Events

Shel Winkley is the Weather & Climate Engagement Specialist at Climate Central. His focus is to collaborate with meteorologists, journalists, scientists and other trusted voices to help them understand the science of attribution and identify when a fingerprint of climate change has influenced current and past weather events.

Winkley spent 17 years working as a broadcast meteorologist in local news. Prior to Climate Central, he spent almost 15 of those as chief meteorologist at KBTX, the CBS affiliate in Bryan-College Station. During that time, he also instructed the Broadcast Meteorology course at Texas A&M University and served as the meteorologist for Texas A&M Athletics. He started his career forecasting, presenting and chasing the weather in Amarillo, Texas.

He has earned multiple awards from the Texas Association of Broadcasters, EMMA awards from the Lone Star Chapter of the National Academy of Television and an Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Innovation. He was also featured in The Atlantic for his role communicating the science of climate change as part of the Brazos Valley’s essential weather message.

Winkley holds a B.S. in Meteorology from Texas A&M. He carries a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist designation from the American Meteorological Society and was a past member and chair of the Board on Broadcast Meteorology.

• Professor, George T. Gladys Abell, Endowed Family Chair, Nautical Archaeology Faculty Fellows, MS in Maritime Archaeology and Conservation
• Nautical archaeology of the post-Medieval Era; construction and outfitting of ships; seafaring, shipboard life, and maritime communities; North American river, lake, and canal navigation; 19^th century steamboats and ship propulsion technology; warships and naval technology, 1450-1950; War of 1812 naval design and construction.
• My interests and research focus on ships, seafaring, and maritime activity in the post-Medieval era (from the 15th to the 20th centuries A.D). Ships of the War of 1812 have been a central interest since 1981 when I recorded the wreck of the U.S. Navy schooner Ticonderoga; this was followed by M.A. and Ph.D. projects on the U.S.N. 20-gun brigs Eagle and Jefferson. 

ROBERT F. HOLZWEISS — After spending his formative years in Peekskill, New York, Robert earned his BA in American History from St. Bonaventure University in 1990 and an MA in American History from Texas A&M University in 1992.  Dr. Holzweiss completed his PhD. in American history at Texas A&M University in May 2001 with a specialization in business and economic history and 20th Century America.  His dissertation, examines the role of politics in the Penn Central Railroad bankruptcy and the creation of the Consolidated Railroad Company better known as Conrail. 

During graduate school, Dr. Holzweiss interned for three summers at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland where he served as an archival and curatorial assistant.  He started his career in the archives at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in June 1996 and has occupied positions of progressively greater responsibility for more almost 30 years.  In August 2014, Dr. Holzweiss was promoted to Deputy Director.

Since 2009, he has served as president of the Locomotive & Railway Historical Society and a founding member of the Penn Central Railroad Historical Society.  He is also a Visiting Adjunct Professor in the Department of History at Texas A&M University and in the Department of International Affairs at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.  He has served as a consultant on corporate and private records management projects and an expert witness for the U.S. Department of Justice.  He resides in Bryan, Texas and has been married to Dr. Peggy (Philpot) for twenty-six years and has two sons, Jakob (23) and Nicholas (21).

Terri Sabella, RN, JD, PhD, is the Chief Executive Officer of HealthPoint, a Federally Qualified Health Center providing high-quality primary care—including medical, behavioral health, and dental services—to over 44,000 unique individuals across 13 clinic sites in the Brazos Valley region of Texas and beyond (2021–present).

Dr. Sabella serves on several nonprofit boards, including the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), the Texas Association of Community Health Centers (TACHC), My Texas My Health (a clinically integrated network of Texas community health centers led by TACHC), NeueHealth (an Accountable Care Organization), and the National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement (NIMAA). She is also an active participant in committees with both NACHC and TACHC.

Before joining HealthPoint, Dr. Sabella served as Chief Executive Officer of the Tennessee Primary Care Association, where she led statewide training, technical assistance, and advocacy efforts for community health centers (2018–2021). Her involvement in the health center movement began in 2011 at CommUnityCare in Austin, Texas, where she held multiple senior leadership roles, including General Counsel, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Nursing Officer, and Interim Chief Executive Officer.

Dr. Sabella began her career as a registered nurse, completing specialized training in critical care and trauma through the Critical Care Trauma Nurse Internship at Parkland Health & Hospital System in Dallas, Texas. From 1996 to 2011, she practiced in trauma, emergency, and surgical intensive care settings. A licensed healthcare attorney since 2005, she has worked with the Rogaliner Law Firm, CommUnityCare, and her own firm, Sabella Law Firm, PLLC.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The University of Texas at Austin, a Juris Doctor from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, and a PhD in Healthcare Management and Health Policy from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health. Dr. Sabella is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) and holds a Certificate in AI in Healthcare from Johns Hopkins University, reflecting her focus on innovation, quality, and the responsible integration of emerging technologies in healthcare delivery.

Catricia Roberson is the Founder and Program Director of Rise Again Housing, a faith-based nonprofit organization providing structured sober living and transitional housing for homeless veterans and individuals recovering from substance abuse across Texas.

A 10-year U.S. Navy Veteran, Catricia retired from federal service as a Supervisory Budget Analyst with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, bringing over 25 years of experience in financial oversight, compliance, and executive-level operations. Her federal career focused on accountability, fiscal responsibility, and operational structure — principles she now applies to nonprofit housing development and community impact initiatives.

She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in Project Management and a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management. Her leadership philosophy blends disciplined operations with compassionate service, ensuring programs are fiscally sound, community-aligned, and centered on dignity and long-term stability.

Through Rise Again Housing, Catricia is working to address the growing housing crisis connected to homelessness and substance dependency by creating safe, structured, and affordable environments that support recovery, accountability, and reintegration into society.

She is based in Dallas, Texas and welcomes opportunities for strategic community collaboration and service partnerships.

Marcus Blum, Ph.D., joined the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service as the statewide wildlife specialist and assistant professor in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management in 2025. Blum’s work focuses on mitigating negative wildlife interactions and damage, especially related to feral hogs and predators. In addition to resolving negative impacts for landowners, Blum helps landowners achieve specific wildlife management goals through ongoing research that addresses real-world challenges specific to regional ecology and habitat. Prior to this role, Blum was a research scientist with the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, where he worked with numerous big game species ranging from moose to mule deer. 

Kelly Brown is the general manager of KAMU-TV & Radio and an associate vice president at Texas A&M University where she leads the PBS and NPR affiliate. She directs strategy, budgeting, programming, partnerships and staff, while guiding content and operations.

For 27 years, Kelly lived in the fast-paced world of news, where she was an award-winning investigative reporter and editor. The last decade or so of her journalism career was spent as editor-in-chief of a prized Texas newspaper, responsible for newsroom operations, editorial and public accountability reporting.

She left newspapers to handle crisis communications at Texas A&M, her alma mater. She specialized in developing and implementing strategic communication plans during emergencies and for sensitive issues. She also was responsible for the news and social media teams, along with media relations.

She and her husband, Mike, are proud dog parents to Finn, an 11-year-old Boston Terrier.

Jarvis Parsons was elected as the Brazos County District Attorney in November of 2012. He is serving in his third term. Parsons graduated in 2001 from the University of Maine School of Law. After a yearlong clerkship, he moved to Brazos County in 2002 and began his career at the Brazos County District Attorney’s Office. He has been there for over 21 years, prosecuting offenders for robbery, child abuse and murder, and has sought the death penalty on multiple occasions for the most heinous of offenders.

Parsons is a past recipient of the 2013 Texas Lawyer Legal Leader on the Rise award, the 2014 Brazos County Coalition Against Domestic Violence “Voices Against Violence Award”, the 2017 Jefferson Award, the 2019 Texas State Bar Prosecutor of the Year Award, the 2019 Texas A&M College of Nursing “Partner in Nursing Award”, and the 2023 statewide recipient of the Texas District and County Attorney Association C. Chris Marshall Award for Training and Ethics.

On a statewide level, Parsons was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to the Texas Forensic Science Commission, an agency that investigates allegations of professional misconduct regarding forensic science in criminal cases. He was also appointed by the Texas District and County Attorneys Association to the Governor Abbott’s Sexual Assault Survivor Task Force which creates protocols and best practices that address the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of sexual assault.

On a local level, Parsons is on the governing board Scotty’s House Child Advocacy Center and the local Sexual Assault Resource Center. Parsons has been innovative on the local level by starting the Brazos County Citizen’s Prosecutor Academy that gives the public an in-depth look at how a District Attorney’s Office works. He also brought the “Cut It Out” program to Brazos County, which teaches local hairstylists to recognize the signs of domestic violence in their customers and how to safely provide needed resources.

Parsons has been married to Amiee Parsons (his college sweetheart) for the past 22 years and they have one daughter, Erin. They have been faithful members at Skybreak Church for the past 21 years, actively serving as small group leaders and Children’s Ministry volunteers.

Sutton created Quinntastic Bites to make gatherings easier, warmer, and more joyful for the Bryan–College Station community. When not baking, they can be found volunteering backstage at StageCenter Community Theatre.

Alan Day was born and raised in Brownwood, Texas, and has been a proud agriculturalist his entire life. He has served as the general manager of the Brazos Valley Groundwater Conservation District since 2012. He has a master of science in animal science from Texas A&M University and was the ranch manager at Whiskey Canyon Ranch in Bosque County, Texas, for 27 years. He served as the county extension agent in both Navarro and Borden counties, was president of the Bosque County Farm Bureau for 19 years and is the vice president of the Robertson County Farm Bureau.

Scot McClure has worked for OTF since 2009. As the Director of Education, he oversees Outdoor Adventures’ national growth, as well as overseeing the the curriculum and equipment delivery systems and the teacher training program.

Krista Bligh is the Founder and Director of Paws and Claws Wildlife Rehabilitation, a nonprofit organization she established in 2020 dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of injured and orphaned native wildlife. She is a state- and federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator with extensive experience caring for a wide variety of Texas wildlife species. Krista graduated from Texas A&M University in Spring 2023 with a degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, specializing in Wildlife Zoology, and is currently pursuing her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. Her work focuses on wildlife conservation, rehabilitation, and public education, helping foster a greater understanding and appreciation of native wildlife.