Carolyn Cooper
Project Associate
Austin, TX
Carolyn joined the Texan by Nature team in July 2023. She graduated with a BS in Chemical Engineering and a minor in Anthropology from Rice University. Carolyn then joined an oil and gas company as an engineer, working in Houston and at facilities around Texas. During this time, she developed a strong interest in water quality and treatment. This passion led her to return to academia for an MS/PhD in Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Carolyn is excited to join Texan by Nature for the next few months to contribute to and learn more about conservation efforts in Texas. In her free time, you can find Carolyn cooking, kayaking, and taking leisurely hikes with her rescue dog, Bluebell, and her husband.
Learn more about Carolyn, and what makes her Texan by Nature, in this blog post.
Faith Humphreys
Intern
Abilene, TX
Faith joined the Texan by Nature team in June 2023. She received her BBA in Finance and Management Information Systems from Baylor University in 2016. During her time at Baylor, she interned for the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia, Africa, where she led a study on the organization’s economic impact. After graduation, Faith worked as a business and financial analyst in the legal and healthcare industries. She later decided to pursue her passion for conservation and received her Master of Wildlife and Fisheries Resources degree from Clemson University in May 2023. Most recently, she worked for WEST, Inc. as a biological field technician, where she conducted bat and bird mortality surveys on a wind energy facility in west Texas. Faith hopes to combine her business and conservation knowledge to help solve the challenges that face Texas’ natural resources. Outside of work, she enjoys playing piano, volunteering as a Texas Master Naturalist, attending live concerts, and hiking with her husband Carson and dogs, Blitz and Blue.
Learn more about Faith, and what makes her Texan by Nature, in this blog post.
Madeleine Kaleta
Intern
Denton, Texas
Madeleine joined the TxN team in June 2023. She previously graduated from SUNY Oswego with a bachelors in zoology and a minor in bio-cultural anthropology. After traveling the country working with endangered species of birds, she decided to pursue higher education to follow her passion for conservation. She is currently at the University of North Texas in a Master’s program in Biology, where she studies American Kestrels.
Madeleine’s interest in conservation is entrenched in her background in avian ecology and conservation, as well as her passion for the outdoors. Madeleine has had numerous jobs helping a variety of wildlife and aiding in land management practices across the country and in Texas. In addition to her love of working in conservation, Madeleine enjoys exploring caves, playing piano, birding, and hiking with her dog, Sula.
To learn more about Madeleine, and what makes her Texan by Nature, in this blog post.
Estela Lopez
Intern
McAllen, TX
Estela Lopez joined the TxN team in June 2023. She is in her fifth year at Texas A&M University completing her undergraduate degree in Public Health while simultaneously completing a Masters’s degree in Public Health with a concentration in Health Policy and Management. Estela’s interest in conservation and the environment stems from one of her undergraduate classes that focused on communicating the health benefits that the environment provides to the population using an array of communication methods.
Estela’s love for nature began when she was a child spending her summers exploring several national parks across the United States. Some of her favorite parks include Arches National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Yellowstone National Park. Estela loves to spend time with her friends and family, go to Texas country music concerts, cheer on the Aggies during football season, and read the latest New York Times Best Seller. She is looking forward to working with the amazing TxN team during her internship and learning from them and their experiences!
Learn more about Estela, and what makes her Texan by Nature, in this blog post
Kat McEachern
Marketing and Media Intern
Bonham, TX
Kat joined Texan by Nature in October 2023. With a BA in Communication, she pursued a career in photography before narrowing her focus on the social media landscape. By combining her interests in community building and social media, she thrives on communicating an organization’s mission with the public, in order to equip individuals to make positive change within their communities. While previously working at a rape crisis center (SARC) as a creative specialist, specifically in socials, she developed a digital advocate program that enabled advocate work to continue in the online space while reassuring survivors they were not alone during the pandemic. Her interest in conservation stems from a childhood spent outdoors, participating in 4-H, and her current work in the sustainable/ethical brand world. Kat is excited to learn from the Texan by Nature team and become immersed in conservation efforts across Texas!
When not working, Kat is out nature watching, doing some form of physical activity, learning more about slow fashion, or exploring with her dog.