Our Team

Colin has worked in environmental conservation at the community, regional and provincial levels for more than a decade. He completed his Master of Science degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto and his Bachelor of Science in Ecological Restoration at Trent University. Colin began volunteering with the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre in 2010 as a Turtle Taxi Driver and Turtle Feeder and joined the OTCC Board of Directors in 2017.

Sue graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1987 and completed a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife at the University of Guelph prior to this. Wildlife conservation has always been her passion, and her goal has always been to utilize her veterinary skills in a project that has direct conservation impact.  She worked for many years in private practice, and founded and ran her own hospital for a short time. She then began working for charities including Toronto Humane Society, and gradually narrowed her focus exclusively to wildlife, running the Earth Rangers wildlife hospital until its closure, and then working as a wildlife veterinarian at Toronto Wildlife Centre. Sue has also taught the wildlife course to veterinary technicians at Seneca College since 2005, along with teaching a full wildlife medicine course to veterinarians and technicians from 2006 to 2016.

One of her more recent awards was being named to the Order Of Ontario, the province’s highest honour! Dr. Carstairs is also a member of the Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialty Group (TFTSG)*, and has received the J.R. Dymond Public Service Award, the Environmental Excellence Stewardship Award, the Silver Salamander award in recognition of her commitment to the conservation of Ontario’s turtles, and so much more!

Sue feels very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to take on the role as Executive and Medical Director of the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre since 2009. The direct conservation impact, combined with the ability to fully utilize her veterinary skills, makes this role her dream job. Sue also feels privileged to work with an equally passionate team of professionals.

*The Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialty Group (TFTSG) is one of a large number of Specialist Groups and Task Forces that constitute the working network of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC). Membership is by invitation, and there are 322 members currently, across 54 nations. IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. It is organized into 6 commissions; one of which is the species survival commission. The TFTSG provides expertise and science-based recommendations with conservation relevance covering all species of freshwater and terrestrial turtles and tortoises. It is the recognized global authority and official IUCN Red List authority for the determination of global threat levels for these species.

Dr. Kristen Janke is a small animal veterinarian with a lifelong love of reptiles. She spent her childhood flipping rocks in search of the scaly creatures hiding beneath, and continued that passion as a snake researcher early in her career. After spending many years as an outdoor educator and teacher, she became a veterinarian so she could devote her time to the well-being of animals. She discovered the OTCC as a veterinary student, and has spent time here each year since. Turtles are very special patients, and she has a particular fondness of the misunderstood snapping turtle. She loves the challenge of caring for each individual, and contributing to the conservation of wild populations with every successful release.

Kristen and her husband share their home with Thumper and Moe (2 saucy Siamese cats) and an old dog named Bug who loves to join in on hiking and paddling excursions throughout Ontario.

Dr. Janke has been helping out at OTCC for some time now, starting even before she was in vet school! She is going to be devoting more time to the turtles moving forward and we couldn’t be happier!

Chris is a veterinarian who has specialized in zoo and wildlife medicine for 25 years. This has included positions as Head Veterinarian at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, in Jersey, UK, as a Resident in Zoological Medicine at the Saint Louis Zoo, Missouri, USA, and, for the last 17 years, as a veterinarian at the Toronto Zoo, culminating in being their Head of Veterinary Services. During this time he completed a Master of Science degree in Wild Animal Health at the London Zoo, and became a diplomat in both the European and American Colleges of Zoological Medicine. He has lectured to students, presented at international conferences, and published scientific papers and book chapters. In November 2019, he started his own Zoo and Wildlife Veterinary Consultancy company, and is currently working as an Avian & Exotic Animal Specialist Veterinarian at the Ontario Veterinary College, and as a Wildlife Veterinarian at the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre, where he is extremely proud to be making a positive contribution to the native turtle populations of Ontario; he feels that this is truly one of the most satisfying highlights of his long career.

Dr. Pauline Delnatte is a veterinarian who has specialized in zoo, exotics, and wildlife medicine for 15 years. Pauline obtained her DVM degree in France, completed an internship in exotic pet medicine and bird of prey rehabilitation at the University of Montreal, then a residency in zoological medicine and pathology offered jointly by the University of Guelph and the Toronto Zoo. She worked at the University of Montreal for 2 years sharing her time between wildlife pathology and clinical activities at the Québec aquarium and the Granby Zoo. She then returned to Ontario and spent seven years as staff veterinarian at the Toronto Zoo, caring for a wide variety of species. She currently works for the Provincial Animal Welfare Services helping non-domestic species in need. She is a Diplomate of both the American and European Colleges of Zoological Medicine, and an adjunct faculty for the departments of Pathobiology and Clinical Studies at the University of Guelph. Pauline always had a soft spot for reptiles and a lifelong love for conservation and thus, in her spare time, she is delighted to work at the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre to be part of the amazing team dedicated to help rehabilitating injured wild turtles and saving the world one turtle at a time!

Lisa has a Bachelor of Science degree from Trent University in Biology and Environmental Science, and an Ecosystem Management Technology diploma from Fleming College. While completing her undergraduate degree, Lisa was introduced to the world of turtles by volunteering at the OTCC as a cleaner. During her summers, she worked with Christina Davy’s research lab, where she searched for turtles in wetlands and monitored the sky for bats. She joined the OTCC field team in 2020, to track Blanding’s turtles for the headstart program, and was lucky enough to work with Wendy on the education program as well. During 2021, Lisa joined the Adopt-A-Pond program at the Toronto Zoo, where she monitored turtle and snake populations in the Rouge National Urban Park. Having returned to the OTCC in 2022 as Education Coordinator, Lisa feels very fortunate to have had amazing mentors along the way and is passionate about sharing her love for turtles with those she meets!

April grew up on a river, where she had the opportunity to witness Northern Map turtles nesting on her property and Common Snapping turtles swimming past her dock, thus her love for turtles blossomed. While attending Trent University in 2018, April began volunteering with the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (OTCC) cleaning turtle enclosures. April was hired on as a field technician in 2019 with the OTCC, and this is the year she fell in love with the OTCC’s field site and all of the turtles it supports! In 2020 and 2021 April acted as field team lead, leading a team of 3 technicians at the OTCC’s field site for our long-term Blanding’s turtle study. As of 2022 April’s title is Research Coordinator, where her main role is to oversee the field program and compile data for the OTCN.

Justine joined the Turtle Team in January of 2022. She became smitten with turtles while working at a veterinary hospital that acted as a First Responder to OTCC. When we advertised for a full time technician, she knew this was for her! Justine brings a wealth of experience, and always has a smile on her face. Justine had the happy news in 2022 that she was expecting her first child, and left for a parental leave in the spring of 2023, but we look forward to seeing her back in 2024! Justine lives on a working farm some distance from OTCC, so is always kept very busy!

Jess brought an injured turtle to the OTCC in 2019, was inspired by the work being done, and never left! She first joined as a volunteer feeder and turtle taxi driver and then became the Office Administrator in May 2020. Growing up, Jess could be found exploring the lakes and forests around Peterborough. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Queens University. She began her career as as an exhibit developer at Science North, where she developed a passion for Science Communication. More recently she started a technology company along with her fiancée, where she learned the administrative side of running a business. As the Administrator at OTCC, Jess enjoys combining her varied experiences – keeping things organized behind the scenes, using technology to keep things running smoothly, and communicating with the public about turtles and their conservation.

Jess is passionate about turtles, conservation, and all things wildlife. She is thrilled to work alongside this amazing team and to contribute to the meaningful work done here at the OTCC.

Tracey has over 35 years of experience working in not-for-profit organizations specifically Children’s Mental Health. She has held both front-line and management positions and brings many skills specific to writing and developing programs, which makes her a good fit for the Grant Manager position. Tracey received a Social Service Worker Diploma from Fleming and attended the BA Social Development Studies Program through the University of Waterloo. Her passion for nature and photography has provided her with many hours of pleasure watching and photographing snapping turtles hatch near the family cottage. When she retired recently, her first task was to volunteer feeding turtles at OTCC. This has led her to the Grant Manager position.

Kate has held a variety of roles at OTCC, from volunteer to summer student, to (almost) full time employee. Kate was a student when she first started at OTCC, and juggled a student schedule as well as OTCC work. Her main role has evolved over the years, and her chief task now is as hotline coordinator. She trains and oversees the summer hotline staff, as well. This job is probably the most challenging at OTCC, since it involves organizing all the admissions and releases. This is no small feat, since we admit about 2,000 turtles a year, and release about 3,000! That’s a lot of organizing, and a LOT of phone calls! In the off-season, Kate ensures that all the admission records are entered, and helps with data entry as well as helping wherever needed.

Joanne graduated from St. Lawrence College’s Veterinary Technician Program in 1987 and worked for Agriculture Canada for a number of years before deciding to dedicate her time to raising a family. In 2010, Joanne brought an injured painted turtle to the centre and immediately knew she wanted to be a part of this amazing organization. She began to volunteer with turtle care and feeding, became a turtle taxi driver, assisted with outreach and educational events and became OTCC’s Membership Coordinator. In 2017 Joanne began working at the centre part time as an Administrator.  When Joanne is not at the centre, she operates a small cleaning/home maintenance business and is a volunteer firefighter.

Isa is an enthusiastic and dedicated conservationist and environmentalist. She has always had a love for wildlife and in particular reptiles and amphibians. When she isn’t at the centre she is usually out enjoying all that Ontario’s lakes and trails have to offer. Isa went to Fleming College where she obtained her Early Childhood Education diploma and then Trent University for her Bachelors of Science with Honours in Biology. She is an avid volunteer herself, dedicating her time to a number of worthy causes including the Canadian Herpetological Society, Kawartha Land Trust, and Elder Dog Canada. She also participates in Durham Colleges Animal Care Program Advisory Committee. She started as a volunteer for the OTCC as a turtle taxi driver, then turtle care in 2018. In 2019 she took on a role as Education Liaison and that transitioned into becoming  Volunteer Coordinator. Working so closely with the volunteers and getting to know them is one of her favorite parts of the position. The other is being so closely involved with every facet of the work we do! From education, social media, fundraising, placements, data, and so much more – every day is different! Meeting so many like-minded individuals who are passionate about turtles and their conservation is a fulfilling and uplifting experience that she loves to share with others!

Rebecca (Becca) has a very long history with OTCC, dating right back to 2009! Becca was the very first veterinary technician who helped OTCC, back before we had the funds to pay for any staff! Becca was such a help and came in every day to do treatments for an entire season – as a volunteer! Sadly, she did eventually have to leave to go to a paid position.  Fast forward to 2023 and her path crossed again with Dr. Sue Carstairs, and they were able to catch up. At the time, we were looking to hire another veterinary technician, and Dr. Carstairs invited her to apply…and that is how Becca came to be a valued member of the OTCC team once more! A wonderful ‘full circle’ story. Outside of turtles, Becca’s passions are many, including being a very talented artist.