Dr. Wiltz leads a double life: as a Doctor of Pharmacy licensed to practice in 17 states, and the CEO of one of the largest big cat homes in Florida, the Central Florida Animal Reserve.

Dr. Wiltz has been practicing pharmacy since 2004.  Since then, he has been published by the American Pharmacists Association’s Transitions newsletter twice as a then New Practitioner.  While a member of the Professional Compounding Center of America, he led a concierge group and was nominated for National Pharmacist of the Month multiple times.  He has developed and sold two pharmacies and currently serves as Vice President of Operations for one of the largest specialty pharmacies in the country. As a multistate licensed pharmacist, he has overseen multiple regulatory and accreditation efforts with responsibility for coordinating state and federal requirements for his network of pharmacies across the country. His career has had impact on community care, home health, hospice, nuclear pharmacy, long term care, compounding, and specialty pharmacy. Dr. Wiltz is an active alumni participant with the University of North Carolina’s Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Alumni Board, and serves as an officer in the organization. As part of that effort, he is the first alumni to serve on an internal steering committee and has consulted both students and faculty for enhanced professional development.

Simultaneously, Dr. Wiltz has been studying the world of big cats for over 30 years.  He began research in 1994 from Florida during a canine distemper outbreak in Kenya that decimated that lion population and continued studies until going hands-on in the early 2000s.  Since then, he has managed or handled 80 cats and consulted with multiple facilities across the country.  He was elected to the inaugural board of Central Florida Animal Reserve in 2007 as Sr. Vice President and selected to act as Chief Executive Officer in 2009.  He hosted and produced of CFAR Sounding, an online radio podcast that drew a weekly audience of 1500 during its three-year run. As part of the organization’s need to build a new facility, Dr. Wiltz raised $1.3 million and headlined the movement of the big cat population to a new location. He became the primary licensee and Facility Director of the Osceola Campus as part of its move in 2017. In that time, he has facilitated the rehoming of 14 big cats that would otherwise not have a home from both local and interstate situations. His pharmacy practice has expanded to include the direct health management of the unique population.

Dr. Wiltz blends the highly scientific detailed world of modern medicine with the raw intuitiveness and instinct required to handle big cats.  By travelling between the extremes of both human and animal species, he has developed a keen insight into remarkable similarities and stark differences that are the hallmarks of life on earth.  Guided by the lessons of both cats and people he has worked with, Dr. Wiltz acts as an ambassador for pragmatic approaches to help us reconnect and share our natural world.

Some additional accomplishments include being Morehead Scholar from the University of North Carolina, a member of the UNC Varsity Football team, two fiction book publications before age 24, a proud Eagle Scout.