Our Team
Austin Kelly
Co-coordinator
Austin R. Kelly is currently working on his Ph.D. in Ecology and Conservation Biology at Texas A&M University where he received double B.S. degrees in Rangeland Ecology & Management and Ecological Restoration. Austin has worked as a field botanist/environmental consultant for several years and has taught Plant Taxonomy, Agrostology, and Dendrology courses at A&M. As a former YRW camper, Austin is excited to return for his 5th year involved with the YRW to share his passion and knowledge of plants and the rangelands they grow on! For more see:
AustinRKelly.com.
Rode Mills
Co-Coordinator
Rode Mills is from Fort Stockton, Texas and a graduate of Angelo State University with a B.S. degree in Animal Science with a minor in Range and Wildlife Management. He is currently a Grazing Lands Specialist with NRCS covering the Trans-Pecos Region of Texas. His passion is working with landowners to improve the natural resources on their rangeland. He carries that passion forward when working with and educating the youth at Youth Range Workshop.
Caitlyn Cooper-Norris
Co-coordinator
Caitlyn Cooper-Norris is an assistant professor at Texas Tech University. Prior to joining Texas Tech in 2020, she worked for Texas A&M AgriLife Research. She received her BS and MS degrees from Tarleton State University and her PhD from Texas A&M University. She has helped with YRW since 2018. In addition to serving as one of the YRW Co-Coordinators, Caitlyn is also a member of the Texas Section Society for Range Management Board of Directors. Her research at Texas Tech focuses on invasive and noxious species management, range plant physiology, rangeland restoration, and livestock/wildlife interactions.
Jenny Pluhar
TSSRM Youth Activities Chair
Jenny Pluhar has been involved with Youth Range Workshop over thirty years. She manages three ranches in the Texas Panhandle and one in Montana with 80,000 ac of rangeland. As Executive Director of the Texas Grazing Land Coalition, she works with ten regional coalitions across Texas, manages grants, and coordinates outreach activities. She is also active consulting with many ranches in Conservation Stewardship Programs. She is past president of both TSSRM and SRM (Society for Range Management). The only woman to receive the TSSRM Outstanding Contribution to Range Management award, one of the ranches she has managed for 25 years was the recent recipient of the TSSRM Outstanding Range Management award.
Dan Caudle
DIRECTOR
Dan Caudle is a native of the Rolling Plains of West Texas. He is a graduate of Texas Tech with a degree in Range Management. He retired from the Natural Resources Conservation Service in 2006 after a 40-year career as a Rangeland Management Specialist with extensive work experience throughout Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. Dan was honored with the Texas Section Society for Range Management’s Outstanding Contribution to Range Management Award in 2013. He has been an instructor for the Working Effectively With Livestock Producers training courses at the Noble Research Institute since 2015. He is a Research Associate at the Botanical Research institute of Texas and is currently working on five projects as part of BRIT’s Prairie Research Program.
Lee Knox
Director
Lee A. Knox has been with USDA-NRCS for 18 years. Prior to that he worked as a County Extension Agent for Texas A&M Agrilife Extension. Lee received a BS in Range from Texas A&M University and an M.S., also in Range, from New Mexico State University. Lee currently ranches on 8 sections near Abilene with his wife and daughter. He is a 1990 alumni of Youth Range Workshop.
Kathryn Brady
Director
Kathryn Brady is a District Conservationist with USDA-NRCS in San Marcos, Texas. Kathryn has been working for NRCS for eleven years. In her career, Kathryn not only assists the local farmers and ranchers, but also fosters relationships with the community. She received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&M. She attended the Youth Range Workshop in 2003. She serves as Secretary to the Texas Section Society for Range Management. Kathryn enjoys promoting natural resources and water conservation as well as working with young people to inspire them to be all they can be and to learn to enjoy the outdoors.
Dandy Kothmann
Director
Dandy Kothmann earned her B.S. in Rangeland Ecology and Management from Texas A&M. She has worked for the NRCS for 19 years and currently serves as the Resource Team Leader in the Mason Field Office. Dandy serves a four-county area, supervising operations in Blanco, Gillespie, Llano and Mason Counties. She lives in Menard County, where she and her husband Curtis run an Angus cow/calf operation on the Forked Lightning Ranch. They are proud to be the 5th generation to continue her family's legacy of stewardship of this ranch. She is a Past President of the Texas Section Society for Range Management.
Hoyt Seidensticker
Director
Hoyt Seidensticker attended Angelo State University and received a B.S. degree in Rangeland Ecology and Management from Texas A&M University in 1991. He currently runs a ranch and wildlife operation in the Boerne, Texas area. He runs a commercial cow-calf operation and a wildlife hunting program. He owns Land Stewardship Services LLC, and provides consulting services on wildlife management plans, prescribed burns, ranch management plans, and septic systems. He has been involved with the TSSRM Youth Range Workshop since 1995 and the High School Youth Forum since 2000. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience with the next generation of land managers.
Paul Loeffler
Director
Paul V. Loeffler is a native of Junction, TX and earned a BS in Range Science from Texas A&M in 1979. He worked for USDA-Soil Conservation Service for three years before having a 28 year career with the Texas General Land Office where he managed rangelands throughout west Texas. He is currently a Certified Real Estate Appraiser and a Certified Professional in Range Management. He owns and operates Superior Land Services, an appraisal firm in Alpine, TX and a ranch operation in Kimble County, TX. A former president of Texas Section SRM, he has been involved with YRW for more than 30 years.
Matt Coffman
Director
Matt Coffman was raised on small family operation outside Benjamin, TX. He received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Angelo State University in Animal Science and Range and Wildlife Management. While in college he worked in varied positions including Research Technician with Texas AgriLife, Range Technician with ARS, farm and ranch hand, and farrier. Matt began his career with NRCS as a Rangeland Management Specialist where he worked in Dumas and Roby, Texas. He is currently headquartered in Snyder and is a regional Grazing Land Specialist serving a multi-county area in the Rolling Plains.
Ranee Knox
Director
Ranee Knox RN is a graduate of Grayson County College in Denison, Texas and has been a registered nurse for 20 years. She is currently the school nurse at Wylie Early Childhood Center in Abilene, Texas. Ranee has served as the nurse for Youth Range Workshop for several years and provides assurance that the health, well-being, and safety of all YRW participants is monitored and tended to throughout the entire week.
Mark Moseley
Director
Mark Moseley was raised on a small family ranch near Rochelle, Texas. He is a 1967 Youth Range Workshop alumnus. A graduate of Texas Tech University, he earned a degree in Range and Wildlife Management. Mark worked for the NRCS more than 41 years as a Rangeland Management Specialist in multiple locations in Texas and Oklahoma and as Ecological Site Development Specialist for the Great Plains states.
In retirement he continues to help landowners with conservation planning, grazing management, prescribed fire, range seeding, and brush management. Mark currently serves as Chair of the McCulloch Soil and Water Conservation District.
John Sackett
Director
John Sackett is a Soil Scientist with USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Weatherford, Texas. He grew up in Liberty County, Texas. He attended Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Agronomy and Range Management and a Master’s Degree in Agriculture with an emphasis in Soil Science. He has been with the NRCS as a soil scientist for 18 years, and his favorite part of the job is working with people to help them better understand Soil Health and the relationship between soils, plants, and animals.
Jake Landers
Director
Roger Q “Jake” Landers. Jr. was born and raised on the Half Circle L Ranch at Menard, Texas. He was educated at Texas A&M University and the University of California-Berkeley. Jake is a U.S. Army veteran. His professional career included being a Professor of Botany at Iowa State University and a Texas A&M Extension Range Specialist at San Angelo. Jake helped establish the first Youth Range Workshop in 1955 and has served as a Director and instructor since 1980. He has received many honors from the Society for Range Management at the state and international level. In 2019, he was recognized as the Outstanding College of Agriculture Alumni. Today Jake is a writer and a rancher.
Erin Jones-Gray
DIRECTOR
Erin is from Nazareth, Tx. She joined the Department of Agriculture at West Texas A&M University in 2018. She received a B.S. in Plant, Soil and Environmental Science from West Texas A&M University in 2004 and a M.S. in Biology from West Texas A&M University in 2013. Erin has a split appointment with West Texas A&M University and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. She teaches Plant Science classes at WTAMU and serves as an Extension Agent specializing in horticulture for Randall County.
Deann Burson
Cabin Director
Deann Burson is a native of Tuscola, Texas. She received her B.S. in Animal Science from Texas Tech University and is in the process of completing her M.S. at Angelo State University. She is currently a graduate research assistant at Angelo State and works for Texas A&M AgriLife. Her main research interests include ruminant diet selection, brush management, and prescribed fire. Upon completion of her Master's in May of 2021, she will attend Texas A&M University where she will pursue a Ph.D in Rangeland, Wildlife & Fisheries Management.
Camille Carey
Cabin Director
Camille Carey is from Weatherford, Texas. She received a BS degree from Tarleton State University in Horticulture with a minor in Biology. She was selected to be a Noble Scholar in Agriculture at the Noble Research Institute in Ardmore, Oklahoma during the summer of 2019. She went to Oklahoma State University where she recently earned her MS degree in Entomology. While in graduate school she was a lab technician at the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Stillwater, Oklahoma. She plans to pursue her PhD in Range Ecosystems Interactions at Texas A&M University
Chase Brooke
Cabin Director
Chase Brooke is the Texas A&M AgriLife Research County Extension Agent for Collin County. He is a native of Southlake, Texas. He received his B.S. degree in Spatial Science as well as his M.S degree in Ecosystem Science and Management from Texas A&M University. His special areas of interest include prescribed burning, brush management, juniper species of Texas, and grassland restoration.
Christophe Peralt
Cabin Director
Christophe Peralt is from Harper, Texas. He is currently attending Texas A&M University majoring in Rangeland Ecology and Management. He attended Youth Range Workshop in 2018
And was selected to be a delegate to the High School Youth Forum in St. Paul, Minnesota. He attended YRW again in 2019 and served as a Junior Director.
Emma Waters
Cabin Director
Emma Waters is from Canadian, Texas. She is currently a student at the University of Wyoming in Laramie majoring in Range Ecology and Watershed Management. Emma attended Youth Range Workshop in 2018 and won the public speaking contest. She attended YRW again in 2019 and served as a Junior Director. She was a delegate to the High School Youth Forum at the SRM Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado in 2020. Emma loves identifying plants and talking about cattle.
Taryn Mitchell
Cabin Director
Taryn Mitchell grew up on her family’s ranch in Sanderson, Texas. She is currently attending Texas Christian University where she is pursuing a degree in Engineering, which she hopes to use to benefit the agriculture industry in the future. You can find her testing soil and identifying plants. Taryn attended Youth Range Workshop in 2018, She was selected to be a delegate to the High School Youth Forum at the TSSRM Annual Meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2019 and was elected to serve as President of HSYF at the TSSRM Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado in 2020.
Virgil Epperson
Cabin Director
Virgil Epperson is from Rocksprings, Texas. He is currently attending South Plains College with intentions of transferring to Texas Tech. He has always enjoyed prescribed burning, hunting, learning native plants and their uses. In general, he just enjoys being outdoors. Virgil has attended Youth Range Workshop three times – 2016, 2018, and 2019. In 2019 he was a delegate to the High School Youth Forum at the TSSRM Annual Meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota and he was a Junior Director at Youth Range Workshop.
Haley Clampit
Cabin Director
Haley Clampit is from Gonzales, Texas, the birthplace of Texas Independence. In December of 2020, she graduated from Texas A&M University where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science with a minor in Agricultural Economics. She has worked for various cattle producers, ranging from cow-calf operations around her hometown to a feedlot in the Texas Panhandle. She is currently interning with Texas Grazing Land Coalition on a ranch in Goliad, Texas, which brought her the opportunity to be involved with the Youth Range Workshop.
Chet Smith
Cabin Director
I am a Ranch Management Major at TCU from Tampa, Florida. I have grown up in and around the ranching community and want to teach and inspire young adults about environmental stewardship.
Sawyer Breeding
Cabin Director
I am a TCU Ranch Management major pursuing a career in agriculture and ranch real estate. I grew up in the ranching world on a family operation in Stephenville, and I look forward to sharing knowledge from my personal experiences with others that have similar interests.
Katherine Haile
Cabin Director
Katherine Haile, from Sisterdale, Texas, is a current MS student at Oklahoma State University in the Natural Resource Ecology and Management Department working with prescribed fire and grazing and range management. She earned her BS from Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, in Sustainable Ranch Management and Ag Business where she was an active member of the Plant ID Team. She was also a member of the Plant ID and Range Evaluation 4-H Team in high school and has competed in many plant ID contests at the county, state, and international levels.
Join us in June!
Are you a high school student 14-18 years old? Lucky you! You are eligible to be a part of Youth Range Workshop! We'll be at Junction, Texas at the Texas Tech University Center June 19-24, 2022. Apply today! We can help you with who to contact for possible sponsorships!