President:

Shannon Murphy-Harty

Email: Shannon@conservationfisheries.org

Conservation Fisheries, Inc.

3424 Division Street

Knoxville, TN 37919

 

Shannon Murphy-Harty is a Conservation Biologist and Volunteer Coordinator at Conservation Fisheries, Inc where she is the Species Lead for several endangered species of non-game fishes. She has been involved with TNAFS since 2017 when she started attending meetings as an undergraduate at Tennessee Tech. There, Shannon was active in the student sub-unit, first as the Undergraduate Representative, then the President. Over the last several years, she has served as the Website Chair for TNAFS, and as Local Arrangements Chair when our chapter hosted SDAFS in 2024. Shannon has a hard time picking a favorite fish, but it’s usually bouncing back and forth between Duskytail Darters, Boulder Darters, and Barrens Topminnows.

 

President-Elect

Phillip Parsley

Email: Phillip.m.parsley@tn.gov

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

236 Jones Mill Rd

LaVergne, TN 37086

 

 

Phillip Parsley is a reservoir fisheries manager for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency in Middle Tennessee, focusing primarily on sportfish management and monitoring as well as habitat enhancement.  He also assists hatchery crews collect broodfish, such as sauger and striped bass, for spawning. Prior to his current position, he worked in Northeast Utah with Colorado River Cutthroat Trout as well as in Florida on the FWC Long-Term Monitoring crew and St. Johns River Springs Project. He has been involved in TNAFS since joining TWRA in 2020, serving on the finance committee for the 2024 SDAFS meeting and as the TNAFS Website Chair in 2025.  His favorite fish to work with are Smallmouth Bass, otherwise his favorite fish is anything he can chase with a fly rod.  Phillip enjoys the camaraderie and enthusiasm of TNAFS members and is always impressed hearing about the great work fellow fish-heads are doing in Tennessee and beyond.

 

Past-President

Shawna Fix

Email: shawna@southeastaquatics.net

Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership

Murfreesboro, TN 37128

 

 

Shawna Fix is the Aquatic Connectivity Teams Facilitator at SARP (Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership). She works with partners across the Southeast to inventory, prioritize, and replace barriers for aquatic organism passage. Her background is in threatened and endangered freshwater fish and has a passion for conservation. Shawna was first involved in TNAFS in 2016 when she became the social media chair. She was elected in 2018 as the treasurer-secretary and re-elected for a second term in 2021. Her favorite fish is the Laurel Dace, a federally endangered minnow only found in Tennessee! Shawna’s favorite part about working with TNAFS is mentoring students as they are the next generation of fisheries biologists and conservationists.

 

Treasurer

Ashely Padgett

Email: Ashley.n.padgett@tn.gov

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

545 Priddy Ln

Birchwood, TN 37308

 

 

 

Ashley is an Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Manager with Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. She primarily works alongside the reservoir crew in region 3 but also monitors invasive carp movement in the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers across the state. She has been involved with TNAFS since 2019, when she started attending meetings as a graduate student at Tennessee Tech; Ashley was elected as treasurer in 2026. Her graduate work focused on dietary overlaps between invasive carp and native Gizzard Shad. Currently, Ashley also monitors the spread of invasive Alabama Bass genetics in region 3 Tennessee River reservoirs. Her favorite fish is a Smallmouth Bass, which can potentially be extirpated where Alabama Bass are introduced. Ashley is always excited and interested in the fisheries work being done across the state and believes that networking opportunities through AFS meetings have gotten her to where she is now!

 

Secretary:

Aaron Burch

Email: Alburch123@gmail.com

Winchester, TN 37398

 

 

 

 

Aaron Burch is a fisheries technician for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. He currently works at the warmwater fish hatchery located in Normandy Tennessee. He is passionate about enhancing Tennessee fisheries for future generations and encouraging today’s youth to spend more time outdoors. Aaron first became involved with AFS at Tennessee Tech, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife and Fisheries. Narrowing down a favorite fish is difficult for Aaron, but a blacknose crappie—whether in a hauling truck or a frying pan—is hard to beat. What he loves most about TNAFS is the opportunity to witness the reconnecting, smiling faces of past students, work colleagues, and old “fish-head” friends when everyone gathers together.