Onsite Team
Wild Sun Founder and Director, Jeremy Levine
Director – Jeremy Adam Levine
Jeremy moved to Costa Rica in 2007, opening a Spanish, yoga, surf, and fire dancing school. Because of the area’s need for an animal rescue center and his love for the local wildlife, he decided to start Wild Sun. Coupling volunteering with his program allows travelers to learn and give back while experiencing one of the world’s most beautiful and biodiverse areas.
Jeremy is certified in wildlife rehabilitation and pain and wound management from the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council. He has an MBA from USC Marshall and a dual BA in Television, Radio and Film and Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises from Syracuse University. He is dedicated to helping local wildlife and educating all about the importance of our ecosystems and maintaining balance.
Jess Vazquez
Site Manager, Senior Animal Care Manager and Manager of the Scarlet Macaw Reintroduction Program--Jess Vazquez
Jess was a journalist before she started pursuing her dream of working with animals. She continued her education and now has degrees in zoology, ethology, animal welfare and medical training. Her experience includes with South African wildlife at the Vervet Monkey Foundation; in Thailand with a gibbon rescue program; and with spider and capuchin monkeys with Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi in Bolivia.
Dr. Ivanna Gordienko
Resident Veterinarian - Ivanna Gordienko, DVM
Dr. Gordienko is a passionate wildlife veterinarian and surgeon dedicated to the well-being of animals in their natural habitats. Ivanna's journey in veterinary medicine began in Costa Rica, where she graduated from vet school in 2018. In 2019, she trained at Universidad Complutense in Spain with a specialty in wild and exotic animals. Since returning to Costa Rica, Ivanna has been actively involved in rescue centers and conservation efforts, applying her skills and knowledge to protect and rehabilitate wildlife.
Poppy Parker, Animal Care Manager
Field Site Manager & Animal Care Manager - Poppy Parker
Poppy has a degree in Zoology from the University of Manchester, UK. As an intern with Wild Sun, she researched the suitability of Cabo Blanco National Park as a receptor site for a spider monkey reintroduction project. Poppy returned to Wild Sun in 2021 as a junior manager, helping train volunteers and provide animal care. Between stints at the rescue center, Poppy worked as an ecologist, carrying out surveys of habitats and species in the UK.
Internship Manager and Animal Care Manager—Hayley Pavis
Hayley has a background in both wildlife conservation and art. She has a Master’s degree in Conservation and Biodiversity, and a wealth of experience in wildlife care and rehabilitation, ranging from foxes and seals in the UK, to orangutans and pangolins in Southeast Asia. She has most recently worked in events and engagement for UK-based conservation charities, including ZSL. She fell in love with Costa Rican wildlife during a research trip in 2020, and looks forward to being immersed in the exciting wildlife research taking place at our Center.
Pre-Release Manager--Rocío Vázquez
Rocío has her university degree in International Business Management in Tourism and Leisure, supplemented by an Advanced Course in Zoology and studies in conservation, research and ethology. Her animal care journey began at AAP Primadomus in the primate introduction department, working with barbary and pig-tailed macaques, as well as white-faced capuchins. She contributed to the education department and supported research and animal care at Fundació Mona, primarily with chimpanzees.
Local Team
Chief Biologist - Vernun Arias Vega
Vernun has over 20 years of experience working with wildlife in Costa Rica. His focus is on wildlife management and environmental sustainability. He has worked extensively with reintroduction as a tool for wildlife conservation. To date Vernun has successfully bred and released 160 scarlet macaws which are actively breeding in the wild, bringing our area a current population of over 230 birds! Vernun is also on the board of directors of the Association for the Biological Corridor of the Nicoya Peninsula.
Vet Professor -- Dr. Thomas deMaar
Dr. deMaar has been a wildlife and zoo veterinarian for 30 years embracing the practice of ecosystem health across multiple species. During his career he worked with several zoos in the United States; operated a wildlife conservation medicine practice in Kenya for 8 years; cared for domestic livestock in Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Uganda, and the USA; consulted for federal and state wildlife agencies; taught at Tufts University, the University of Nairobi, and the University of Texas; and mentored students from numerous countries ranging from high school to graduate school. Along the way Dr. deMaar has rehabilitated thousands of mammals, birds, and reptiles in many settings. He is currently the attending veterinarian for Sea Turtle Inc. on South Padre Island, Texas.
Vet Professor - Dr. Ricardo Jimenez
Ricardo is a Costa Rican veterinarian focused on several areas of veterinary medicine, including the practice of small animals, general surgery, anesthesia, behavior and wildlife. He has a Masters degree in Conservation Medicine from the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica and is a member of AWÁ Science and Conservation and CONMVEFAS (National Council of Veterinary Wildlife Physicians). Ricardo is an associate Professor of Conservation Medicine at the University of Georgia and an associate professor for the Wildlife Medicine Externship Program at Wild Sun Rescue Center.
Veterinarian Assessor - Andrés Pérez Valverde, DVM
Andres Perez is our supervising veterinarian here at Wild Sun Rescue Center. After graduating in December 2016 from Universidad Veritas San Jose, he began working at the Costa Rican Animal Rescue Centre (CRARC) in Turracares, Alajuela. Here he had the opportunity to work with a variety of native wildlife, including monkeys and sloths. Andres joined the Wild Sun family in October 2021, and since then has been providing essential care and treatment to all the animals we receive, helping them on their difficult journey to rehabilitation.
Consultants and Contributors
Veterinary Advisor & AVMA Externship Supervisor - E. Marie Rush, DVM, DACZM
After receiving her DVM from Auburn University, Marie continued her pursuit of a career in wildlife conservation medicine with a rotating medicine and surgery internship at the Animal Medical Center in New York City followed with a residency in clinical zoo and wildlife medicine and surgery at the Wildlife Conservation Society. Following this, she served at the Birmingham Zoo as the Director of Veterinary Services and Curator of Ectotherms.
In 2007, Marie began teaching zoo, wildlife and exotic animal medicine as Assistant Professor at Auburn University. From 2009 to 2018 Marie served as an Associate Professor in pathobiology and as Coordinator of Wildlife Research, also teaching zoo & exotic animal medicine & disease at St. George’s University’s School of Veterinary Medicine. She was named a senior research fellow at the Winward Islands Research and Education Foundation.
Dr. Rush joined the Antech Imaging Services team in 2015, serving in telemedicine and diagnostic imaging interpretation. Marie serves as the veterinary advisor for the SSP for Chinese Alligators and worked on the project to repatriate Eastern Indigo snakes to the southeastern United States.
She continues to enjoy the opportunity to mentor others and inspire a passion for the natural world through conservation medicine, research and education.
Veterinary Advisor and AVMA Externship Supervisor - Elizabeth Anne Works, DVM
Liz graduated magna cum laude from the College of Charleston with a B.S. in biology. While there, she spent several years working with the Cape Romain Loggerhead Nest Recovery Project, a program that sparked her interest in wildlife conservation. Liz graduated from Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine, where her main focus was wildlife veterinary medicine. During her third year of school, she completed a veterinary externship at Wild Sun Rescue Center, where she gained knowledge and experience in the husbandry, care, and rehabilitation of local species. The experience allowed her to combine her love of veterinary medicine with her passion for wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.
Consultant - Halley D Buckanoff, CVT, CWR
Halley is the lead veterinary technician at the VHS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of the North Carolina Zoo. There she cares for various native wildlife species including bears, otters, squirrels, opossums and many types of local birds. She also manages over 150 volunteers and interns at the center.
Halley holds at BS in Biology from Lewis and Clark College. She has over 10 years of experience practicing medicine and husbandry as a certified vet tech for exotic, zoo and local wildlife species.
Halley has previous experience as a field biologist. She holds a permit from the United States Fish and Wildlife commission for banding with which she currently conducts post-release survival studies on common backyard birds.
In addition, Halley teaches certification courses for the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council in Basic Wildlife Rehabilitation, Pain and Wound Management, Nutrition and more.
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