Get to know the guest speakers that will be training our newest Master Naturalists!
Dr. Matthew McClure
Presentation Date: February 7, 2012
Topic(s):The Nature of Naming (nomenclature) and Ichthyology (fish)
Dr. Matthew McClure is Professor of Biology at Lamar State College – Orange, where he has taught since 1994. He has also held adjunct instructor positions at Lamar University in Beaumont, Blinn College in Bryan, and was a teaching assistant at Texas A&M University in College Station.
Dr. McClure received a Bachelor of Science degree from Lamar University, Beaumont, in Oceanographic Technology, graduating Cum Laude in 1988. He then got his Master of Science degree in Zoology from Texas A&M University, College Station in 1990. He followed with his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Zoology, also from Texas A&M, in 1994.
Dr. McClure has written several papers on snapping shrimp including two new species descriptions, and has made presentations to The Crustacean Society, the Gulf Estuarine Research Society, the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, the American Fisheries Society, and the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society. His current research focuses on the distribution of local crayfish species. At LSCO, he is a three-time recipient of the Faculty Incentive Award, as well as the Professional Excellence Award, and has received both the Teaching Excellence Award and the Excellence in Teaching Award twice.
Dr. McClure lives in Nederland with his wife Lyn, his three children Candice, Miranda, and Jacob; several cats, a parakeet, and seven aquariums of fish. In his spare time he enjoys collecting seashells and other specimens, photography, genealogy, and aquariums. Dr. McClure is looking forward to his involvement in the Sabine-Neches Chapter because “I really enjoy sharing knowledge.”
Presentation Date: February 4, 2012
Topic: Ecology/Ecosystem Management/Ecoregions of Texas
Andrew Sipocz is the Region 4 Natural Resource Coordinator, where he develops and implements habitat management and restoration plans for the Texas State Parks in the Houston area. He has been employed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department since 1990, previously as a habitat assessment biologist, moving to his current position in 2005.
Mr. Sipocz graduated from Purdue University in 1985 with a Bachelors of Forestry degree. He then received a Masters of Science degree in 1993 from Texas A&M University with field research and thesis studying wetland ecology and aquatic insects as food for coastal water birds.
His work with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has included assessment of all types of coastal plain and near shore environments in order to provide habitat restoration plans, predicting the impact of proposed development projects, advising scientific study groups, and conducing research on wetland functions.
Andrew Sipocz enjoys woodworking, canoeing, and gardening, and currently lives in Dickinson. He has two children; Isabel, age 8 and Peter, age 3. He also has a dog, Paten, who was named after a marsh grass.
Jonathan BrazzellPresentation Date: February 23, 2012
Topic: Weather and Climate of Southeast Texas
Jonathan Brazzell is the service Hydrologist at the Weather Service Forecast Office in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He manages the Hydrology Program within the office, evaluates and implements the latest tools, trains staff on the use of those tools for flood forecasting, and evaluates flood prone areas to determine flooding potential by surveying elevations to buildings and roads.Being at a coastal office, quite a bit of the flooding comes from the Gulf, and Jonathan has been involved in storm surge modeling and efforts to improve those models. He also keeps track of all the geo-spatial information within the Lake Charles office and occasionally works the weather forecast desk.
Mr. Brazzell graduated from the University of Louisiana with a degree in Atmospheric Science. He received the Department of Commerce Silver Medal for performance during the 1997 Red River of the North Flood. He also received the Department of Commerce Bronze Medal for performance during a Tornado Outbreak in 2002 across the southern plains, and the director’s award for service improvement and team work.
In his spare time, Jonathan enjoys storm chasing in the western and northern portions of Texas during the spring, playing baseball/softball, and boating on area rivers and lakes.
Dr. Steven Lewis
Presentation Date: April 14, 2012
Topic: Introduction to Entomology
Dr. Steven Lewis is a biology professor at Lamar University in Beaumont. His primary interests are ecology, entomology, and limnology, studying the dynamics of invertebrate populations, predator-prey relationships in aquatic ecosystems, and nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems, as well as many other subjects. He is also a recreational ornithologist and herpetologist.
Dr. Lewis received his PhD in Zoology from Texas A&M University. He also holds a Masters of Biology from Lamar University and a Bachelors of Environmental Science from the Lamar State College of Technology. He has held many teaching positions at both the college and high school levels, and has offered his services as a consultant during the construction of nature centers and boardwalks. He has also given reports on fire management of the Big Thicket and control of the southern pine bark beetles and its relationship to the survival of the red-cockaded woodpecker.
A published photographer, Dr. Lewis has experience in black-and-white and color darkroom work, nature photography and macrophotography. He has served as a guide for the Big Thicket Association and the Nature Conservancy, and is an experienced camper and hiker. His hobbies include woodworking, picture framing, working with stained glass, and collecting books, vacuum coffee pots, and other assorted items.
Gary Calkins
Presentation Date: April 5, 2012
Gary Calkins was born and raised in the western portion of Colorado. He moved to Texas to attend Texas A&M University, and then worked with wildlife in six different states. His work includes the Channel Island Fox, Spotted Owls, Desert Bighorn Sheep, Alligators, and Wood Ducks.
He began his time with Texas Parks and Wildlife in May of 1992 in Van Horn working with Desert Bighorn Sheep, Desert Mule Deer and Pronghorn Antelope. He transferred to east Texas in late 1995 as a field biologist in charge of five counties and three Wildlife Management Areas.
Gary Calkins has been the District Leader with Texas Parks and Wildlife for the Jasper Wildlife office since 2002. He works with a staff of 16 covering 27 counties in the Pineywoods.
Mary Kay Manning
Presentation Date: March 8, 2012
Topic: Volunteers as Teachers
Mary Kay Manning is a park ranger in the Division of Interpretation at Big Thicket National Preserve. She grew up in Dickinson and graduated with a BS in Wildlife Science from Texas A&M University in 1986. She worked as a park ranger at Big Bend National Park for 20 years before transferring to Big Thicket. As a park ranger, she leads guided hikes with park visitors, conducts educational programs for school groups, staffs the preserve visitor center and numerous outreach events, and writes park publications.
In her spare time, Mary Kay enjoys kayaking, hiking, and astronomy.