Cynthia Salus, President
Cynthia Salus is Woodlands Wildlife Refuge’s Board President since 2014. Cynthia’s involvement with Woodlands began in 2007 serving on the fundraising committee for their spring fundraising gala. She joined the Board in 2012 and has served as the Board Secretary and participates on multiple Woodlands’ committees including fundraising, board expansion and finance. Cynthia’s favorite Woodlands memory was preparing bear cubs for release back into the wild. Professionally Cynthia has worked at AT&T since 1996 and is currently a Lead Pricing/Costing Manager for AT&T.
Lisa Reilly, Vice President
Lisa Reilly joined the Woodlands Wildlife Refuge Board of Directors in March 2020. Having a passion for animals, she obtained her BS in Animal Science from the University of Massachusetts.
Over the years, Lisa has volunteered with various animal organizations and currently serves on the event planning committee at Woodlands.
In addition, Lisa earned both her MS in Biology and MBA in Pharmaceutical Management from Seton Hall University and currently works at Janssen Pharmaceuticals in the Clinical Insights & Experience Group focusing on patient recruitment & engagement in clinical trials.
Lisa currently resides in Pittstown, NJ with her husband, 2 children and their dog Ruby.
Karen Bowker, Treasurer
Karen Bowker is Woodlands Wildlife Refuge’s Treasurer. As Treasurer, she is responsible for preparing financial reports to the Board. Karen has been involved with Woodlands since 1998 and a Board member since 2000. Karen also has served as a board member of South Main Village’s Home Owner’s Association. Karen is a recently retired IT professional and also enjoys volunteering time for Hunterdon County’s Meals-On-Wheels program and America’s Grow-a-Row.
Lora Muckin, Secretary
Lora Muckin is the Secretary of the Board at Woodlands Wildlife Refuge and the chair of it’s Marketing Committee. Most recently, Lora was the Shelter Manager of Sammy’s Hope Animal Welfare and Adoption Center in Sayreville, NJ, overseeing the care of the animals in the shelter. Lora previously worked as marketing director for a regional accounting firm and community relations director for Saint Peter’s University Hospital. She shares her home in North Brunswick with 6 cats.
Craig Metz, Trustee
Craig is a full time real estate agent serving most of NJ and Eastern Pennsylvania. Before getting into real estate, I had over a decade of experience in Corporate and Small Business Consulting. I have a Finance Degree from James Madison University with an MBA from Champlain College.
Craig has always been a firm believer in giving back to the community and in 2018 joined the Board of Trustees of Woodlands Wildlife Refuge and currently serves on the event planning committee. He also volunteers at Tabby’s Place in Flemington.
Craig is a lifelong resident of Hunterdon County, and is married to his wife Shannon who is a CPA, and an extremely hard working mom to their two amazing daughters. In his spare time Craig enjoys all things music related, whether it be playing (drums, guitar, piano), listening, or collecting. Craig has too many hobbies to list, and a past life as a professional photographer.
Jayna Sisbarro, Trustee
Jayna Sisbarro currently serves as Philanthropy Manager for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, an organization dedicated to protecting the legal rights for animals in the United States. Prior to joining the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Jayna was the Director of Development for Shared Interest, a nonprofit social investment fund in Southern Africa. A passionate fundraiser and volunteer for organizations that champion animal welfare, the environment and social justice, Jayna’s earlier background includes more than 18 years of fundraising on behalf of several organizations including GLAAD and Oceana.
She has taught award-winning courses in both leadership and public speaking at Rutgers University and the Fashion Institute of New York and holds a Master of Science in Organizational Communication from Rutgers University. She also serves on the Credence Institute Board, based in South Africa. Based in Somerset County, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her son and their two senior rescue dogs, and rescue chickens.
Eric Brodean, Trustee
Eric Brodean has been a resident of High Bridge in Hunterdon County for 30 years, where he resides with his wife Linda. Prior to moving to Hunterdon County, he majored in Biology and received his Bachelor of Science degree from Seton Hall University. Eric recently retired from Merck & Co., where he served as an Associate Principal Scientist in the Biologics Upstream Process Development Group. While at Merck, his job responsibilities included developing upstream processes for mammalian cell cultures producing human monoclonal antibodies. He was also solely responsible for the manufacture, adventitious agent testing, and long-term storage and shipment of the mammalian cell banks used for commercial production by Merck around the world.
Spurred by his love for animals, Eric attended the annual fundraising event for Woodlands Wildlife Refuge in 2006, and subsequently joined the team there as a volunteer animal handler in the Spring of 2007. Since then, he has been actively involved with multiple fundraising activities at Woodlands, along with various aspects of animal care and facility maintenance. In 2022, Eric was invited to join the Board to continue to support fundraising activities and to help plan for the continuing future success of Woodlands. He believes that with the encroachment and development of humans into wild habitats, it is of utmost importance that Woodlands will remain a critical resource for future generations of both people and native wildlife in New Jersey.
In the recent past, Eric served as an active member of the High Bridge Environmental Commission. Today, he remains a ‘Friend of the Environmental Commission’, continuing to assist with activities around town. Currently, Eric and his wife sponsor the garden located in front of the High Bridge town hall. In 2021, they were the recipients of the Environmental Commission’s “Caught Being Green” award for the environmentally related service activities that they have provided for the town over the years.
Board Advisors
Linda Tesauro
Joanna Lewin
Paul Ausmann
Interested in joining our Board of Trustees?
Woodlands Wildlife Refuge welcomes new prospects for our committees and Board of Trustees. We seek a variety of professional skills, and professional or personal experience in community outreach, fundraising and leadership. Nonprofit board experience is desirable but not required.
Woodlands Wildlife Refuge is a nonprofit organization that has served New Jersey’s wildlife and human communities since 1986. Woodlands is recognized statewide and internationally as an effective provider to those communities and wildlife in need. It is well known for its quality animal care, wildlife rehabilitation programs, public education and community service. As its animal admissions and day to day work load continue to increase development activities are focused on ensuring that Woodlands continues to meet those demands. Woodlands’ is dedicated to planning for the future and serving generations to come, both human and wild.
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If interested in applying please click here for a Board of Trustees application.
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