WWE Presenters
Meet the speakers of the 29th Annual Winter Wildlife Expo.
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Chrissy & Jay Kleberg
Keynote Speakers, Chasing the Tide
In 2023, adventurers Chrissy and Jay Kleberg walked every inch of Texas' seven barrier islands - a distance of more than 370 miles- in just 21 days. The adventure was narrated in the docuseries and book, Chasing the Tide. The series and book tell the story of that journey and of the wildlife and people that inhabit this vibrant and resilient coast.
Rio Grande Valley Pollinator Project
Like-minded individuals founded the Rio Grande Valley Pollinator Project after witnessing the lack of habitat for the monarch migration. They heighten pollinator awareness, advocate for native plant ecosystems, and are engaged in the community's call to action across the Rio Grande Valley. You'll be able to take advantage of this excellent opportunity to learn how to support the pollinators in your backyard. The Rio Grande Valley Pollinator Project is excited to share tips and tricks to help all pollinators!
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The Raptor Project is an extraordinary array of eagles, hawks, falcons and owls that have won the rapt attention of audiences throughout the nation. Presenting almost 1000 educational programs to over 10 million people annually, The Raptor Project leads the way in outstanding, professional wildlife education. Featuring raptors from diverse habitats at each presentation, these dynamic fierce predators capture hearts of both young and old. Its founders, Jonathan and Susan Wood of New York's Catskill mountains have assembled a traveling collection of feathered predators that is unrivaled in scope and size anywhere in the world. Jonathan Wood is a Master Falconer and Wildlife Rehabilitator, bringing unique insights, observations and humor to his nationally acclaimed shows. Many of the birds in The Raptor Project have permanent handicaps and have been donated to his project by crowded wildlife centers around the country because they were unable to be re-introduced to the wild. Some faced euthanasia and have been trained to educate the public as ambassadors of their species and the environments they inhabit. Jonathan and Susan Wood and their staff operate the organization from a beautiful 14-acre, private facility in New York's Catskill mountains, working with birds of many sizes. From small falcons and owls weighing 3-4 ounces to majestic eagles with 6-8 foot wingspans. He is honored with 35 years of handling experience and has presented The Raptor Project to over 10 million people... up close and personal!
Jonathan Wood
The Raptor Project
Insects are ubiquitous and despite having over 4,000 species in a rainbow of colors, the native bees of North America remain underrated and under-documented. Butterflies, dragonflies, and beetles reign supreme in the world of insect enthusiasts, while the love of bees generally begins and ends at European Honey Bees. Nestled in flowers or zooming past with a loud buzz, native bees can be a rewarding photography subject. In the Rio Grande Valley alone there is estimated to be as many as 800 species of native bees, many of them undescribed by scientists.
Explore the colorful world of Rio Grande Valley bees with Devin Johnston, a professional beekeeper and hobbyist “bee bother-er”. She spends her weekdays working to remove feral honey bee colonies from homes and commercial properties but enjoys photographing native bees on the weekends.
Devin Johnston
Co-Owner & Beekeeper, R9 Hive & Honey
Marilyn was always an outdoor girl fascinated by the nature to be seen all around and constantly bringing home unexpected guests in the form of baby bunnies, turtles, frogs, slow moving snakes, and the occasional preying mantis egg mass. But flying objects were the most interesting and butterflies and birds were always of high interest.
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Her career was mainly at secretarial and administrative jobs. After retirement moving to Texas opened up many new possibilities and one of those was to become a Texas Master Naturalist. Her husband Chuck got interested and with digital photography he began taking more nature pictures. And so, a team was born. Marilyn would find the birds and Chuck would photograph them, a system that worked well for years. There were trips to Maine for puffins and eagles, they joined The Audubon Society, and found friends with similar interests. She always wanted to be a writer and pairing Chuck's photos with articles about nature in the valley and giving presentations at WWE and other places made life interesting. She is currently a volunteer here at the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center, as well as The South Texas Ecotourism Center, giving guided nature walks.
Marilyn Lorenz
Texas Master Naturalist
Javier is the Naturalist Educator at the South Padre Island Birding, Nature Center & Alligator Sanctuary. He is a biologist, avid naturalist, and photographer. He has a special interest in birds, butterflies, habitat ecology, and pollinator conservation and loves to share his knowledge with visitors to the center. He will be a guide on most of the field tours taking place.
Javier Gonzalez
Naturalist Educator, South Padre Island Birding, Nature Center & Alligator Sanctuary
David has devoted the majority of his adult life to the outdoors. Depending on the time of the year you can find him on the Texas coast or on a ranch in the South Texas brush country.
For the last 14 years, David has sat on the Coastal Conservation Association RGV Board of Directors. During his presidency from 2020 - 2022, he was nominated to join the Texas STAR CCA released team.
David De Leon
Board Member, Coastal Conservation Association
Tony is a recently retired marine biologist of 50 years. He spent 42 years as a Cameron County extension agent for Coast and Marine Resources with Texas Sea Grant and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service before retiring on July 12th.
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He has received recognition from Cameron County for his decades of service. Reisinger's crucial work with the Gulf shrimp industry in helping the industry adapt to new regulations involving turtle-excluder devices and reduction in by-catch — fish and other creatures unintentionally caught in shrimp nets.
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Reisinger also co-founded the Texas Red Tide Ranges, partnering with the University of Texas Pan-American (now UTRGV) Coastal Studies Lab, to train first responders to measure red tide concentrations and the impact on South Texas.
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He also founded Texas Coastal Naturalists, a group of volunteers who rescue cold-stunned sea turtles, stranded marine mammals, and pelicans downed during winter storms, and started two local Texas Master Naturalist chapters, the RGV Chapter and the South Texas Border Chapter, training and advising more than 750 master naturalists who dedicate their time volunteering throughout the Valley.
Tony Reisinger
Marine Biologist
John Yochum hails from Hicksville, Ohio, but got to Texas as soon as he could (Thanksgiving 2006)! He has since been employed by Texas Parks & Wildlife as a Park Ranger, first at Bentsen Rio Grande State Park in Mission and currently at Estero Llano State Park in Weslaco. When not exploring the great birds, butterflies, dragonflies, plants, herps, and mammals, of South Texas, he spends time with his spouse of 30 years, a dog, three parrots (an African Grey, a Red-crown, and a Blue-and-gold MaCaw) and his wild jungle of a yard.
John Yochum
Park Ranger,Estero Llano State Park
Justin is a conservation biologist with the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, a nonprofit conservation organization. His main roles in this position are to survey and perform habitat management on rookery islands in the Laguna Madre for declining colonial nesting waterbirds, monitor shorebird productivity at various important breeding sites including Boca Chica, and perform various other important avian research projects. Justin grew up in Vermont and received a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology at the University of Vermont before moving to South Texas nearly a decade ago. He has also dedicated thousands of volunteer hours to various wildlife research projects, habitat restoration, wildlife rescues, and outdoor education.
Justin LeClaire
Avian Conservation Biologist
Shane Wilson has spent a lifetime fishing and teaching others how to fish. He has fished in 49 states, been inducted into the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, held an IGFA flyrod world record, fished with President George H. W. Bush, featured in numerous magazines, on radio, TV programs, is a regular on nationally syndicated podcasts. He is the founder of Fishing's Future, a national organization that has taught more than a million individuals how to fish. He consults with the fishing industry on rod design, is invited to present at National ASA summits, and is seen as the expert in fishing education and recruitment. Since 1996, Shane has called South Padre Island home and his knowledge of these water is extensive.
Shane Wilson
Founder & CEO, Fishing's Future
Jacob Reinbolt graduated from Southern Illinois University with a degree in Wildlife Biology and Conservation before starting his work at Gator Country, South Padre Island Birding, Nature Center & Alligator Sanctuary's sister sanctuary in Louisiana. He transferred to our center in September 2022 to care for our alligators and other reptiles and to share his passion for these animals with our guests. He delivers daily alligator presentations at 11:00am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm to educate the public about these amazing animals, their role in the environment, and how we can safely coexist with them.
Jacob Reinbolt
South Padre Island Birding, Nature Center & Alligator Sanctuary
Roy is a lifelong Texan, hunter and fisherman employed by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department as a Park Naturalist for Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park & World Birding Center in Mission, Texas. For over fifteen years, he has also been a Natural Resource Interpreter, consultant and environmental educator involved in numerous conservation endeavors.
A self-taught birder, Roy's thorough knowledge and passion for teaching have transformed him into one of the Valley's most sought-after birdwatching guides. His experience as a professional birding guide has taken him across North America and from the Arctic Circle to the shores of the Yellow Sea. He is a TPWD Master Interpreter, a charter member of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists, lead instructor for the National Hispanic Environmental Council's Environmental Training Institute Scholarship programs and presenter for the Changing the Face of American Birding Diversity Conferences, fostering diversity in birding.
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Roy Rodriguez
Park Ranger, Bentsen State Park
A lifelong resident of Weslaco, Texas, Roxie is a retired elementary school teacher with 32 years of experience in the mid-valley area. She is an avid beachcomber and has been building her collection of seashells and other interesting beach finds for more than 20 years. She is also a member of the PI/SPI Shell Club. Roxie can be found most Saturdays in the summertime beachcombing with friends, always keeping an eye out for special treasures left by the Gulf.​​
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Roxie Blood
Former School Teacher, PI/SPI Shell Club
Sea Turtle Inc
Founded in 1977 by former pilot Ila Fox Loetscher (also known as the Turtle Lady), Sea Turtle Inc.'s mission is to protect sea turtles through conservation medical care and research and education. Their incredible work in sea turtle conservation has been integral in bringing back the Kemp's Ridley sea turtle from the brink of extinction and they are currently in the process of expanding their sea turtle conservation and rehabilitation care efforts at their new hospital that is expected to open in Summer 2025. At this expanded facility, they will be able to provide world-class rehabilitation to a significantly greater number of sea turtles.
Marisa Amaya
Project Manager, Caracara Trails
Marisa Amaya is the Project Manager for the Caracara Trails. Partnering with the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, and the University of Texas School of Public Health, along with cities like Brownsville, Harlingen, Combes, Los Fresnos, Port Isabel, Laguna Vista, and others, she serves as the liaison between municipalities as they work to develop a 428-mile trail system in the Rio Grande Valley. This project aims to expand transportation options, boost local economies through tourism, promote social equity, encourage healthy lifestyles, and protect our environment. In her role, she develops and manages coalitions of stakeholders, organizes and leads Advisory Committees and working group meetings, builds relationships with community and business leaders, and facilitates public events and community engagement activities. She brings over 20 years of experience in Hospitality and Tourism, including five years as the Events Manager for the City of South Padre Island. Additionally, she serves on the Board of the Los Fresnos CISD Education Foundation. She is deeply invested in health and fitness, with a particular love for outdoor activities such as paddleboarding and biking. Her passion extends to developing and enjoying trail systems, which she believes are vital for community health and environmental stewardship.
The Texas High School Coastal Monitoring Program engages people who live along the coast in the study of their natural environment. High School students, teachers, and scientists work together to gain a better understanding of dune and beach dynamics on the Texas coast. Scientists from The University of Texas at Austin's Bureau of Economic Geology provide the tools and training needed for scientific investigation. Students and teachers learn how to measure the topography, map the vegetation line and shoreline, and observe weather and wave conditions.
Coastal Monitoring Program
Port Isabel High School Students
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Richard Moore is a South Texas Native who grew up hunting, fishing and exploring the wildlands of the Rio Grande Valley. After earning his degree in Journalism from Trinity University in San Antonio, he returned to his homeland where for the past 30 plus years he has photographed, written and produced a television series featuring the regions unique wildlife. His programs air weekly on the NBC affiliate KVEO-TV 23 and are archived on ValleyCentral.com.
He is an award winning photojournalist who has produced 13 documentaries focusing on the wildlife and history of southernmost Texas. His documentaries air on the Rio Grande Valley’s NBC affiliate, PBS and are available for Internet streaming.
DVD/Blu-Ray and or Pin Drive copies of the documentaries are distributed to all schools in Region I encompassing approximately 600 campuses.
Richard Moore is currently working on two new documentaries featuring the Sabal Palm Sanctuary and Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.
Richard Moore
Award-winning Photojournalist