Marie Steele

A decades-long resident of Indian Pass, Florida, Marie has been a volunteer for St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge since 1993. She is a direct descendant of the Wing Family of America—one of the country’s founding New England families, who arrived in America in 1631.

Born in Philadelphia, PA, Marie completed her medical education at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, where she worked as a cardiac technician and later as a project monitor on a federal research project. She also served as a community organizer for children and youth, and was a member of the Philadelphia Mayor’s Committee for Municipal Health Services.

After moving to Gulf County, Florida, Marie and her husband Joey opened a small local business. She became a state- and federally-permitted wildlife rehabber and, for several years, served as the director of the four-county “Florida Birding & Wildflower Festival”—a major Northwest Florida educational fundraiser supporting local wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.

Marie was later employed as the volunteer coordinator for the St. Joseph Bay Buffer Preserve, where she recruited and organized its first volunteer group and helped establish the Friends of St. Joseph Bay Buffer Preserve. She also served on a Brownfield Committee in the City of Port St. Joe.

Marie is one of the original founding members of the St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge Friends Group and continues to serve on its board while actively volunteering for the refuge.