Board Of Directors

Meet The Board of Directors

Olivia LoBalbo

President and Founder

In 2013, Olivia founded the nonprofit Animal Education and Rescue Organization (A.E.R.O.) to help rescue, rehabilitate, and release native wildlife who are sick, injured, or orphaned. Her efforts were driven by a lifetime love of wildlife and a dream of creating her own wildlife rescue group. After years of working in vet clinics to learn the medical side; volunteering for other organizations to learn the non-profit side; working for her dad’s business and as an inventory manager at a vet clinic to learn the business side; she realized it was time to move forward and start A.E.R.O Animal Education and Rescue Organization. Olivia is a licensed with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources as a Category IIB organization and as such, is considered a wildlife facility and can sponsor up to 20 apprentices. That designation has allowed A.E.R.O. to grow exponentially as an organization. As a result, Olivia balances her time between hands-on rehabilitating and hands-on running our organization. Today, A.E.R.O. is a recognized leader in the Northern Virginia wildlife community.

Jennifer Kurtz

Vice President

Jennifer Kurtz, is an educator living in Houston, Texas. From a young age, she enjoyed being around animals, learning about them, and helping whenever possible. She is originally from Manassas, Virginia but moved to Houston in 2003. She still has many friends and family members in the Northern Virginia area so she come to visit whenever she can. Jennifer is looking forward to working more with the community and continuing to spread the A.E.R.O. mission.

Henry C. Alphin Jr

Board Administrator

Henry C. Alphin Jr. is a strategic consultant, nonprofit leader, and dedicated wildlife advocate based in Northern Virginia. As founder of HCA Strategies, he guides mission-driven organizations toward resilience and growth. Over the past decade, Henry has advised and volunteered with multiple animal rescues and wildlife organizations. In his role on the Board of Directors at AERO, he leverages his nonprofit acumen, strategic foresight, and deep passion for animal and wildlife rescue to advance AERO’s mission.

Anthony LoBalbo

Member at Large

Anthony LoBalbo was born and raised in upstate NY where he grew up playing in the woods and always had pets in the home. He graduated from University of Albany with a degree in finance and a concentration in business and shortly thereafter moved to D.C. He met and married Olivia LoBalbo, joined her in a love for wildlife, supported her in launching A.E.R.O. and continues to participate in hands-on rehabilitation as a licensed VDWR care provider. Anthony currently works for Charles Schwab and his financial background has helped A.E.R.O grow into a successful non-profit charity.

Jill Spohn

Secretary

Although Jill dreamed of following in Jane Goodall’s footsteps focusing on animal behavior, she detoured into the information technology profession for a few decades. She returned to her passion for the environment when she joined the Fairfax Master Naturalist (FMN) Chapter in the Spring of 2014 initially using her IT skills on the Membership and IT Teams. When she “got the memo” during FMN training about the importance of native plants, she converted her yard into a Northern Virginia Bird Alliance (NVBA – an Audubon Chapter) Certified Wildlife Sanctuary. In 2016 she became Wildlife Sanctuary Program (WSP) Ambassador and has been the WSP Program Assistant since 2019. WSP guides individuals and organizations on how to provide habitat for wildlife. Jill became a wildlife transporter in 2017 and met Olivia delivering critters to her home. Learning how toxic and ineffective broadcast spraying for mosquitoes spraying is, she started Mosquito Jill in 2025 to provide easy access to budget friendly and garden-worthy mosquito larvae traps (also known as mosquito buckets and bucket of doom). Jill has been an avid gardener and nature lover all her life, so when she “got the memo” during FMN training about how important native plants are for the environment, she worked on getting her yard certified as an Audubon at Home Sanctuary. In 2016 she became an Audubon at Home Ambassador and became the AAH Program Assistant in 2019. She enjoys guiding both individuals and organizations in learning how to provide habitat for wildlife. She now juggles her ASNV work with gardening at home in Reston, watching the critters in her yard, volunteering as a wildlife transporter, ushering at Wolf Trap, and enjoying time with her husband and kids.

Mary Petty

Member at Large

Marylourdes (“Mary”) Petty, JD believes that a single person can make a difference in this world by the contributions they make. Consequently, she is a regular contributor to non-profits that are close to her heart. AERO’s service to wildlife, like all animals, both wild and domestic, resonates deeply with her. She holds a Bachelors and a Doctorate in Law and has worked in various aspects of the legal field for over thirty (30) year

Tanya Finch

Board Contributer

Tanys is the founder of Tanya’s Turtle Project and an active volunteer. Her knowledge comes from not only being a Cat 2 rehabber, but a Virginia Master Naturalist

Jenny Groom

Fundraising Coordinator

Jenny come to A.E.R.O. with fundraising experience and a love for all animals. While she is helping to raise funds, shes also working towards getting her rehab permit.

Cathy Johnson

Member At Large

Cathy Johnson is an artist, educator and advocate for wildlife. I have over 30 years experience with open space issues and land preservation projects, combined with an understanding of the critical need for wildlife care and educational guidance. These types of services are essential in our quickly changing urban surroundings. The A.E.R.O mission to provide emergency services for wildlife in need, is filled with successful years of rescues, captures, treatments, and releases. My hope is to promote financial support, assist in amplifying their rescue mission and increase the reach and footprint provided by the A.E.R.O. service team to Northern Virginia area wildlife and residents.

Bill Crisp

Member At Large

Bill was born and raised in Northern Virginia where he spent most of his time outdoors, hiking, fishing and camping. Before reptiles, Bill was an avid aquarist at the age of 14, keeping large freshwater fish like Red-bellied Piranhas, Silver Arowanas, Oscars and South American Pacu’s. Nowadays, Bill is an avid herpetologist, wildlife conservationist and licensed wildlife control operator in Virginia. Bill has been working with wildlife, with a specific focus on snakes and reptiles for over 30 years, including venomous and large constrictor species. Bill operates and co-owns K2C Snake Consultants, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization with a focus on helping people and communities co-exist with local wildlife through means of education & studies. Before starting up K2C Snake Consultants, Inc., Bill owned a small reptile business (Crisp B Creatures), providing birthday parties, educational demos, reptile rehoming and breeding some non-native snake and lizard species. Bill is activity involved in surrounding communities, promoting awareness about the importance of local reptile species and other wildlife. “It is truly a pleasure to be part of AERO, providing support for our local wildlife and the communities that live within their habitat. Wildlife doesn’t need to be taught how to co-exist, but people and communities do. The world needs more of those who see wildlife as neighbors, not nuisances!”