CWF Staff
ExploreJim Verhagen
The CWF Team
Get to know us
It is our honor and privilege to work toward the conservation of New Jersey’s wild spaces and threatened native species. We are looking, and working, towards a future where New Jersey is home to greater numbers of rare species, stronger populations and enough good habitat to support them.
Meet the team behind our conservation based fieldwork, education and fundraising.
Liz Silvernail
A nonprofit professional with over 30 years of experience, Liz lends her project management, program administration, fundraising and communications skills to support the mission and long range goals of the Foundation. A graduate of Boston College, Liz's interest has always been in conservation and environmental advocacy, working for both Scenic Hudson and NJ Keep it Green. As Director of Development at CWF from 2010-2021 and Executive Director since then, she has formed strong corporate and donor partnerships to build resource capacity. In addition, her leadership has developed and implemented highly successful STEAM educational programs throughout New Jersey schools as well as the annual Women + Wildlife Awards, the James Fiorentino Traveling Art Exhibit: Rare Wildlife Revealed, and other outreach initiatives to promote public awareness of at-risk wildlife. She has volunteered with EarthShare New Jersey, Garden Club of America, Junior League of Greater Princeton, and Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania. In addition to her family, the other love of her life is sailing her boat, Perfect Timing, on the Barnegat Bay.
Todd Pover
Todd heads up our beach nesting bird project, including monitoring, management, and research of piping plovers, least terns, black skimmers, and American oystercatchers in New Jersey. He has been involved in the beach nesting bird project since 1994. He also leads our seabeach amaranth project and helps develop beach management plans with local communities for the protection of beach dependent species. When not working (or playing) on the beach, Todd enjoys traveling, music, and culinary pursuits.
Larissa Smith
Since 2000, Larissa has coordinated the volunteers for the NJ Bald Eagle Project who monitor and protect over 300 bald eagle nests statewide. She works directly with the NJDEP Fish & Wildlife/ENSP to document and protect nests and educate the public about nesting eagles. She also coordinates the New Jersey Shorebird Steward Project, stewards help to protect migratory shorebirds that stop over on the Delaware Bay each spring, Larissa works on other projects including Eastern tiger salamanders, osprey and barn owls. She has a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Stockton College and an M.A. in Environmental Education from Rowan University. She loves spending time outdoors, is an advocate for all animals and volunteers for local animal rescues.
Ben Wurst
Since becoming a full time employee of CWF, Ben has led the NJ Osprey Project, which is centered around monitoring and managing the statewide osprey population using volunteers and citizen scientists. He received a B.S. in Environmental Science with emphasis in Wildlife Conservation from Unity College in Maine. Ben also works on a variety of other coastal conservation projects that include habitat enhancement, management of nesting peregrine falcons, bald eagles, and northern diamondback terrapins. Outside of work, Ben enjoys spending quality time with his wife and two children. He is proud to provide habitat for wildlife in his own backyard by establishing native plants and growing large beds of annual wildflowers for pollinators. He also enjoys photography, hiking, camping, boating, and woodworking. Ben collects salvaged wood that he uses to create reclaimed wood picture frames and other artwork.
Emmy Casper
Emmy works on our beach and marsh nesting bird projects, primarily focusing on American oystercatcher monitoring in the Delaware Bay region of New Jersey. Emmy previously spent three seasons with CWF as a beach nesting bird technician, monitoring breeding populations of piping plovers, American oystercatchers, and colonial bird species at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. She holds two degrees from Fordham University, a B.S. in Biology and Anthropology and an M.S. in Biology. She conducted her Master’s thesis on shorebird diet during spring migration in the urban estuaries of Jamaica Bay. As a born and raised New Jerseyan, Emmy is passionate about protecting local wildlife and inspiring the next generation of conservationists. When she isn’t working, you can find her birding, beachcombing, crafting, or trying to corral her four dachshunds.
Meaghan Lyon
Meaghan is responsible for writing Beach Management Plans that provide for the protection and recovery of listed species of beach nesting birds and plants on New Jersey’s beaches. Additionally, Meaghan works on native grassland habitat restoration for the state endangered Upland Sandpiper, surveying for rare bats in the Pinelands, and monitoring coastal wildlife populations. While striving to protect New Jersey’s threatened and endangered species, Meaghan has spent six seasons monitoring endangered beach nesting birds like the Piping Plover. She holds a degree in Human Ecology and her primary focus has been conserving species, protecting habitat, and connecting people to the natural world through education and outreach.
Rachel McGovern
Rachel helps to raise awareness for our rare and at-risk wildlife species through online and in-person communications. Rachel is a life-long resident of New Jersey and has always been passionate about protecting the animals that call the state home. She graduated from Rutgers University with a B.S. in Environmental Policy, Institutions and Behavior. Upon graduation, Rachel joined the Americorps New Jersey Watershed Ambassador Program and discovered her passion for environmental education and outreach. Rachel most previously worked as the Program Director at Flat Rock Brook Nature Center in Englewood, NJ where she managed a team of educators and organized the care of non-releasable raptors. Before that, she was the Education Director for Valley Crest Preserve and a Naturalist for the Morris County Park Commission. Outside of work, Rachel loves birding, camping, and spending time with her husband and dog.
Christine Healy
Christine manages several of CWF’s amphibian and reptile initiatives, including the Amphibian Crossing Project and outreach efforts for the federally threatened and state endangered bog turtle. She received her B.S. in Environmental Science from Marist College in 2014 and her M.Sc. in Wildlife and Conservation Biology from the University of New Hampshire in 2018, where her thesis work focused on moose mortality due to winter tick parasitism. Christine hopes to use her background in mammalogy and GIS mapping to expand CWF’s work with terrestrial mammals. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, drawing, and running along New Jersey’s network of canals and rail trails.
Leah Wells
Leah works on our bat research and conservation projects. As the coordinator of one of our projects - The Summer Bat Count, she is responsible for engaging our citizen science volunteers to conduct bat counts at sites where bats are known to be roosting. She also works on our other bat related projects such as mist-netting and radio tracking, Bats in Buildings, and mobile acoustic surveys. Leah earned her B.S. in Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources from Rutgers University. When she is not working she enjoys spending time doing yoga, hiking, and reading.
CWF Board of Trustees
Our Trustees represent a diverse group of talented individuals dedicated to the mission of Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
Steve Neumann – Board President
Thomas A. Reitemeyer, CPA – Treasurer
Al Newman – Secretary
Robert H. Coleman
Russell Furnari
Amy S. Greene
Janice Haggerty
Marty McHugh
Gene Muller
Kumar Patel
Nancy Sadlon
Eric Sambol
Margaret Wellins
Rick Weiman