Raptor Staff
Lindsay Focht
Raptor Program Director
Lindsay’s deep love and curiosity for nature is rooted in her childhood of spending many summers and autumns outdoors with her family. Through camping, fishing, and hunting, she grew a strong connection to the natural world and an appreciation for wildlife. Lindsay headed to UW–Madison to study wildlife ecology, environmental studies, and biology. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she moved down to St. Louis to work for World Bird Sanctuary, training birds from all over the world and presenting educational programs to the public. Lindsay came home to the Milwaukee area in 2011 to start work with the Raptors of Schlitz Audubon. Over the years, she has maintained a steadfast motivation to share her passion for wildlife with the public, with the goal of creating personal connections to the birds and grow others’ appreciation for the natural world.
Carly Phalen
Raptor Educator
Carly grew up in a small town in Wisconsin called Reedsburg and attended UW–Madison, where she studied wildlife ecology and environmental studies. While earning her degree, she worked with a variety of animals, including fish, snakes, and primates, and even assisted with camera-trap data monitoring of tiger populations! After graduating, she worked at the International Crane Foundation, providing daily care to their 15 species of cranes. Carly is passionate about birds, animal care, and connecting the public to the natural world through engaging educational experiences. Outside of work, you can catch her exploring new coffee shops, looking for birds, fishing, or taking care of the many plants that she doesn’t really have space for.
Katherine Schmitz
Raptor Educator
Katherine has been fascinated by birds for as long as she can remember, memorizing guidebooks as soon as she was able to read. She knew she wanted to someday work with birds, especially corvids and raptors. After earning her BA in anthropology from UW–Milwaukee, she became interested in the connections between people, wildlife, and the natural world we all share. That path led her to work in wildlife rehabilitation, caring for birds and other Wisconsin wildlife, and later to veterinary work with native wildlife and exotic companion animals. Katherine started volunteering with the Raptors of Schlitz Audubon in 2018 and was excited to join the team as a Raptor Educator in 2024. She loves getting to know each bird as an individual, participating in their training, and having conversations about how incredible raptors are. Outside of work, Katherine enjoys walking, hiking, and cycling around Southeastern Wisconsin, reading, and, of course, birdwatching with her husband and their two cats.
Cheyenne Smith
Raptor Educator
Cheyenne has a combined ten years of expertise in environmental education, avian field research, and captive raptor training. She started this professional pathway by earning a BS in conservation and environmental science with a minor in biology from UW–Milwaukee. From her early experience conducting Breeding Bird Surveys and working at MAPS Banding sites, to seasonal work counting migrating birds in the Appalachians, to volunteering each fall at a research station, trapping and banding native raptors along Lake Michigan– the intersection of research and education is her favorite place to apply her creativity and interpretation skills. When she’s not developing and delivering outreach programs, you can find her illustrating the natural world, fishing and camping, or simply meandering around the woods.
Erin Toohey
Raptor Educator
Erin graduated from Iowa State University in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in biology and animal ecology, minoring in journalism and mass communications. She started her experience in wildlife rehabilitation while working at Raptor Education Group, Inc. in Wisconsin for 3 years, where she rehabilitated sick and injured birds. During her time there, she learned how to care for their raptor ambassadors and present educational programming, developing a passion for creating connections between wildlife and the public. She then worked as a seasonal naturalist and AmeriCorps Environmental Educator at Clinton County Conservation in Clinton, Iowa. In 2020, she returned to Wisconsin and became the Education Coordinator for Wildlife in Need Center before joining the Raptors of Schlitz Audubon in 2021. Outside of work, she volunteers with the Water Action Volunteers and monitors the Mukwonago River, documenting its diversity of invertebrates throughout the season.