President

Sally Petre

Email: Sally.Petre@tn.gov

Phone: 423-522-2460

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
3030 Wildlife Way
Morristown, TN 37814

 

Sally Petre is a Fisheries Biologist at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.  She has been involved with AFS since 2008 as an undergrad at North Carolina State University (Go Wolfpack) through their student fisheries society.  She received her Master’s Degree from the University of Arizona working with native trout and non-native crayfish, then continued working in Arizona and being active in AFS in the Western Division.  Currently, Sally works as a Region 4 TWRA fish biologist managing streams and rivers for game and non-game species.  Learning about all the fantastic work being done throughout the state and building relationships to work together on projects are her favorite things about AFS.  Sally does not have a favorite fish because there are so many and so many still to learn about, however, she loves learning about all the fish on USFWS’s “Fish of the Week” Podcast.

 

President-Elect:

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.

 

Past President

Meredith Harris

Email: Meredith.Hayes.harris@gmail.com

Rock Spring, GA 30739

 

 

Meredith Harris has been a member of TNAFS since 2015. She completed her Masters in Fisheries Science at the University of Tennessee in 2017, where she explored the antimicrobial benefits of paternal care in madtoms as well as habitat competition between madtoms and invasive crayfishes. She specializes in rare and endangered native fish propagation and reintroduction and has worked at facilities like Conservation Fisheries, Inc. and the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute. She has worked with many species of darters, shiners, madtoms, Southern Appalachian Brook Trout, and Lake Sturgeon. Her favorite fish is the Tangerine Darter. She is passionate about Tennessee natives and wants to share that passion with current and future TNAFS members!

 

Secretary-Treasurer:

Abbey Holsopple

Email: AHolsopple@tnaqua.org

Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute
175 Baylor School Road
Chattanooga, TN 37405

 

Abbey Holsopple is the Recovery Biologist at the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute in Chattanooga. She is passionate about the conservation of native fishes, and loves working closely with imperiled species. Originally from Western New York, she got her Bachelors in Fisheries and Aquaculture from the State University of New York at Cobleskill. After Cobleskill, she received a master’s in biology from Tennessee Tech where she studied the Striated Darter, an endemic species in the upper Duck River system. During her time at Cobleskill and Tennessee Tech, Abbey loved being involved in AFS student subunits, serving as Treasurer and President of the AFS student subunit at Cobleskill. Her favorite part about being involved with AFS is the opportunities it affords for collaboration between professionals and students.