Eileen received a BS degree in biology and psychology from SUNY Oswego and attended graduate school at Rutgers University in the department of Ecology and Evolution. She conducted research on environmental enrichment behavior of two species of Bird of Paradise at the Bronx Zoo in Bronx, New York. After graduating with her MS, she worked as a Bird Keeper for three years at the Bronx Zoo, followed by serving as Bird Keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Her time as a Bird Keeper was filled with much happiness, and wonder, but there were also many challenges. She left zoo keeping after 16 years to pursue other dreams and goals.
Returning to the East Coast to be closer to family, Eileen currently lives in Roanoke, VA, surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains. She works at Ferrum Collegein the School of Arts and Sciences as a lab assistant. The favorite parts of her job are managing the school’s tropical greenhouse, caring for the education animals, and sharing her love of plants and animals with students and visitors.
Eileen completed the End-of-Life Doula Professional Certificate Program at UVM in March, 2020. When she’s not working, her favorite activities are nature photography, cooking, baking, gardening, volunteering at a local hospital, and walking with her dog in the woods.