People sometimes come to a fork in the road that re-directs their lives. Michele Raffin (venture capital consultant, soccer mom and gold medal master’s olympic weightlifter) was on her way to the gym when she passed an injured dove by the side of the road. A few miles later, she turned back in order to rescue the bird.

Today, 16 years later, Raffin runs Pandemonium Aviaries (www.PandemoniumAviaries.org), a conservation organization that is focused on saving rare and endangered birds including the Victoria Crowned pigeons from New Guinea. These majestic birds are the world’s largest pigeons.

The aviaries that sprung up like a field of wild flowers after a spring rain around the Raffin home are unusual and beautiful. So are the birds that live inside. However, Pandemonium’s mission goes beyond protecting just the sanctuary’s resident birds. It has a world wide mission to save five species of doves from extinction. Pandemonium Aviaries partners with other organizations such as the Cal Academy of Science, UCSF, Stanford and others in order to advance knowledge about avian disease. In addition, Pandemonium partners with zoos and aviculturists in breeding projects. Raffin writes a conservation column for the journal of The Aviculture Society of America. She has written a book titled Pandemonium: Life, Love and Birds on the Edge of Extinction published by Alqonquin Books in 2013.

Raffin’s education includes a MMS from the Stanford School of Business and a BA from Tufts. She studied incubation with the head of the California Condor Breeding project and is a certified AFA aviculturist. Pandemonium Aviaries has been awarded Model Aviary Program status for six years in a row. The facility is only open to the public once a year. This year the date is May 6, 2012.