If you need a yardstick to measure the quality of an organization, look at it’s people. No great company was ever created without great people. No amazing accomplishment has been completed without the unswerving dedication of the people behind it.
Snakes-N-Scales is all about animals and kids, but the engine of our success is the wonderful people that work here.

Why Choose Us?

Brieanne Richards joined Snakes-N-Scales in 2006 with
almost ten years of child and education experience. She always loved working with children and animals. Snakes-N-Scales provides an opportunity to combine both interests, which she
finds very fulfilling.
Her child care experiences began with babysitting, teaching swimming lessons, and life guarding. In these jobs, the most rewarding part was interacting with the kids and watching them learn.
She attended Gettysburg College, during which she acquired an internship at the Baltimore Aquarium, to pursue a childhood fascination with marine mammals. After graduating from Gettysburg, with a Bachelors degree in Psychology, her interest in teaching led her to accept an internship at the Central Park Zoo.
At the Central Park Zoo she gained experience performing in school and public programs, combined with animal handling.
She also created new programs and wrote curriculum materials.
Her career ambitions turned toward a more hands-on animal
orientated career as a veterinary technician. Although she
enjoyed the animal contact, she really missed the interaction,
with people, and the teaching aspects of the previous job.
She wished to return to the field of environmental education,
so she took a summer position at the Environmental Education
Center at Lord Stirling Park, in Basking Ridge. It was
there that she encountered Snakes-Scales and inquired about
job positions.
Brie shares a deep love of animals with her co-workers. Although, she is a steadfast animal lover, the one group she
didn’t care for was snakes. She couldn’t even stand to be in
the room with one or any where close. She bravely chose to
combat this snake fear with knowledge. She read everything
she could about them and watched television programs.
She then grew to have a new found appreciation for these mysterious animals. When asked about handling them for
programs at the zoo, she was ready. It turned out to be a
necessary skill for my career. Now snakes are her favorites
and she loves when, as the show finale, she brings out a 10ft
Burmese python. She truly understands peoples’ hesitation
toward these animals, but she also believes in the power of knowledge against fear.

Pete Signorelli joined the Snakes-N-Scales family in June of 2008. But ever since he was a young boy, he has always had a love and interest in animals. From the first time he saw the movie “The Jungle Book,” he made it a mission in his life to learn as much about animals as he could.
Besides his love of animals, Pete has a special connection with children. He spent six years working at the Chester (N.Y) Park and Rec Summer Camp. He also worked for the Dutch Hollow Education Foundation, and volunteered at the Head Start Program.
Pete graduated from East Stroudsburg University (P.A.), in 2007. Prior to his current job, he spent six month working at The Little Gym in Middletown, N.Y. where he taught gymnastics classes.
Pete takes pride in his job and performs with energy, enthusiasm and great geniality. He has studied extensively, becoming an expert in his own right, on the habits and lives of the animals he teaches about and cares for so much. He has overcome many obstacles, including bites, to his great satisfaction. He has learned a great deal about the animals and himself while working at Snakes-N-Scales.

Erin Mellini got “hooked” on marine life at the age of 4 when she won a goldfish in a bowl at a carnival. It was the first in a long line of family pets having everything from fins to fur. At an early age, she knew that working with animals was the only career she’d ever consider.
To achieve that goal, she attended Rider University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and animal behavior. During her four years of study, Erin worked at a number of jobs all involving the care of animals. Whether it was pet-sitting for neighbors or friends, helping to maintain the school’s, or her own, salt water or fresh water aquariums, or instructing others in the wonders of marine life, Erin has always enjoyed working with all types of animals.
During school breaks, Erin found jobs that would add to her
experience. She was employed by the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife at the Hackettstown State Fish Hatchery. She also completed an intensive internship as an aquarist at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. In order to get
an even closer look at the ocean life she has always found so
fascinating, Erin became a PADI-certified scuba diver.
After graduation, Erin hoped to find a job that would give her
more hands-on experience with a greater variety of animals.

Recalling an educational program on reptiles presented by Snakes-N-Scales during an animal behavior class in high school, Erin began her job search by contacting the company’s owner, Bill Boesenberg, who had presented that informative and fun program. Erin joined the staff of Snakes-N-Scales in 2008 as a zookeeper, aquarist and educator. She created two shows for Snakes-N-Scales, "Fish Tales and Ocean Oddballs," and "The Clown Fish Birthday."

When she’s not tending to the Snakes-N-Scales critters, Erin is back at home in northern New Jersey with her family, fish and four-legged best friend, Emma, a 12-year-old Yorkshire terrier. 

     Keke Hammell has been a fan of Snakes-n-Scales since the age of 9 when she first saw Bill and his menagerie as a camper at the Somerset County Environmental Education Center. She has always had a love for animals of all kinds, and thought that Bill had the coolest job in the world. She maintains that he still does and she is thrilled to now share in that job.
Keke attended Green Mountain College, an environmental liberal arts college in Vermont, aka hippie school. She graduated with a degree in environmental education and theater combining her love for the outdoors and her passion for storytelling.
Keke has always loved working with kids and has held jobs as a camp counselor at the same environmental center camp she attended, a children’s leader at Silver Bay YMCA conference center in NY, babysitter extraordinaire, and most recently, a preschool teacher. One of her other interests is fantasy literature, especially The Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter. She combines multiple talents at Snakes-N-Scales and teaches our Magical Creatures programs.
  Keke loves imparting her knowledge of animals to children of all ages in an entertaining and engaging way.  Using her skills as a storyteller and teacher she hopes to instill the same environmental awareness and passion for animals that she has
always had.

Bill's fascination with animals, especially dinosaurs and reptiles proceeds from the age of 2. His commitment to the protection and welfare of all animals has always been part of his life's work. His knowledge is extensive and is often called upon by many agencies.
 

Bill’s experience is impressive: he has repaired countless turtle shells that were struck by cars, hatched endangered turtle eggs, mended broken legged frogs, nursed 100 lb pythons, pulled lost alligators out of people’s pools, performed surgery on injured and dead mother snakes and turtles to rescue the eggs for hatch and release, answered dozens of calls from local police for snake identification and capture, caught loose monitor lizards on the turnpike, rescued injured venomous snakes, and he and his wife, Diane, have opened their home to become a haven for hundreds of orphaned reptiles. His studies of reptiles have taken him to places such as California, Florida and West Virginia. He studied crocodiles in Venezuela, South America. And of course he continues his work in New Jersey where he resides.
 

He also studied and worked with many non-reptilian/amphibian
animals such as Bottle-nosed Dolphins in Florida. He
assisted in emergency surgeries of many species of birds including Hawks, Owls, and Falcons; Song Birds and Water Fowl for 8 years. He has a diverse experience with all manner of fish, insects, and invertebrates of all types and descriptions. He raised native NJ mammals such as Virginia Opossum, Cottontail, Grey Squirrel, Raccoon and Woodchuck; and rehabilitated adult and baby Big and Little Brown Bats; he’s cared for Cotton-top tamarins,(monkeys), Suricate Meerkats, (mongoose), Fenec Foxes, Dwarf Opossums, Ferrets, and Tenrec; and he’s
raised Parrots, Macaws, Cockatiels, Love Birds, Parakeets, Tarantulas, Centipedes, Madagascar Hissing Roaches and Scorpions!!

Professional Credentials
 

Founded Snakes-N-Scales and Turtle Tales in 1995, now
the largest Animal Outreach Educational Organization in NJ. 

Snakes-N-Scales comprises a collection of over 500 reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates, one of the largest in the surrounding states of NJ, NY, PA and CT. 

Self taught Herpetologist. Studied in Florida, California, W. Virginia, Venezuela and New Jersey. 

First New Jersey State Reptile Rehabilitator.

Founder/Director of the New Jersey Herpetological
Rescue Society. 

Current Herpetological Consultant for
Popcorn Park Zoo,
Tenafly Nature Center,
Trailside Nature and Science Center,
 Weiss Ecology Center,
 Schiff Nature Preserve,
 Camden Discovery Aquarium
 and passed consultant for the
Bergen County Zoo, Turtleback Zoo and the
NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife. 

Volunteer consultant for Poison Control Hotline, in the management of snake bites. 

Author reptiles and amphibian section “Wildlife in Education:
A Guide for the Care and Use of Program Animals”
NWRA pub. 2004

Author children’s picture book,” I Am Snake: A Story of Self-Discovery” pub. 2005 

Regular guest on New Jersey News 12, TV program,
"The Pet Stop."

Featured on the TV shows, "Wild About Animals", "The Consumer Guide Show", "Clifton Cable TV", and Fox News Magazine".

Zoo keeper, health technician and natural history teacher for the Newark Museum for 13 years.

Exotic animal specialist technician for the Plainfield Animal
Hospital for 8 years.

 Senior Store Manger In Charge of Animal Care for
NJ Pets, East Hanover, South Orange and Verona for
4 years.

 Herpetological and Dinosaur/Paleontological book reviewer for American Association for the Advancement of Science.

 Paleontologist, discoverer of outcrop, "Carnosaur Creek" and a Daspletosaurus vertebrae in Montana.
 

THAT’S THE DIFFERENCE!!

Bill is a 26-year experienced, recognized expert in the field of reptile care (herpetology), who decided to make his life’s goal the education of people about these misunderstood creatures. His credentials are unmatched in NJ. Bill's expertise and good natured humor appeal to all who surround him. His programs are informative, educational and fun.
When you hire a member of Snakes-N-Scales you receive the benefits of Bill’s expertise since all employees are specially trained and qualified. All are experienced teachers; all have a wide experience with children and an excellent command of animal handling and showmanship. Everyone at Snakes-N-Scales is dedicated to making our visit a fantastic experience, full of insight, knowledge, discovery and wonder. Thanks to these dedicated people, Snakes-n-Scales and Turtle Tales has succeed in speaking to over 100,000 people per year.
Whichever program you choose will be an adventurous exploration into the animal world providing experiences that will last a lifetime.

Other dedicated educators:

Debora Davidson, is Director of Education for Tenafly Nature Center.

Lisa Randolph, is a high school biology teacher at Barringer HS in Newark.

Our invaluable support staff:

William H. Boesenberg, Business Manager

Joe Boesenberg, Photography & Computers, is a meteorite expert at the American Museum of Natural History.

Philip DiSenso, Enclosure Builder Extraordinaire & Computers, is a computer network consultant.

Dan Oostdyk, PT Zoo Keeper and fellow Herpetologist, a reservist in the NJ National Guard.

Jeff Randolph, our lawyer.

We also encourage and support the patronage of the following companies.

MAINSTREETHOST.COM

JC GRAPHICS, Printers 201-843-5213

JEFFREY RANDOLPH, ATTORNEY AT LAW
973-800-5479