Our Team
Jessica Franco
Co-Founder
Jessica has always loved animals and nature. She started volunteering with a variety of animal species at a young age, and has continued her work in wildlife conservation since. She has worked with animals in many settings, such as sanctuaries, zoos, and in the wild. She enjoys learning about the different behaviors, adaptations, and needs of each animal.
Jessica holds a Bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and a Master’s degree from Southern Connecticut State University. She is passionate about conservation in general, and the welfare of all animals. She believes that education is the key to raising awareness and inspiring action for a better world, and is excited to share her knowledge and enthusiasm with others.
Gini Ward
Co-Founder
Gini has had a curiosity and love for animals since she was young, gravitating towards all beings of nature. Growing up in a rural, small country town in New South Wales, Gini was instilled with the importance of conservation, learning how to best co-exist with Australia’s many wild plant and animal species.
Gini has over 10 years experience caring for a wide range of exotic species along with Cert II Animal Studies and Cert III Captive Wildlife through Australian NSW TAFE and Taronga Zoo.
She believes in living in harmony with nature, and that every individual can make a difference. She enjoys sharing her passion and experiences with others and is eager to make an impact.
Aidan Callahan
Co-Founder
Aidan grew up with an unwavering love for animals, particularly primates. Always one to want to watch Tarzan and The Jungle Book, he daydreamed about being a jungle boy living as animals do, naturally, a part of a larger community of beings.
After graduating from St. Lawrence University with a bachelors in Conservation Biology, he moved on to the workforce participating in multiple sectors of conservation from trail work, to animal sanctuaries, to research and implementation. His love for nature and animals had not changed, but became more nuanced.
Through his college courses and experiences as well as positions in conservation, he has gained a greater appreciation of the connectedness of the natural world and human roles in it. This has led to his increasing passion in learning to better live naturally, through natural building, regenerative agriculture, and forestry.
He hopes to continue to learn more by doing, and to spread his knowledge, mistakes, and plants with others.