Jessica was born and raised in Virginia. From a young age, she wanted to work with wolves, and as she grew, her passion increased. She attended and graduated from Arkansas Tech University where she majored in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology. During college, she accepted an internship at the Wolf Education and Research Center (WERC) in Idaho. This was where she belonged, studying and caring for wolves and wildlife. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she interned for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the red wolf caretaker and assisted other biologists on that project. During the first half of 2012 Jessica also volunteered at WERC. Near the end of 2012 she was invited back and eventually became the assistant biologist. During her time there she learned many practical “ins and outs” of captive animal care. After leaving WERC in 2016 she turned the idea of opening a wolf and wildlife sanctuary in Virginia into a reality. After much thought and research, Jessica founded and continues to form the Collins Wolf and Wildlife Sanctuary, where the focus is on caring for captive or non-releasable wildlife and educating the public about them and their habitats.
