of wildlife rehabilitation. Bart has been with NWC since 1992. Under his direction, our Education Department has conducted thousands of programs to educate students and adults about wildlife and the environment.

Kayla holding a bald eagle during it's exam

Kayla Dell’Ano

Wildlife Rehabber

Kayla started out as an intern with the Northwoods Wildlife Center in 2022, then again in 2023! After her second internship, it was clear to all of us that she had a knack for wildlife rehabilitation. So when an opening for a new wildlife rehabilitator came up, she was one of the first people we thought of. Obviously, we were thrilled when she accepted the job!

Sheridan Perry

Wildlife Rehabber

Sheridan comes to the Northwoods Wildlife Center with a diverse set of skills gained from an equally diverse set of educational and professional experiences. Beside wildlife rehabilitation, Sheridan hires and manages our interns, helps with educational programs, and records and publishes our podcast – the WildPhiles.

Emma Blackwood

LTE Wildlife Rehabber

Emma actually interned for us here at the Wildlife Center back in the summer of 2023 and enjoyed her time enough to come back in the spring of 2025 as an LTE employee!
Emma has always known that she wanted to work with wildlife, but she says that it wasn’t until her summer as an intern here at NWC that she wanted to pursue a career in wildlife rehabilitation.

Eddie Grinwald

Administrative Assistant

Eddie moved to Plum Lake from Madison in the fall of 2022. He grew up in southeastern Wisconsin and studied at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, where he earned his BFA in Industrial Design. While in the city, he met his wife, Kaitlin, who, over the next few years, would often bring him to northern Wisconsin to visit family. Before long, the itch to stay somewhere quiet, beautiful, and connected to nature was much stronger than their love for the big city. Eddie has been a lifelong steward of the natural world and is thrilled to be a part of a local organization that is willing to step up and serve our wild friends who often need our help.