Our Staff
Michelle Sobek is the owner of Muddy Paws Boarding and Grooming in Alpena.
She is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, caring for the animals in Herron, MI and the spark that got our organization off the ground.
Mike Sobek is the muscle of our organization. He designed and built our facility in Herron, MI.
As a board member, he is
invaluable to our organization.
Samantha “Sam” is the Conservation Education Coordinator at Nature’s Kingdom Conservation Center. A U.S. Army veteran with a degree in Psychology, she is passionate about creating engaging educational experiences that inspire curiosity, wildlife appreciation, and conservation awareness.
Dr. Chelsea Van Assche, DVM, MPH Primary Veterinarian Dr. Chelsea Van Assche is a veterinarian and owner of Huron Veterinary Clinic with approximately ten years of clinical experience and a lifelong passion for wildlife, exotic animal medicine, and conservation. Her background includes working as a quarantine zookeeper at the Audubon Nature Institute, where she gained extensive experience in the husbandry, nutrition, and care of a wide variety of zoological species, including primates, exotic birds, and mammals. During veterinary school, she pursued additional wildlife medicine experiences internationally, including teaching and working with the Belize Wildlife Referral Clinic, completing an externship with ARCAS Wildlife Rescue in Guatemala, and training at PAWS Wildlife Center in Washington State. These experiences provided hands-on exposure to an extraordinary range of species, from jaguars, ocelots, and monkeys to bears, raptors, seals, and other native wildlife. Today, Chelsea combines her experience in general veterinary practice, mixed-animal medicine, and wildlife care in her role as primary veterinarian for Nature’s Kingdom Wildlife Rescue and Educational Center. She works alongside Michelle Sobek to provide medical care for injured and compromised wildlife while helping develop husbandry protocols, rehabilitation practices, and innovative solutions for challenging cases. She is particularly passionate about the unique challenges of wildlife medicine and the opportunity to contribute to wildlife rehabilitation, conservation, and education. She looks forward to supporting Nature’s Kingdom as it continues to grow and expand its mission of protecting wildlife and educating the community.