Birdie Babe: Alysa

Alysa got her first bird at age 7 which led her to the life long love for parrots. She now has 5 in her birdie family. Alysa has an interest in nutrition, natural foods, and pure products. Her passion is to help parrots to live long, healthy and happy lives.

She also grew up in a family of artistic people, which sent her career path in the direction of art. She has a degree in graphic design/illustration.

She also enjoys spending time with her husband and family, bowling, the outdoors, wine tasting and visiting with Mickey Mouse and friends as often as possible at Disney World where she gets creative ideas for future projects.

Professional Achievements:

Associates Degree in
Graphic Design/Illustration, ECC (1994)

Certificate - Dreamweaver CS3,
Kishwaukee College (2009)

AFA Certified Aviculturist, Level I (2008)

Professional Organizations:

Volunteer Web Designer for Ollie’s Parrots Perch Parrot Rescue and Behavior

Board President of the Sycamore
Art Attack - School of Art
(Volunteer of the Year 2006-07)



Birdie Babe: Amanda

Amanda has lived with animals her whole life, but discovered her love for birds at the ripe old age of 19, when she began working for an avian vet in Los Angeles. Her family includes 3 birds, 2 human children, and 3 cats (and 1 very patient husband). Amanda also loves gardening with native plants and being out in nature.

In her copious spare time, Amanda loves to read and learn about new healing modalities for pets and their people. She enjoys meditation and letting her intuition guide her to new heights. Currently, Amanda is developing her animal communication skills and learning to incorporate energy healing into her practice.

Amanda has been working with birds for 17 years. She has been a veterinary technician, an animal keeper at the Los Angeles Zoo and the Playboy Mansion Zoo, and a bird nanny in Beverly Hills. She has worked with breeding birds-finches, toucans, macaws and other parrots, condors. She has also been a bird-sitter for the last 10 years.

Amanda truly feels that birds have guided her to a healthful lifestyle of fresh organic foods, holistic medical care and communing with nature. By learning as much as she can about proper nutrition and healing, it is now her turn to use all of this information to help the birds. Two of her birds are feather pickers, and it is Amanda's goal to help them realize their true beauty, inside and out.

Amanda has traveled to the rain forest in Ecuador and Nicaragua and has had the honor of witnessing the majesty of macaws and other parrots in the wild.

Professional Achievements:

B.S. in Biology: Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, UCLA

California Condor Recovery Program - worked in breeding facility at L.A. Zoo

Kane County Certified Naturalist, certification in progress

Volunteers at the Geneva Park District Butterfly House