Meet the Team

Catherine Sevcenko - Director

Catherine Sevcenko is a civil rights attorney who has been working with corvids for nearly a decade. She began her avian odyssey rehabilitating raptors and then switched to songbirds. That work introduced her to crows and led to the establishment of Diva Crows, first as a Facebook page and now as as a small organization. Catherine holds federal and state rehabilitation and education permits. She is primary caretaker for Aurora, the current Diva Crow in Charge.

Lara Kazo - Wildlife Specialist

Lara Kazo is a Wildlife Biologist with a bachelors degree in Wildlife Conservation and Biology from the Univeristy of Rhode Island. Lara has worked at several wildlife rehab centers including the Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of Rhode Island and Wildbase Recovery Center in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Currently pursuing a M.S. degree in Environmental Science and Policy with a focus in conservation, Lara studies the affect of fragmentation and noise pollution on birds in Virginia and in South America.

Meg Gisonda Mendelssohn - Environmental Educator

Meg is an anthropologist and PhD student in Environmental Science and Policy who studies climate change from the nature-culture nexus of indigenous people around the world. She started in animal rehab with bat research in 2013 and started working at Diva Crows in June 2019. She is currently working towards her falconry license to begin caring for raptors and has two tri-pawed dogs. Her love for animals extends back to her early childhood, and her greatest wish in life is for trash humans to stop kidnapping baby birds in Spring.

Alison Meredith - Intern Supervisor

Alison is an undergraduate student at George Mason University majoring in biology with a concentration in conservation. Alison plans to apply to the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation in the Spring of 2022 to study endangered species. In the future, she hopes to be involved in wildlife research and become a zookeeper or exotic animals caretaker (preferably with endangered species). If Alison furthers her education, she hopes to get her Masters in a wildlife-related field and even become a certified vet tech. Alison has been captivated by animals since her childhood and she has found her time at Diva Crows to be an incredible learning experience. Alison’s favorite bird is Woodpeckers but specifically the Red Belly Woodpeckers because they were her first experience with those birds and they “hold a special place” in her heart.

Melissa Pineda-Perez - Education Program Coordinator

Melissa Pineda-Perez is an undergraduate at Virginia Tech double majoring in Animal and Poultry Science and Biological Science. Melissa started interning at Diva Crows last summer and she absolutely loved it, so she returned for this summer. Melissa plans to apply to veterinary school and become a small animal veterinarian. After veterinary school, Melissa plans on becoming board certified in avian practice. Melissa’s favorite bird is the Downy Woodpecker because woodpeckers remind her of her pet parakeets, which are so full of personality.

Jess Roberts- PhD Researcher

Jess Roberts is a PhD candidate in Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason University. Jess studies the use of behavior based management in endangered species reintroduction programs. Jess previously did an internship with the Wildlife Center of Virginia in 2013 and found out she loved it. She then got a job as a zookeeper with the Aviary department breeding endangered species from 2014-2016. Jess learned through both of these jobs that we don’t know a lot about what happens to these animals when they get released or what prepares them so Jess decided to go back to school and study this. She believes rehabbing birds is a perfect way to test behavior methods like anti-predator training on animals raised in captivity. In the future, Jess hopes to work with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute rearing endangered species and researching the best methods to aid their survival in the wild. Jess also loves to teach and would like to create professional courses for other reintroduction specialists. Jess’s favorite birds are Parrots and Bird of Prey, but her all time favorite is the King Vulture.

Ben Selby- Wildlife Rehabilitation Intern

Ben Selby is a recent graduate from Christopher Newport University, he majored in Organismal Biology and minored in Chemistry. Ben originally wanted to be a vet, but in college he got to work at the Virginia Living Museum and he enjoyed working with endangered species so much he decided to focus on that. In the future he hopes to work with wildlife including endangered species and ecological services. When asked what his favorite bird is, Ben said Crows but also added, “I don’t think you can have one favorite bird.”

Ali DiZinno- Wildlife Rehabilitation Intern

Ali Dizinno is a rising senior at Eckerd College studying biology with an ecology concentration and minoring in environmental studies. In January of 2021, she took a field ornithology class and fell in love with birds. Ali is also doing a research internship at the State Arboretum where she’s studying bird breeding cycles, parasitic egg rejection behavior, and nesting patterns between birds in competition with one another. In the future Ali hopes to work in wildlife conservation, and her favorite bird is the Eastern Phoebe!

Melissa Rodriguez- Wildlife Rehabilitation Intern

Melissa Rodriguez is a recent graduate from George Mason University with a degree in Biology. Originally Melissa wanted to be a small animal vet but once she took a class on animal conservation and animal behavior, she knew she wanted to work with wildlife. In the future she hopes to do something in conservation of wildlife, and when asked what her favorite bird was, she said Crows.

Alyssa Leite- Wildlife Rehabilitation Intern

Alyssa Leite is an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech studying Animal and Poultry Science. Alyssa got interested in working with birds after working on a research project and taking a couple classes related to them. Alyssa enjoys working at Diva Crows so that she can continue learning and working with birds. In the future she hopes to be a veterinarian and plans on applying to vet school. Alyssa’s favorite bird is the Cedar Waxwing we got to release back into its habitat.

Maddie Lichter- Wildlife Rehabilitation Intern

Maddie Lichter is an undergraduate student at the University of Mary Washington majoring in Conservation Biology and minoring in Data Science. Maddie started volunteering with the Wildlife Rescue League helpline last July and became interested in getting hands-on experience with rehabilitation. While volunteering at the WRL she became much more interested in the issues facing birds in our area, and she became an intern at Diva Crows in December 2020. In the future she hopes to research urban ecology and conservation education to share her work with all ages. Maddie loves the crow fledglings at our rehab center but her favorite bird is the brown- headed cowbird because of how cool their parenting strategy is.

Savannah Telfer- Social Media Intern

Savannah Telfer just finished her third year at Old Dominion University as a Journalism student and in the fall she is transferring to George Mason University for her senior year. She plans on graduating in the Spring of 2022. Savannah loves environmental science, but she chose to study journalism because she wants to take her passion for writing and combine it with her passion for sustainability. In the future, Savannah hopes to be writing about the environment and be a published author. Her favorite bird is Admiral Ackbar, the Blue Jay who loves dancing.

Sam Sparks - Etsy Store Coordinator

Sam Sparks is a Senior Manager of Operational Excellence at a Boston-based consulting firm. In her freetime, Sam is a Wildlife Rescue League helpline volunteer. Last year, Sam began to feed a family of three crows in her neighborhood, which kept her spirits up during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Sam is also an avid wildlife photographer and she is currently working on a photo project chronicling the calendar year of the American Crow. Sam’s favorite bird at our facility is one of our education birds, Tumbleweed, because of her anxious energy and underdog spirit. Sam’s favorite bird in general is the black-crowned night heron and the shoebill.