Water skiing by day, lounging by night and enjoying the summer skies. She would also go on trips to the Gulf Coast and Mexico, where she developed a passion for the ocean, including all the incredible life it contains. Her passion for the water and wildlife took her to Texas A&M – Corpus Christi, where she graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Biology and Coastal Zone Management. During her time in school, she volunteered extensively with the Amos Rehabilitation Keep (ARK) on the UTMSI campus, where she cared for injured wildlife including sea turtles, numerous species of birds from royal terns to great horned owls, as well as tortoises, racoons and opossums. It was her time at the ARK where she learned the altruistic behavior of selflessness by giving back to nature. The ARK had the greatest, most profound impact on Jennifer’s life directions. As if classes and the ARK were not enough, another organization, Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, also kept her busy as she assisted with rehabilitation of injured bottlenose dolphins and melon-headed whales. Upon graduation from TAMU-CC, she became involved with research work for fisheries management, as well as sea turtle conservation. After obtaining a few years of research and consultancy experience, Jennifer went back to school at Texas Woman’s University where she earned her M.B.A. Being able to understand the business drivers, along with conservation, was of utmost importance in the environmental consulting and research fields. Jennifer has traveled all over, including offshore, remote locations as the Chuckhi Sea (Artic Ocean), the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and the Gulf of Mexico, for research, implementation of mitigation strategies and design, and consulting work within the energy sectors. She has been highly involved with the protection and management of federally listed threatened and endangered species. Currently, she is now terrestrial based, and is working as an Environmental Compliance Coordinator within the energy industry and travels the western states. Jennifer has been working in the environmental field, both on and offshore, for 20 years.
In 2014, Jennifer was taking some much-needed time off, and ended up meeting her husband, Chris. The two met at an outing to the Japanese Gardens in Ft. Worth. A year later, in 2015, Jennifer and Chris married in Girdwood, Alaska. She fell in love with the man on the motorcycle and it has been the most wonderful adventure since. In their spare time, the two enjoy going out hiking, kayaking and fishing, as well as spending time with their four rescue dogs, The Bigs and The Littles. Considering they only moved to Dubois in 2018, they are still exploring all there is to do in the area. Although they love the mountains, they also love the ocean just as much. Jennifer and Chris both enjoy scuba diving with their most recent trip being a liveaboard out to the Flower Gardens Marine Protected Area. Jennifer also enjoys mother-daughter dive trips to the Caribbean with her mom. She is looking forward to the new adventures Wyoming brings and serving on the NBSC Board to help spread the mission of conserving bighorn sheep, as well as the lands and water