Laurel Millaci

Assistant Director

Laurel Millaci serves as Assistant Director and Songbird Program Supervisor at Carolina Waterfowl Rescue, where her role reaches into nearly every corner of the organization. From overseeing the rescue’s baby bird program and supporting staff and volunteers to assisting with communications, administration, community outreach, grant submissions, and special projects, Laurel has become a trusted source of knowledge and guidance throughout CWR.

Her relationship with Carolina Waterfowl Rescue began long before she joined the staff. After moving to North Carolina, Laurel saw a neighborhood post explaining that a local grocery store had stopped donating produce to CWR. The post caught her attention, but her connection to the rescue became much more personal soon afterward when she found an injured crow and brought the bird to CWR for help.

That experience ultimately led Laurel to begin volunteering in 2017. She participated in volunteer workdays, helped care for baby birds, and served on Sunday shifts before eventually joining the staff. What began as a lifelong love of animals and nature developed into an entirely new area of expertise.

Today, one of Laurel’s primary responsibilities is overseeing CWR’s baby bird program. During baby season, she helps coordinate the enormous effort required to care for orphaned and injured songbirds, including supervising staff and volunteers, managing supplies and cleaning needs, monitoring medical concerns, and overseeing feeding, development, and fledging. She also interviews and hires interns and frequently serves as a resource for employees across departments who come to her for information, guidance, and problem-solving.

Laurel’s work extends well beyond songbird rehabilitation. She assists with CWR’s Learning Center and community events, networking, communications, grant submissions, administrative responsibilities, internal staff communications, and whatever else is needed to keep the organization moving forward. Her willingness to step into different roles reflects one of the things she values most about CWR: when an animal or a member of the community needs help, the organization works to find a solution.

Before entering wildlife rehabilitation, Laurel built a professional background in law, business, management, and customer service. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and Art History from Barnard College of Columbia University in 1981 and a Juris Doctor from New York Law School in 1985. She also brings approximately 30 years of experience in a family-owned small business. That background has proven valuable in the management, communication, organizational, and administrative aspects of her work at CWR.

Laurel has completed the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council’s Basic Wildlife Rehabilitation course and is a member of the IWRC. She regularly participates in wildlife rehabilitation webinars and continuing education and describes herself as a lifelong learner who is constantly reading, studying, and seeking new information. She also supports conservation organizations including Audubon and the National Wildlife Federation.

Although Laurel has always loved animals, working at CWR introduced her to the remarkable complexity of birds. Songbirds hold a special place in her heart, particularly because each new species that enters the baby bird program offers an opportunity to learn about its unique developmental, nutritional, and behavioral needs.

Crows are an especially strong favorite. Laurel is fascinated by their intelligence and intuition and by the unmistakable sense that they are constantly observing, processing, and learning. Her time at CWR has also given her a new appreciation for ducks and geese and the individual personalities that make every animal different.

What Laurel is most proud of, however, is CWR’s willingness to respond when animals and people have nowhere else to turn. She has seen countless people discover the rescue only after finding an injured wild animal or facing a crisis involving an animal they cannot help on their own.

For Laurel, every animal arriving at CWR has a story. Some are injured or orphaned. Others have been abandoned, neglected, or abused. Whatever brought them through the doors, she believes each deserves skilled care, compassion, and the opportunity for a second chance.

Outside of CWR, Laurel enjoys gardening and caring for indoor plants, as well as needlepoint, cross-stitch, sewing, baking, mysteries, history, puzzles, museums, and spending time watching sports with her family. Many of those interests connect her to her family: her grandmother inspired her love of gardening and taught her needlework and sewing, while her father passed along his love of sports. At home, Laurel shares her life with two cats, including one rescued through CWR, and hopes someday to once again adopt a senior rescue dog.

Above all, Laurel believes curiosity should never have an expiration date. Whether she is learning about a new songbird species, solving a problem at the rescue, or exploring something completely outside her existing knowledge, she continues to seek opportunities to learn and grow.

Her philosophy is simple: age is just a number—never let it stop you from doing what you want to do.