Staff Biologists
- Mikayla Killam, B.S. – Program Specialist
Mikayla is a Program Specialist for AgriLife Extension working on addressing the education needs for Wildlife Management. Mikayla’s efforts focus primarily on matters of wildlife damage, conflict, and disease management. She is working to provide new educational resources for AgriLife extension agents, private landowners, and the general public in both rural and urban settings. She also facilitates applied research and field demonstrations to improve our understanding of damage management options. Mikayla received her BS from Texas A&M University in 2016 and is currently working on her MS from Texas A&M University Kingsville. Previously, Mikayla worked as the Stewardship Manager for the Katy Prairie Conservancy and as a Conservation Educator for the Welder Wildlife Foundation. She is passionate about sharing her wildlife management knowledge with others and excited to learn new things in the process. In her free time, Mikayla enjoys hunting, fishing, gardening and spending time with her husband, Austin.
Graduate Students
- Haley Sloan – B.S. – Graduate Researcher
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- Project: Disease Management Along the U.S./Mexico Border
Haley is currently pursuing a masters in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at Texas A&M University where she is researching disease management along the US-Mexico Border. Haley’s research interests include wildlife diseases, disease ecology, and wildlife ecology. Originally from Wimberley, TX, Haley received her BS in 2021 at Texas A&M University studying Wildlife and Fisheries Science. During her time as an undergraduate, she worked as a bird caretaker and an undergraduate researcher working on the genome editing of rice.
- Alyssa Freeman – B.S. – Graduate Researcher
- Project: Assessing Alligator Spatial Ecology and the Extent of Nest Predation by Scavengers in coastal Texas
Alyssa is currently pursuing a Masters in Rangeland, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management. She is originally from Rowlett, TX and received her BS in 2019 at Texas Tech University studying Natural Resources Management with a concentration in Wildlife Biology. During school, she studied abroad in Ethiopia and worked as a telemetry technician on a mule deer project. After completing her BS, Alyssa moved to Puerto Rico and held several field jobs where she worked with a wide variety of wildlife, including the leatherback sea turtle, green sea turtle, Ridley sea turtle, drill, golden-bellied crowned guenon, white-tailed deer, feral swine, desert tortoise, and coyote.
- Hallie Halstead, B.S. – Graduate Researcher
- Project: Factors Influencing Diets of Wild Pigs in the Neches River Basin of the Piney Woods Region of Texas
Hallie is pursuing an MS in Rangeland, Wildlife & Fisheries Management at Texas A&M University, whereby she is researching factors influencing variation in feral hog diets in the Piney Woods region of Texas. Her research interests include wildlife ecology, population dynamics, and wildlife forensics. She is originally from Leander, TX and attended Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX where she graduated with a BS in Wildlife, Sustainability & Ecosystem Science in 2017 with an emphasis in Wildlife Management. During her BS, Hallie was able to study abroad in southern Africa and also had the opportunity to volunteer at a Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. After graduating, she took on several seasonal field technician positions and worked with many species, including ring-necked pheasant, white-tailed deer, and several species of salmon. In addition, she interned at a zoo with the carnivore department.
Undergraduate Students
- Anna Racey – B.S. – Undergraduate Researcher
Anna is from Boerne, TX and is a freshman Wildlife and Fisheries major. In high school, Anna wrote a research paper on wild pigs and realized many of her sources were from Texas A&M and Agrilife Extension, leading her to the decision to attend Texas A&M. Anna is President of the Texas A&M University College Station Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society and has participated in several research expeditions, including deer capture and GPS collaring of coyotes. Anna is an undergraduate researcher for the Texas Carnivore Ecology Lab and is studying the diets of south Texas coyotes.
Former
Graduate
- Nicholas Bromen– M.S. 2017
- Project: Influence of Livestock Guardian Dogs on Mesocarnivores in the Edwards Plateau of Texas
- Current Occupation: Wildlife Biologist, Oregon Game and Fish
- Justin T. French– Ph.D. 2019
- Project: Behavior and Spatial Ecology of Unharvested Coyote Population in South Texas
- Current Occupation: Post-Doctoral Researcher, Borderlands Research Institute, Sul Ross State University
- Rachael Connally, B.S. – M.S. 2020
- Project: Human Dimensions of Wild Pig Hunting in Texas
- Current Occupation: Biologist, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Undergraduate
- Stoney Newberry – B.S. 2018
- Current Occupation: Wildlife Biologist, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
- Jessica Sannwaldt – B.S. 2017
- Current Occupation: Coastal Fisheries Biologist, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
- Jacob Locke – B.S. 2018
- Current Occupation: Master’s Student, Borderlands Research Institute, Sul Ross State University
- AnMarie Ulery – B.S. 2017
- Current Position: Golden-cheeked warbler field technician at University of Illinois
- Torrye Glaser – B.S. 2017
- Current Position: Biologist at WEST, Inc.
- Sarah Ardry – B.S. 2020
- Kirby Elevo – B.S. 2021
- Cody Stricker – B.S. 2022