Habitat Assessment Team

Emma received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Mary Washington in Virginia in 2009, her M.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Houston Clear Lake in 2012, and her PhD in Marine Biology from Texas A&M - Corpus Christi in 2021. She began her career working with freshwater macroinvertebrates and terrestrial botany, and shifted to coastal ecology during graduate school where she worked with Diamondback Terrapin and estuarine icthyofauna . She worked as a fisheries biologist with the Aransas Bay Fisheries Management team at TPWD for several years before coming to the Habitat Assessment Team. Her work focuses on the incorporation of habitat into Ecosystem Based Management. Her favorite parts of the job are coordinating oyster restoration projects, acoustic mapping, ArcGIS analysis, captaining the R/V Karankawa, and coordinating with other teams across the Gulf of Mexico.

For the past 13 years, Bill has been deeply involved in oyster restoration projects, habitat mapping and other oyster related initiatives of TPWD's Coastal Fisheries Division. He earned a M.S. in Ecology from the Marine and Estuarine Environmental Sciences (MEES) Program at University of Maryland College Park (UMCP) in 2007 where his research focused on the effects of habitat restoration on the diversity and abundance of oyster reef macrofauna. Prior to graduate school he worked as a fisheries biologist for Maryland Department of Natural Resources for several years. During this time, he performed fish sampling surveys in support of an estuarine index of biotic integrity project and also performed freshwater stream biological assessments with the Maryland Biological Stream Survey. He has a BS in Biology from UMCP and a BS in Journalism from West Virginia University.

Evan earned his B.S. in Environmental Studies and Biological Sciences from Florida State University, where he assisted in research focused on community dynamics of oyster reefs and salt marshes along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Evan moved to Texas in 2013 to pursue a career as a fisheries biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife. As part of the agency's Coastal Fisheries Resource Management team, he spent several years collecting and analyzing data from TPWD's routine fisheries-dependent and fisheries-independent monitoring programs in the Corpus Christi and Aransas Bay Systems. He joined the Habitat Assessment Team in 2021 and utilizes his previous research experience and GIS skillset to better inform management decisions. His work focuses on streamlining spatial analyses and further integrating habitat and fisheries data.

Stephanie started with Texas Parks and Wildlife in June 2016 and is originally from Fairhope, Alabama. She received a B.S. of Marine Biology and minor in Fisheries from Auburn University in 2010, and a M.S. in Statistics from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2015. Stephanie primarily works with the Singlebeam Echosounder system, where she processes raw singlebeam data into seafloor habitat classifications. She curates the team's database and information storage. Stephanie is the unofficial team photographer, and always makes sure we have plenty of team photos. Stephanie enjoys spending time with her French Bulldog Pearl, collecting shells, cleaning the beach, recreational diving, Mardi Gras, Auburn football, home improvement projects, and music.

Jacob Harris is a Natural Resource Specialist working within the Habitat Assessment Team of Texas Parks and Wildlife, where he has been since 2018. His work within the Habitat Assessment Team is focused on restoration and conservation of coastal and marine habitats and is partly accomplished through the utilization of sidescan sonar and aerial imagery to map habitats and monitor oyster restoration projects. Jacob has been a part of the Texas Parks and Wildlife family since 2014, where he started as a Fisheries Technician working on the Coastal Fisheries Management team in Rockport, TX. His previous research and conservation experience focused on marine, freshwater, and terrestrial herpetofauna. Jacob has a bachelor's degree in wildlife conservation and management from Humboldt State University, CA.

Catherine received her B.S. in Biology from Rhodes College in 2016 and her M.S. in Biology from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in 2019, where she led a research project to determine the rehabilitation status of a partially-restored estuary. She spent a year and a half working for TPWD's Coastal Fisheries Resource Management team collecting and analyzing fisheries data in the Upper Laguna Madre Bay System. Catherine joined the Habitat Assessment Team in 2021 and is looking forward to the shift towards a more Ecosystem Based Management approach. She spends almost all of her free time fishing, hunting, and playing with her dog.

Originally from the hill country of Texas, David has spent over a decade getting to know the Texas Coast. He earned his B.S. in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Texas A&M University—Corpus Christi in 2014. He spent four years at the Sportfish Center at the Harte Research Institute where he assisted with sportfish and artificial reef research. David started his career with Texas Parks and Wildlife as a CCA sponsored intern for the Aransas Bay Fisheries Management Team. He spent two years with the Corpus Christi Bay Fisheries Management Team before accepting a technician position with the Habitat Assessment Team where he currently oversees the maintenance of the team's vehicles and vessels and aids in data collection and management.

The R/V Karankawa is a 27’ Brunswick Boston Whaler. The EdgeTech 6205s ( sidescan and multibeam bathymetry) is mounted in a bracket on the bow, and the Biosonics DTX singlebeam echosounder) is mounted on the starboard gunwale. She also serves as our inshore diving boat due to her removable dive door.