Meet The Team
Jody Giddings, CWT, M.Ed
Founder & CEO, Certified Wildlife Rehabilitator
Founder & CEO
Jody Giddings began wildlife rehabilitation as a volunteer at The Wildlife Center of Rhode Island over 10 years ago. She has increased her knowledge through hands on training, workshops, and conferences and achieved the highest level of Wildlife Rehabilitation, Certified Wildlife Rehabilitator, in 2024. Before moving to Park City, Jody became the Executive Director at Sunday River Wildlife in Maine. The clinic accepted all native wildlife and Jody worked with all species including hawks, owls, bats, hummingbirds, porcupines, and many other species. After moving to Park City, Jody decided to specialize in Hummingbirds and opened Park City Hummingbird Hospital in 2023. After receiving numerous calls about injured and orphaned wildlife other than hummingbirds, Jody decided to open up the clinic to all migratory birds, bats, and small mammals. She is one of two licensed Bat Rehabilitators in the State and has done extensive training at Bat World Sanctuary in Texas. Prior to working with Wildlife, Jody was a PADI Scuba Instructor in Australia and the Cayman Islands and was the Founder of Sea Rangers Nursery School in Newport, RI. Jody brings her background in Education to community outreach for Park City Hummingbird Hospital and in school programming on conservation of Utah's native wildlife.
Ray Bryant, PhD
Raptor Rescue Team Lead
Raptor Renesting Team Lead and Board Member
Prior to moving to Sandy, Utah in 2022, Ray spend almost 10 years volunteering for Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, a nationally recognized bird rehabilitation and research facility located in Newark, Delaware. Ray was a Transporter involved will all areas of field work including capture, overnighting, safe transportation, community outreach and training.
Ray was also a member of the Raptor Renesting Team. When a nesting raptor came out of a nest prematurely, by nest collapse, predator, or sibling intervention or other cause, Ray and the Team went to the site to make an assessment. The Raptor team then returned healthy raptors to the existing nest, constructed a new nest on site, or brought any injured Raptors in for care. Ray and the Raptor Team had high levels of success with renesting and continued monitoring of birds in the field.
Ray will be working at Park City Hummingbird Hospital to set up a team of transporters and renesting volunteers to help assess raptor nests in central and northern Utah. Ray is a retired educator who spend 43 years in public education as a school district Superintendent.
Dr. Laurel Harris, DVM
Veterinary Consultant
Veterinarian and Board Member
Dr. Harris obtained her DVM from The Ohio State University in 1992. She practiced traditional small animal medicine, both general practice and emergency, prior to completing an internship at the Birmingham Zoo. She spent several years working in the zoo field, including a staff vet position at Utah's Hogle Zoo. Recognizing that a huge need existed for high-quality comprehensive veterinary care for the exotic pets in the Salt Lake Valley, she established WEPC in 2004. WEPC moved into their own facility at our current location in 2009, became fully exotic-exclusive in 2015, and underwent a remodel shortly after that, tripling the size of the original facility. Dr. Harris has provided backup veterinary support for the Tracy Aviary and worked as the consulting veterinarian for the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium. She is a member of the Association of Avian Veterinarians, the Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians and the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians, also serving 6 years on the executive board of AEMV. Dr. Harris is an avid birder with a life list of over 700 species.