Staff Members

Michael is currently a 3rd year undergraduate student at the University of Georgia majoring in Ecology and Biology. His interest in chelonians has taken him to over 37 states and six countries where he has conducted field work and presented at professional symposia on topics ranging from Texas spring turtle ecology, original research on California’s state-protected Southwestern Pond Turtle conducted with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, quantifying freshwater biodiversity in the Southeastern United States, and his search for creative ways to tackle conservation issues. Michael is an American Junior Academy of Sciences Fellow/Fellow in Residence, Stanford Scholar at the University of Georgia, Founders Fellow of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles and has received numerous awards and grants for his research and endeavors.

Max is a staff writer at theTurtleRoom, joining the education team to help further theTurtleRoom’s mission. He is also currently a zookeeper at Denver Zoo with his wife. He has been published in scientific journals and written species profiles for other conservation organizations. Max has a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Colorado State University. He lives in Colorado with his wife, Krystin, and their many animals. He loves to go out into the field looking for turtles, spending time with his family, watching and playing sports, and working on his turtle habitat, aka backyard.

Jenn is the Lead Educator for the TurtleRoom (tTR) and is working on developing a new educational program for tTR. She has been an environmental educator for over 10 years and enjoys working with all audiences. Jenn is also a part of the team on tTR’s Pennsylvania Wood Turtle Monitoring project.

Jenn stays very busy nannying for two boys. When she isn’t working or educating for tTR, she spends time with her boyfriend in Lynx, Ohio on a 27-acre property doing homestead projects such as gardening, making herbal medicine, and creating wildlife habitats.

Jenn enjoys traveling and has been a volunteer in Costa Rica twice, working with green and leatherback sea turtles. Whenever visiting new places she always finds something in nature or turtle-themed to do. Her current pets include Winkston, the one-eyed kitty, MeShell the Russian Tortoise, an African Pygmy Hedgehog, and her five rescue aquatic turtles.

Matt is a Staff Writer for theTurtleRoom’s Education Department, which includes contributing to World Turtle News. He has spent the last 8 years dedicating himself to the conservation of turtles and to the education of the public about them, and he has a passion for serving nonprofit organizations. His love for turtles – and all living things – has been with him his entire life. Matt has been both a member of and staff member for organizations that promote the protection of animals, including as an ambassador enrichment handler for the Atlanta Wild Animal Rescue Effort (AWARE) wildlife rehab in Georgia and an Educations Docent at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. He has experience working with and educating about many other species of turtles who are in need, such as North American Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta), Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus), and Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin ssp.).