Rebecca is a South Carolina native, growing up in Lexington. In childhood, she spent most of her time outdoors catching critters and watching Steve Irwin’s The Crocodile Hunter, where she realized she could make a career doing what she loved.

Going on to attend Clemson University (GO TIGERS!) she would pursue a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology and get her first taste of field work as an intern with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources in the SC low country. Following graduation, she returned to the same SCDNR property for her first big-girl job as a research technician for an LSU graduate student studying reproductive ecology of Eastern wild turkeys. Spending the live-long day trapping turkeys via rocket nets, radio telemetry, habitat sampling, and data recording only served to fuel her passion for wildlife management and conservation.

Immediately following the ending of the turkey project, she came to her current position as a Natural Resource Technician IV with the SC Army National Guard in June of 2018. Here, she combines her love of wildlife and natural resources with supporting the military mission through coordinating and conducting field surveys including long-term monitoring efforts across multiple species and taxa. While continuing to grow as a natural resource professional, Rebecca went back to earn her M.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology through Clemson’s online program in 2021.

After happily being a NMFWA member Since 2019, Rebecca is excited to serve as one of your Eastern Regional Directors on the NMFWA Board of Directors.