Founder, Head Curator

Steve has been passionate about wildlife education for his entire life. Since high school, he has been bringing his rescued exotic animals to schools and libraries to get kids excited about animals and environmental protection. When an alligator was dropped off on the doorstep of his wife’s vet clinic in 2005, it inspired him to make his passion for wildlife education a community organization. The rest is history! When he isn’t caring for animals (which isn’t often), he enjoys hiking in the Upper Peninsula, planting native flora, and spending time with his wife, two kids, and two dogs!

Assistant Head Curator, Reptile & Amphibian Curator

BS - Wildlife Ecology & Conservation, University of Florida

Xavier grew up in Westland, MI until he moved to Gainesville, FL for college. Xavier started working at TCC in the spring of 2022 as a Wildlife Educator. His passion and expertise caring for reptiles earned him the title of Reptile Curator, but it was his dedication to conservation through education that made him the Assistant Head Curator. Outside of work, Xavier spends his free time caring for his personal rescued animals and obsessing over the Detroit Lions & Florida Gators.

Bird Curator & Invertebrate Curator

BS - Zoology, Kent State University

Amber joined TCC in 2022 as a Wildlife Educator. Amber took on managing our invertebrate collection in 2024 and in 2025, she took on the role of Bird Curator. Amber has excelled at improving our avian care and enrichment programs. When she’s not caring for TCC feathery friends, she is taking care of her dog, 2 geckos, 3 birds, and land snails. In her free time, she likes to play video games, read, watch movies, craft, and spend time outside.

Plant Curator

BA - Biology and Environmental Studies, Lake Forest College; MA - Nursing, University of Detroit Mercy

Sarah joined The Creature Conservancy in January of 2025 as our very first plant curator! Sarah has been instrumental in expanding our plant collection and botany education programs. Sarah grew up just down the road in Saline, Michigan. In her free time, she likes to stay active, exploring new places, and being with her dogs, family, and friends.

Director of Education

BS - Biological Sciences (Minor in Environmental Science), University of Michigan Dearborn

Hailey joined us in December 2024, coming from the Detroit Zoo, to bring her educational development and camp management skill to expand TCC’s educational programming. She is most passionate about animal conservation, and feels fulfilled when she is able to inspire youth to love science, nature, and wildlife. Outside of work, Hailey likes to travel, read, spend time in natural areas, and take care of her dog and cats.

Assistant Mammal Curator

BS - Conservation Biology & Ecology, Arizona State University

Sierra joined us as a husbandry intern in 2021, after graduating from ASU. In 2023, she joined the team full time as a Wildlife Educator. During her free time, Sierra enjoys spending time with her daughters, taking photos, watching Friends or any Harry Potter movie, and playing games on her Nintendo. She also has her own critters that keep her busy at home: Maya (her husky), three kitty cats, two snakes, three geckos, and snails! Her career goal is to work with giraffes one day!

Assistant Mammal Curator

BS - Biology (concentration in Ecology, Organismal Diversity, & Evolution), Eastern Michigan University

Jake grew up in the downriver area and first joined our team as a Husbandry intern in 2021 and then became full time staff in August 2023. While Jake works with a variety of our mammals, some of his favorite are Harper the cougar and Mike the horse. Outside of work, he likes to play video games with other staff members and watching baseball, rugby, and professional wrestling. He was a college rugby player who even started a men’s league in Ypsilanti! At home, he has a cat named Raaja, a snake named Woody, and a gecko named Forky.

Wildlife Educator & Tech Guy

AA - General Studies, North Central Michigan University

Alex has been a long time animal fanatic but never found a place to make his passion a day job. Alex moved to Ann Arbor in 2022 and began visiting The Creature Conservancy. He joined our team and immediately began updating our tech and AV capacity, allowing us to improve our educational programs. When he isn’t fixing computers and working on our animal management database, he is caring for our creatures and sharing their stories with the public. In his free time, Alex likes to work on electronics, read, and train his dog Gazebo, who was actually abandoned at TCC in 2024.

Kitchen Manager and Giftshop Supervisor

BA - African Studies, Michigan State University ; MBA - University of Phoenix

Karen joined our team as a volunteer way back in 2018. Her energy and passion for wildlife were immediately a perfect fit. You can find her in our gift shop most weekends, sharing our story with guests. When she isn’t at The Creature Conservancy, she loves to take care of her home critters, spend time with family, read, and watch nature documentaries.

Facilities Manager

Derek is the key member of our team that makes sure our facilities run smoothly. Derek started at TCC in March of 2023. He is originally from South Lyon but he has lived all over the state. When he isn’t improving animal habitats, he takes care of his small collection of animals at home, goes on nature walks, and tries to spend as much time as possible outside!

Wildlife Educator

BS - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan; MS - Biology, Austin Peay State University

Chelsea joined the team in March 2025. She has enjoyed studying the natural sciences and diversity of life during her career as a biologist and educator. Chelsea has a background of diverse experiences, including natural history collections management and research, performing field surveys for long-term ecological observation, teaching science classes at university and high school levels, as well as being a member of the science interpretation team at the Saint Louis Zoo. All of these things have inspired her passion for living world. When she is not at work, she enjoys biking, reading, listening to new music, and keeping her gargoyle gecko and many plants.

Snake Keeper

BS - Industrial Engineering and Design

Joe started as a reptile volunteer in 2020 and joined our team as a snake keeper in 2022. Joe takes pride in working with reptiles and is passionate about being able to showcase them in a positive light. In his free time, Joe likes to camp, fish, and care for his own collection of snakes!