Committees

The Activities committee is responsible for planning and implementing Chapter Symposiums and Workshops.

Chair:  David Riley, Mikayla Killam; activities@tctws.org

The Audit committee reviews all financial records and supporting documents of the Treasurer.

Chair: Fernando Gutierrez; audit@tctws.org

The Awards committee provides all ribbons, certificates, and trophies for winners at the awards banquet, and photographs the award ceremony. They also write news releases on Chapter and member activities.

Chair: Michelle Haggerty; awards@tctws.org

The Certifications committee promotes Certification and promotional development of the chapter membership.

Chair: Sarah Fritts; certification@tctws.org

  The Newsletter and Social Media subcommittees fall under Communications/Outreach Committee.

Chair: Masi Serna; outreach@tctws.org

The Newsletter sub-committee is responsible for the production of the Texas Chapter newsletter.

Co-chairs:   Andrea Wiley, Sarah Turner;  newsletter@tctws.org

The Social Media sub-committee is responsible for managing the social media accounts of the Texas Chapter.

Co-chairs:  Karrie Kolesar, Clint Faas; social.media@tctws.org

The Conservation Review committee is responsible for reviewing conservation issues, legislative proposals, administrative regulations, environmental assessments, and other subjects or issues affecting wildlife or wildlife habitat.

Chair: Don Steinbach;executive.director@tctws.org, Romey Swanson, Forrest Cobb; conservation.affairs@tctws.org

The Cottam committee coordinates and promotes the Clarence Cottam Awards, which recognizes outstanding student research.

Cottam Award Guidelines

Abstracts for the Cottam Award competition should be submitted via the abstract submission website: Submit Abstract

Chair: Rachel Fern; cottam.awards@tctws.org

Chair: Penny Wilkerson, Lalo Gonzalez, and Alison Lund ; diversity.inclusion@tctws.org

The Excellence in Wildlife Conservation Committee is responsible for selecting the annual Educator of the Year, Land Stewardship, and Outstanding Achievement award winners.

Here is information regarding nominations for these awards.

Chair: Tim Siegmund; excellence@tctws.org

The Exhibits committee is responsible for soliciting and searching for commercial and non-profit wildlife related exhibitors for the annual meetings.

Chair:  Whitney Gann; exhibits@tctws.org

The Finance committee is responsible for raising money for the Chapter. The raffle and silent auction at the annual meeting are conducted by this committee.

Chair:  Grant Lawrence, Amanda Gobelli (outgoing chair), Michaela O’Donnell (incoming chair); finance@tctws.org

This committee awards Honorary Life Memberships to the Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society based on an individual’s achievements and contributions to wildlife conservation and management.

Chair: Bill Adams; honorary.life.member@tctws.org

I&T is responsible for maintaining the Chapter website and the Chapter email listserv group.

Chair:   Wendy Anderson, Cristy Burch; texas.chapter@tctws.org

The Local Arrangements committee is responsible for coordinating the annual Texas Chapter meeting with the hotel, caterer, event center, etc.

Chair:  Mary Pearl Meuth,  Hope Zubek; local.arrangements@tctws.org

The Membership committee works to encourage people to become Texas Chapter members, retain current members, and identify reasons for which people choose to not become members.

Chair: Amanda Hackney; membership@tctws.org

The Nominations committee prepares a slate of two candidates for each of the six elected positions. Elections are conducted in accordance with Texas Chapter bylaws. To nominate someone, contact the chairman by September 1. Nominees for Vice-President should be willing to serve the Chapter for four years: Vice President, President Elect, President, and Past President.

Chair: Romey Swanson; past.president@tctws.org

The Photo and Art Contest will occur in person for the 2023 Conference.  

The Photo, Art and Video Committee is responsible for soliciting qualified entries for the annual meeting of the Texas Chapter. The contest is arranged and directed by the committee at the annual meeting.

• Digital copies (JPEGs, etc.) must be submitted using the form below by noon on Wednesday February 22, 2023
• You must bring your art submissions and the physical prints of your photo submissions to the Photo & Art table between noon to 5 p.m. on Wednesday the 22nd or Thursday the 2rd from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

All contestants must be members of the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society. (If you have registered for the TCTWS Annual Meeting you are a member.)

Contestants will be limited to 1 entry per photo category.  Photography categories will be:

1. Texas Wildlife (not including captive animals)
2. Texas Plants (includes plant-like organisms such as fungi)
3. Texas Scenery
4. Non-Texas Plants, Scenery, & Wildlife
5. Humor
6. Work related
7. Wildlife conservation (may include captive animals or species of conservation concern)
8. Remote camera (not including captive animals)

Art may include original drawings, paintings, carvings, sculpture, poetry, etc. All entries compete in one category.  Art submissions are limited to 5 entries per person.

Contestants are required to submit a digital copy of photographs and/or art via the TCTWS website to be used at the Awards Banquet. Email photo.art@tctws.org with questions on submitting.  If you do not provide digital copies of your submissions by Wednesday the 22nd, your work will not be displayed at the Awards Banquet.

Digital copies of photo and art must be submitted via the TCTWS website by noon on Wednesday, February 22, 2023.

To help defray the cost of awards, there will be an entry fee of $1.00 per item, which can be paid online on the form linked above.

Photographs should be a standard size (3″ x 5″ up to 11″ x 14″), unmatted, and unframed; however, cardboard backing is permitted.

Ballot voting by conference attendees will occur Thursday, February 23 from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.  A professional photographer will judge and critique photo submissions and will select the Judge’s Choice Award.

You may pick up your entries between 5-6 pm on Thursday.  The committee is not responsible for photos & art left after the close of the conference.

Winners will be announced during the Friday evening Awards Banquet. Provided there are at least 5 entries in a category, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places will be awarded in each category.  If there are < 5 entries in a category, only 1st place will be awarded.  There will also be Best of Show and Judge’s Choice Award.

Chair:  Sonia Duran, Blake Leslie; photo.art@tctws.org

The Program committee is responsible for soliciting and arranging the program for the annual Texas Chapter Meeting.  Submit Abstract

Chair: Chris Farrell, Sara Weaver, Adam Terry; program@tctws.org

The Publications Committee is responsible for selecting the annual outstanding Scientific Publication, Popular Article, Technical Bulletin, Web Site, and Book award winners. The guidelines and policies regarding Publications Awards are maintained and updated by the Publications Committee. Nominations are accepted for anything published in the last three years.

To nominate a publication, please submit:

1. A cover letter stating why the publication is being nominated
2. A digital pdf to the Publication Awards Committee Email (publication.awards@tctws.org)  -or- mail six (6) hard copies to Committee Co-chair:

Ryan Luna

Natural Sciences Dept. SRSU

E Hwy 90, Box C-16

Alpine, TX 79832

Chair: Ryan Luna; publication.awards@tctws.org

The Scholarship committee is responsible for soliciting nominations for scholarships granted through the Texas Chapter. Solicitation of grants from organizations to finance the scholarship program is directed through the Scholarship committee.

An e-mailed pdf application (one document with application, transcripts, etc.) is preferred. Mail (USPS, FedEx, etc.) is accepted, but discouraged.

To apply for a scholarship, all students must submit a single pdf with their completed and signed application and transcript (please mark out or remove any personal information such as your social security number and birth date).  Graduate students also need to include a letter of recommendation from their major professor/advisor and a short synopsis of their graduate research project (≤300 words).

Please email scholarship applications to scholarship@tctws.org

Deadline for submission is December 16.

To view scholarship guidelines and download the scholarship application, please visit the undergraduate students  or graduate students scholarship pages.

Chair: Jessica Glasscock; scholarship@tctws.org

  This committee selects the site that the annual meeting will be held at the following year. The committee chair is traditionally the President Elect in order to allow them to choose the site of the meeting over which they will preside.

Chair: Blake Grisham; president.elect@tctws.org

Student Activities is responsible for encouraging student participation in the Texas Chapter and TWS affairs. Activities, including the poster contest and Quiz Bowl, are planned and developed through the Student Activities committee.

Poster dimensions for annual meeting should be no larger than 4ft wide x 3 ft tall.

Instructions for uploading your poster pdf for the annual meeting app

Chair: Heather Mathewson, Ursula Alvarado-Miller; student.activities@tctws.org

Chair: Mandy Krause; teer.institute@tctws.org

This committee runs the Wildlife Conservation Camp, put on each summer by the Chapter.

Camp Director 2022: Bobby Alcorn; conservation.camp@tctws.org

Camp Director 2023: Tucker Slack; conservation.camp@tctws.org

This committee runs the James G. Teer Conservation Leadership Institute Early Career Professional Program.

Director (2023-2024): Tucker Slack; early.career.program@tctws.org

Director (2025-2026): TBD; early.career.program@tctws.org