Voices of the Plains: Animal Advocacy

A monthly series hosted by the Center for Great Plains Studies Graduate Fellows. This installment will highlight the ongoing work of groups involved in wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, pet rescue, and education. Presenter Bio: Laura Stastny is the Executive Director of Nebraska Wildlife Rehab, Inc. She is an IWRC Certified Wildlife Rehabilitator and has been a multi-species wildlife rehabilitator and public educator for more than 20 years. Stastny has extensive experience in animal-related fields – She has worked as a veterinary practice manager; was the executive director of a humane society and conducted cruelty investigations for the state of Minnesota; and has served on disaster relief and wide-scale rescue teams for the HSUS. She has spent part of her professional career in the financial services industry and all of her adult life involved in the operations of small non-profits – as an employee, board member, or volunteer. Facilitator Bio: Paul Grosskopf is a Graduate Fellow at the Center for Great Plains Studies and an English PhD student in Literary and Cultural Studies. He graduated with a B.S. from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and an M.A. from Northern Illinois University. At UNL, Grosskopf splits his time between teaching in the English Department and working as an editorial assistant in the Willa Cather Archive. His research interests include fat studies, print culture, transnationalism, and modernity in American literature and culture.