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!

 

President-Elect

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.

 

Past President:

Justin R. Wolbert

Email: jrwolbert@tva.gov

Phone:  (910) 978-5907

Tennessee Valley Authority
129 Pine Rd.
Norris, TN 37828

 

Justin Wolbert is a Fisheries Biologist at the Tennessee Valley Authority in Norris, TN. He has been involved in AFS since 2009 and was a two-term President of the student sub-section of AFS at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville from 2010-12. Prior to that, he served in the US Air Force for 6.5 years as a Staff Sergeant in Security Forces. He developed his passion for anything aquatic at a young age while growing up in the Allegheny National Forest of Pennsylvania. His love for aquatic insects has grown to be as big as his passion for fish! His favorite fish is the Lake Sturgeon and favorite aquatic insect is the Armored Mayfly (Baetisca).

 

Secretary-Treasurer:

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.