FWS Scholar

Vivian Negrón Ortiz was born and raised in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. She completed her undergraduate and Master’s in Biology from the…

Kris Budd grew up in a military family for most of her childhood before finally settling down in the mountain town of Heber City, Utah…

Cat Darst cares about species recovery, improving decision making, and conservation policy. She is the Assistant Field Supervisor for…

Roy Averill-Murray is our latest FWS Scholar who is the Desert Tortoise Recovery Coordinator for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. He’s…

Dr. Rebecca Kagan is a Veterinary Pathologist who is investigative, patient and has a keen eye for details. Like most veterinarians, she…

Tim Whitesel is a Conservation Scientist from the Columbia River Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office in Vancouver, Washington. He was…

Gary Pandolfi grew up in the small, rural town of Burnsville, North Carolina nestled in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains near the…

Mary Burnham-Curtis, Ph.D. is the Genetics Team Leader for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement-National Fish and…

Ethan Mooar was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and spent a lot of time in the city’s extensive park system playing in the…

Elizabeth Tsang grew up climbing trees and catching salamanders in Floyd, Virginia, a small town nestled in the middle of the Appalachian…

Joshua Daskin grew up in the Boston and New York suburbs, and remains a Bostonian at heart, happily keeping tabs on the Red Sox and…

Martha Zapata was born and raised in the suburbs of Miami, Florida. Her parents both came to the United States when they were young, her…

Chellby grew up in northeastern Pennsylvania, in a small rural town in the Pocono Mountains watching nature documentaries and bird watching…

Melissa Althouse grew up on the South Shore of Massachusetts, just south of Boston, and vacationed to Cape Cod over the summers. Melissa’s…

Jake Bonello was born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit and grew up spending time outdoors hunting and fishing. As he got older, he…

David Sherer grew up in a semi-rural community in northeast Florida, with a 5-minute walk to the beach, so as a kid he spent much of his…

Jesy Simons is a second generation U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee from Northern California. She had no intention of following her…

Pepper Trail grew up in New York with a keen interest in birds. His dad was a professional photographer for the Department of Agriculture…

Janine Castro was born near Seattle, but was raised in the small farming community of Orland in the northern Sacramento Valley of…

Mike Millard grew up in the small town of Montrose in northeastern Pennsylvania. He was fortunate enough to have a private lake in his…

John Sweka grew up in western Pennsylvania enjoying the outdoors as an angler, hunter, and camper. His preferred fishing method is…

Alan Temple grew up in western Kentucky in a very rural place where the county is bordered by rivers, a national forest and a population…

Randy Brown was born in Arlington, Virginia but grew up in the southwest, mostly in New Mexico, where he developed a love for the outdoors…

Dr. Frank Rivera-Milán was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He has enjoyed hiking since he was about 6 years old, when his dad…