OMG Board Members;
Our founders may be young but they are extremely passionate about trying to make a difference by helping ALL endangered species, and our environment to survive at least One More Generation… and beyond. As we assembled our board, we took great care to only include individuals who shared that same passion that our founders demonstrate every day.
Our members come from diverse backgrounds and each has a specific talent which helps OMG ensure the best possible opportunity for achieving our mission.
Founders:
Carter Ries – Passionate about all critters but absolutely loves Snow Leopards. His goal is to someday have the worlds largest animal sanctuary where visitors from around the world can come and learn about animals in their natural habitat.
Olivia Ries – Also passionate about all animals big, small and even slimy but she particularly loves Cheetah’s and Koalas. Olivia also wants to open the animal sanctuary with her brother. Somehow, I believe they will do just that 
Children’s Outreach Director for South Africa:
Robyn Cant-Haylett – is nine years old and lives in Cape Town, South Africa with her Mom, Dad, three cats and hamster. Robyn loves all animals and is passionate about caring for them and the environment. She wants to study veterinary science when she leaves school as long as her career involves working with animals. A born leader, according to her teachers and mentors, Robyn sets very high standards for herself and takes any task assigned to her seriously.
Olivia and Carter recently met with Robyn and her family while in South Africa and immediately knew they needed to have her as part of our organization. Robyn’s passion and sincere desire to want to make a difference is exactly what helped found OMG and we are so pleased to have her onboard. Robyn will be helping to continue our children’s educational programs in South Africa in an effort to educate kids all over the world about the need to get involved with helping to save animals and clean up our environment.
President:
Jim Ries – as the father of our founders, it is my pleasure to be part of this exciting organization. I see every day the passion that our kids put into their company. OMG is not just a fad or a passing idea with Carter and Olivia. They are both sincere about their mission, and about our purpose. We want all endangered species to have a chance so our next generation may also enjoy their presence. To do this we also know that we have to incorporate an environmental component in order to assure the survival of all God’s creatures.
Educational Advisor:
Number 1 Fan of these two amazing kids
Lauren Ries – I feel very strongly about this organization and the fact that my kids are as passionate about animals as I am. I have always been an animal lover, and it thrills me to know that they are so compassionate about all animals, reptiles, amphibians and sea life of all kinds. We are truly blessed as parents to have them both in our lives.
Biology Lecturer and Neuroscience Institute Research Scientist, Georgia State University:
Dr. Michael Black – Dr. Black works as a Research Scientist in the Neuroscience Institute at Georgia State University. He graduated from Cornell University and received a Masters and PhD from Georgia State University. He currently teaches at Georgia State and conducts research on social interactions and how they affect the brain. Since he was a little boy, Dr. Black has had a love for animals and nature. Dr. Black is our resident Herpetology Expert and a key advisor to OMG regarding all Reptile and Amphibian issues.
Rescuing a baby beaver from a muddy backwater in the Apalachicola River basin.
Dr. Bruce Means – Dr. Means is a world renowned expert on the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. His work has been documented worldwide and he is often seen on National Geographic and many other media forms. Dr. Means recently hosted a conference for us at the Atlanta Zoo and will be instrumental in helping our efforts of saving the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake.
Director of Ocean Programs
In this picture, Tim is in Alaska working on a project studying beluga whales.
Tim Binder - Tim is the Senior Director of Collection Planning at the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, IL. Prior to Shedd Aquarium he was Vice President of Zoological Operations at Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Ct and was responsible for animal husbandry, laboratory operations and the rehabilitation program for stranded sick and injured marine mammals and sea turtles. Tim left Mystic after 16 years to help open the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, GA where for 6 years, as Director of Husbandry, he oversaw the divisions of animal husbandry, laboratory services and veterinary care. Tim’s passion for the environment and for all the creatures in the sea is an asset to the work OMG wishes to accomplish. With Tim’s help, we are well on our way towards achieving some of our goals.
Director of Environmental Programs:
Marina Fleming – Marina graduated from the College of Charleston in 2010 with a Bachelor’s degree in Corporate and Organizational Communication. She works in Development in the nonprofit sector utilizing skills such as grant writing, research, event planning, securing business partners and sponsorship. Marina has a deep passion for the environment that stems from her love of playing outdoors. She is most excited about contributing to the sustainability of OMG to help the organization achieve its goals far into the future. We are sincerely please to have her on board.
Social Media Advisor:
Wanda McCall – Wanda’s marketing experience within the Social Media realm is sure to be an asset to OMG.
Wanda earned her B.A. in English from the University of South Carolina. She currently works for Conceptus, a national medical device company, as a marketing/development manager covering multiple regions. Prior to working for Conceptus, she owned her own consulting firm, Concentric First. She has over 20 years in the health care industry.
Her hobbies include gardening, reading, traveling.
Advisor, Technical & Internet Media Strategy:
Ryan Williams – J. Ryan Williams is Principal/Director of Websuasion, LLC — offering web development, content production, technical consultation and brand strategy for commercial businesses, non-profit institutions and government agencies. With over a decade of web development experience combined with an insight into user psychology and persuasive design, Ryan helps organizations to utilize the internet to work more efficiently, develop better customer relationships and build strong brand presence. That is exactly what we at OMG needed. Ryan helped us find the most cost effective and functional web-presence without cutting corners. We think you will agree, our site and its content are designed to inform and empower.
Ryan created and co-developed Capocus!, an open source suite of Ruby on Rails plugins which seamlessly integrate web publishing, web marketing and business functionality while dramatically speeding up development turnaround of mid-to-large scale web projects. He also has 18 years of audio and video production experience; a love for wordcraft and the communication of concept; and a passion for directing visual presentation into a clear message, voice and identity — all focused on spotlighting each client’s story, expertise and mission.
Please visit Websuasion LLC (http://websuasion.com) for an outline of services. You can follow Ryan at his “Artful Execution Blog” (http://jryanwilliams.com), on Twitter (http://twitter.com/websuasion_ryan) and LinkedIn (http://linkedin.com/in/websuasionatl).
Director of Avian Research
Handling Fabian the Black Vulture - Southern Wings Bird Club, Lawrenceville, GA
Irene-Eva Ries – Irene-Eva brings several years experience with regard to conservation issues affecting wild birds both in the United States and Southern Africa. Her knowledge of how industries and social trends affect birds has enabled her to advocate both as a citizen and volunteer for the past 10 years. She is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University and The George Washington University.
Service to the community includes volunteering for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Pocahontas State Park, the Humane Society of the United States, The Smithsonian Marine Ecosystems Exhibit, and serving as birding field trip guide with the Richmond Audubon Society.
In addition to wild bird conservation and advocacy efforts, she cares for 9 parrots and a Pekin duck. Three of the parrots were rescues removed from a now-defunct bird breeding operation, one was adopted from Phoenix Landing Foundation, and two arrived as their former owners no longer wished to keep them but wanted to place them with an experienced caretaker who would provide a “forever” home.
Irene-Eva presently resides in southeast Florida with her spouse.
avian@onemoregeneration.org
