Dr. April Torres Conkey is a wildlife ecologist with over 20 years of research and teaching experience.  She earned a Ph.D. in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at Texas A&M University and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Biology at Texas A&M University-Kingsville.  As a first-generation college student, Dr. Conkey is passionate about teaching and mentoring, and she likes to get to know her students.  She encourages students to share their backgrounds and expertise as a way to enhance the course and build off each other’s strengths.

Dr. Conkey has a very diverse background including research on the resistance of woodrats to rattlesnake venom, factors that influence bird-window collisions, wildlife pedagogy, and human dimensions in wildlife management.  She spent time in the Middle East, working in Qatar for over 3 years.  While there, she was involved in studies on the diet of the spiny-tailed lizard and home range characteristics of desert hedgehogs.  Dr. Conkey also volunteers as a member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Children in Nature Network, a non-profit organization that advocates for equitable access to nature so kids and their families can enjoy the benefits of the outdoors.