Trego Mountain Sanctuary's Staff
Judith (Dina) Spanomanolis, Director & President
Trego Mountain Sanctuary’s director, Judith Spanomanolis, is the heart of
the sanctuary. Known as Dina to family and friends (another story), she has
literally wished the sanctuary into existence. Having a love for the earth
and its creatures all her life, she will tell you she can’t remember
when she never had a bird in her hand. From early childhood days, catching
barn pigeons to study and watching tadpoles hatch, she has maintained her
love for the environment up through today, realizing that good thoughts have
to be put into actions to accomplish an end. With wildlife habitat diminishing
every second, she feels the need to relay the urgent message to protect earth’s
creatures, their habitats, and ecosystems. Her message: “You can make
a difference, however small or large.”
Dina is a Federal and State Licensed Falconer. Her lessons in predation and the natural food chain are lived experiences. It is hard to imagine a rehabilitator and a falconer in the same breath, yet while nature can be beautiful, it is not always kind. A predator mammal or raptor that does not learn to hunt in the wild will not survive. There is “a natural order of things” and when mankind destroys that balance, there are dire consequences. Raptors are a beautiful part of the avian sky and their existence is part of the circle of life. She specializes in the pre-release training of rehabilitated raptors in Maryland at Trego Mountain Sanctuary.
Anyone involved in animal care knows the many permits involved to handle them. Dina currently holds a Dept. of Agriculture permit to sell hatching eggs, poultry and/or operate a hatchery, a Federal Fish and Wildlife Special Purpose permit, Federal and MD state General Falconer permits, and a MD Rehabilitator permit.
She is a member of the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (NWRC), National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (NWRA), and Maryland Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (MWRA). Each of these associations provides continuing education programs and hands-on experience to train their members and keep them abreast of current information in the animal field.
Dina strives to convey her love for the earth and its creatures to everyone she meets and the importance of conserving areas of natural habitat.
We invite you to follow Dina's suggested links to learn more about threatened and endangered species:
Threatened and Endangered Animals and Plants U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Fish and Wildlife Species U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Annitsa Spanos, Vice President
Annitsa’s
love for education, wildlife, and the environment inspires her to seek
various opportunities to combine her fields of expertise and learn more about nature.
Annitsa is a Maryland State Certified Teacher who holds a Master of Life Sciences Degree from the University of Maryland Collge Park and has a BS in Education from Towson University.
Annitsa’s scholastic excellence has been acknowledged in The National Dean’s 24th, 25th, & 26th List. She is
also a proud member of the Kappa Delta Pi Educational International Honor,
Golden Key International Honour Society, Phi Theta Kappa International Honor
Society, National Science Teacher’s Association (NSTA), and Maryland
Association for Environmental Outdoor Education (MAEOE). Because Annitsa
is an active team player who always seeks opportunities to learn and grow professionally, she was recognized by her peers as a teacher of excellence and nominated for the 2007 Cardinal's Award for Teaching Excellence.
Besides teaching Science fulltime to middleschoolers at St. Clare Catholic School and holding Science Club afterschool, Annitsa attends numerous environmental, stewardship, and wildlife workshops and seminars. Many of these workshops include such topics as wildlife rehabilitation, preservation of habitat for wildlife, and conservation of natural resources. With human population drastically increasing, the world is
becoming a smaller place for both humans and animals. As a result, Annitsa
has a fervent hope to inspire children and adults to care for living creatures
of the world and to understand the natural systems upon which all life depends.
Please visit Annitsa's link, an animated map of human population growth through history.