Texas
About the Show:
About The Agency:
Carter Smith - Executive Director
Carter Smith was selected as executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission late last year and he officially took the helm at TPWD on January 28, 2008. Prior to his selection as TPWD executive director, Smith had been with The Nature Conservancy of Texas since 1998, serving as state director since 2004. Prior to his promotion to state director, Smith served as Director of Conservation Programs where he was responsible for conservation, external affairs and science programs. Before working at the Nature Conservancy, he was the first executive director of the Katy Prairie Conservancy and continues to serve on their Advisory Board.
Smith is a native of Central Texas and began his professional career in 1992 as a management intern at TPWD, assisting in the Private Lands and Public Hunting programs. He has a wildlife management degree from Texas Tech and a master's degree in conservation biology from Yale University.
He has served on a number of conservation-related boards of directors and advisory councils, including the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's State Parks Advisory Board, the Natural Resources Conservation Service's State Technical Committee, the Texas Land Trust Council, Texas Tech University's Natural Resources Management Advisory Board, and Texas A&M University's Sea Grant Program. Smith is a private landowner and his family has owned farm and ranch properties in Edwards, Gonzales and Williamson counties.