Staff Members

Chris is a Conservation Husbandry Specialist for theTurtleRoom and owner of Garden State Tortoise. He has kept and bred turtles and tortoises for nearly 30 years. Chris is also an author, speaker and presenter concerning chelonian species and their care. He maintains long-standing relationships with fish and wildlife agencies, zoos, and organizations while handling many of New Jersey’s rescues concerning unwanted turtles and tortoises. Along with his wife Casey, he started the Terrapin Conservation Initiative, one of theTurtleRoom’s field programs. Chris is also the coordinator for the Western Hermann’s Tortoise North American Regional Studbook. Chris devotes much of his life to caring for these animals, traveling to educate others about them and remains prominent on social media.

Kevin is a Senior Developer for theTurtleRoom (tTR). His work includes developing software and computer tools, writing articles, and helping develop other educational resources. Kevin has a special passion for the turtles native to Africa and is the Communications Officer for the African Chelonian Institute.

Kevin received his Doctorate in Computer Science in 2019 from the University of Arkansas and also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in their Social Awareness and Intelligent Learning Lab. He has combined his passion for turtles along with his computer knowledge by initiating the development of theTurtleRoom’s data-keeping software called Digital Chelonian Log (DCL). Even when he isn’t working for ACI, tTR, or on his postdoc, Kevin is still reading articles or books about turtles. His greatest passion is to combine chelonian knowledge with Computer Science techniques to advance turtle conservation and education.