Conference Speakers

David Brimager joined the Texas Wildlife Association (TWA), located in San Antonio, in 1999 as the Director of the Texas Big Game Awards. In 2007 he became Vice President of Hunting Heritage for TWA, then Marketing Director in 2010, and now is the Director of Public Relations.

David Yeates has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Texas Wildlife Association for the last six years.  TWA focuses on natural resource education, hunter recruitment and retention, and robust advocacy at the Texas Capitol.  Yeates graduated with an Agricultural Economics degree from Texas A&M University, and completed the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University.

liana A. Peña, Director of Conservation Programs for Texas Wildlife Association (TWA), holds a BS in Wildlife Ecology from Texas A&M Univ. and a MS in Range and Wildlife Management from Texas A&M Univ.-Kingsville. Prior to coming to TWA, Iliana spent 14 years at Audubon Texas serving in multiple administrative roles including Center Director of the Mitchell Audubon Center, Director of Education, and Interim State Director.

Tom has been a member of TWA since 1995 and currently serves as the current President of TWA, Chair of Deer Management Committee, Chair of the Permanent Building Committee and he is current member of the TWA executive committee. He is also a current member of the TYHP Advisory Board, TPWD White-tailed Deer Advisory Committee and Upper Llano Rivers Watershed Protection Plan Committee.

Amanda Gobeli works for the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute (NRI) as a Project Coordinator for the Reversing the Quail Decline Initiative (RQDI), a conservation program which seeks to address the decades-long decline of quail populations in Texas through research, education and outreach.

Arlene has been managing the LIP Program in Texas for 14 years. She has a master’s degree in Ecology with a research focus on the impacts of exotic invasive plant species on  neotropical migrant birds in Central Texas and a bachelor of science degree in Agriculture Studies.

Carter has a wildlife management degree from Texas Tech and a master’s degree in conservation biology from Yale University.  As a wildlife biologist, he has worked on projects across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Prior to joining TPWD, Smith worked in conservation for the Katy Prairie Conservancy and the Nature Conservancy of Texas (TNC), where he served as the Texas State Director. 

Charles Kneuper is the Texas state rangeland management specialist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. He has worked in the Brownwood, Hamilton, Gatesville, and Meridian field offices and the Weatherford zone office.

Cyndee Watson is a native Texan and comes from a family with ranching and farming background. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin majoring in Geography with an emphasis on Resource Management with a Zoology minor. She later received her Masters degree in Biology from Texas State University. While there, she conducted her thesis on Estimating the Probability of Detecting golden-cheeked warblers.

Andy has over 20 years of experience as a biospeleologist and conservation biologist and he served as State Herpetologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for seven years.

As an Extension Wildlife Specialist, Dr. Frank leads outreach programs that connect people to their local natural resources.

For the past 10 years, Dr. Megan Clayton has been an Extension Rangeland Specialist for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management at Texas A&M University in College Station.

Froylán Hernández got his B.S. from Texas A&M in 1999 and his M.S. from Sul Ross State University in 2005. He worked for US Fish and Wildlife Service and Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute prior to coming to Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.

Jenny is the Executive Director of Texas Grazing Land Coalition.  I also manage three ranches in the Texas Panhandle and one in Montana.  Graduate of Montana State University and Texas A&M University.  Passionate about grazing land stewardship and educating and encouraging people.  

Kristin is the Membership Coordinator for Texas Wildlife Association and a hunting guide for New School of Traditional Cookery. She serves as a certified Huntmaster for the Texas Youth Hunting Program, an instructor for South Texas Bobwhite Brigade and is a freelance writer for Lone Star Outdoor News.

Kristy holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Sam Houston State University and she is a graduate of the US Department of Agriculture Emerging Leaders Development Program from The George Washington University Center for Excellence in Public Leadership. Outside of work, Kristy enjoys spending time with her family and traveling to new destinations.  

Rod Wetsel is the senior partner at Wetsel, Carmichael, Allen, & Lederle, LLP in Sweetwater, Texas, where he has practiced law for over forty years.He is now an adjunct professor at Texas Tech University School of Law, where he teachers both wind law and Texas mineral titles. He is board certified in oil, gas and mineral law and has served as an assistant editor of the Title Standard Joint Editorial Board since 191.

Shane Kiefer is the Director of Ecological Services for Plateau Land & Wildlife Management. He is a Certified Wildlife Biologist and Registered Property Tax Consultant with 15 years of experience working with private landowners to manage ranches of all sizes in over 100 counties across 8 different ecoregions.

Shelby joined the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute in August 2017 as a student technician and currently serves as a Project Coordinator I. As a part of the engagement team, her work focuses on managing and expanding the Institute’s distance education program for Texas A&M students and land stewards.

Tiffany Dowell Lashmet is an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in Agricultural Law with Texas A&M Agrilife Extension. She focuses her work on legal issues affecting Texas agricultural producers and landowners. She serves State Bar of Texas John Huffaker Agricultural Law Course Planning Committee and

Tim was born and raised in Giddings, TX. A bachelor’s degree and graduate research at Stephen F. Austin State University was followed by employment with TPWD in 2009. In  College Station, Tim was responsible for 7 counties performing wildlife surveys, public outreach, technical guidance, prescribed fire assistance,

Dr. Toby Hibbitts joined the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute in 2012 as a research scientist. His research program focuses on amphibians and reptiles.

Will Newman is the Farm Bill Coordinator for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department where he assists wildlife program and field staff in best using USDA programs and funding to deliver wildlife habitat and conservation education.