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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RYAN SPENCER
Friends of CCCA,
Although I haven’t even been here a month yet, I wanted to say thank you and share a little about my motivation for joining CCCA and some thoughts about what I’d like to help us achieve. First, I want to thank our board for giving me an incredible opportunity to help guide our organization. I want to thank each of you for your efforts in bringing CCCA to this moment and for all the work that each of you has done to conserve the precious ecological and cultural resources of our county.
Like many of you, my journey toward stewardship started as a child. I grew up on the plains of North Texas. My family and I lived in the heart of Fort Worth and I spent many days down by the Trinity River and its surrounding parks. As I grew up my father took my brother and me camping. For him, scouting was our vehicle. He wasn’t a seasoned outdoorsman but regardless he would load up our Honda minivan and drive half a dozen children into the woods. He did this, rain or shine, every month for seven years. During that time, I developed a love for nature regardless of the weather. I loved exploring open terrain and finding spots where the sound dropped, and you could hear silence. During this time of my life, I forged a deep and unwavering love of the outdoors. I found in it what very few teenagers find – a world that held no judgements about your appearance or cared about your lifestyle. The only thing that mattered in the back country was if you had the skills necessary, and the grit to cope with whatever nature decided to throw at you.
When I got ready to attend university my parents took me around to several institutions, and I remember walking through Sewell Park at Texas State University. I had never seen a river as clear, cold, and flowing. From then on, I was hooked on the Hill Country. I chose the Water Studies major in the Geography Department because I figured it was the easiest way to spend as much time in the river as possible. Over a period of six years, I completed both my B.S. and my Master of Applied Geography degrees. During that time, I also started working in the conservation field as a Glass-Bottom Boat Driver and subsequently as an intern at Guadalupe River State Park. It was during that summer that, in a sense, I first became a resident of Comal County. I lived in an old trailer on Honey Creek State Natural Area and spent my days cleaning and fixing just about everything in the park. I also had the amazing opportunity to lead weekend hikes down to the banks of Honey Creek and answer questions that the visitors had about the ecological wonder in front of them.
Over the last ten years I have worked at Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center as the Director of the Children in Nature Collaborative of Austin where we fanned the flames of a regional movement to reconnect children with nature. After that I returned to the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment so I could begin working on my PhD in Aquatic Resources and Integrative Biology and hone my skills as a fundraiser. During that time my love for nature and my desire to share it with everyone has animated my actions and helped me appreciate our natural resources even more. Our work in the conservation space isn’t done in a bubble. We don’t save natural resources just because they need to be saved. We do it because we need to be saved. We protect the natural resources that are so unique to Comal County because we want our kids and grandkids to inherit a Texas that is as wild and rugged as the one we inherited.
Comal County Conservation Alliance is on a successful path. Our efforts are already beginning to fruit as the board gears up for its annual planning retreat and our organization prepares to celebrate its fifth anniversary in May. As I write this, I am happy to report that our organization is growing and getting stronger every year, and our trajectory is clear. Over the next five years we will expand our partnerships and spread awareness, make conservation a household word and, while using a solution-driven approach, we’ll dedicate ourselves to preserving land, water, and wildlife throughout Comal County.
Let’s enjoy this journey!
Ryan K Spencer
Executive Director, CCCA
Although I haven’t even been here a month yet, I wanted to say thank you and share a little about my motivation for joining CCCA and some thoughts about what I’d like to help us achieve. First, I want to thank our board for giving me an incredible opportunity to help guide our organization. I want to thank each of you for your efforts in bringing CCCA to this moment and for all the work that each of you has done to conserve the precious ecological and cultural resources of our county.
Like many of you, my journey toward stewardship started as a child. I grew up on the plains of North Texas. My family and I lived in the heart of Fort Worth and I spent many days down by the Trinity River and its surrounding parks. As I grew up my father took my brother and me camping. For him, scouting was our vehicle. He wasn’t a seasoned outdoorsman but regardless he would load up our Honda minivan and drive half a dozen children into the woods. He did this, rain or shine, every month for seven years. During that time, I developed a love for nature regardless of the weather. I loved exploring open terrain and finding spots where the sound dropped, and you could hear silence. During this time of my life, I forged a deep and unwavering love of the outdoors. I found in it what very few teenagers find – a world that held no judgements about your appearance or cared about your lifestyle. The only thing that mattered in the back country was if you had the skills necessary, and the grit to cope with whatever nature decided to throw at you.
When I got ready to attend university my parents took me around to several institutions, and I remember walking through Sewell Park at Texas State University. I had never seen a river as clear, cold, and flowing. From then on, I was hooked on the Hill Country. I chose the Water Studies major in the Geography Department because I figured it was the easiest way to spend as much time in the river as possible. Over a period of six years, I completed both my B.S. and my Master of Applied Geography degrees. During that time, I also started working in the conservation field as a Glass-Bottom Boat Driver and subsequently as an intern at Guadalupe River State Park. It was during that summer that, in a sense, I first became a resident of Comal County. I lived in an old trailer on Honey Creek State Natural Area and spent my days cleaning and fixing just about everything in the park. I also had the amazing opportunity to lead weekend hikes down to the banks of Honey Creek and answer questions that the visitors had about the ecological wonder in front of them.
Over the last ten years I have worked at Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center as the Director of the Children in Nature Collaborative of Austin where we fanned the flames of a regional movement to reconnect children with nature. After that I returned to the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment so I could begin working on my PhD in Aquatic Resources and Integrative Biology and hone my skills as a fundraiser. During that time my love for nature and my desire to share it with everyone has animated my actions and helped me appreciate our natural resources even more. Our work in the conservation space isn’t done in a bubble. We don’t save natural resources just because they need to be saved. We do it because we need to be saved. We protect the natural resources that are so unique to Comal County because we want our kids and grandkids to inherit a Texas that is as wild and rugged as the one we inherited.
Comal County Conservation Alliance is on a successful path. Our efforts are already beginning to fruit as the board gears up for its annual planning retreat and our organization prepares to celebrate its fifth anniversary in May. As I write this, I am happy to report that our organization is growing and getting stronger every year, and our trajectory is clear. Over the next five years we will expand our partnerships and spread awareness, make conservation a household word and, while using a solution-driven approach, we’ll dedicate ourselves to preserving land, water, and wildlife throughout Comal County.
Let’s enjoy this journey!
Ryan K Spencer
Executive Director, CCCA
CCCA Welcomes Ryan Spencer as Executive Director
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CCCA is excited to welcome Ryan Spencer as its Executive Director starting March 6. As Executive Director, Ryan will be responsible for managing the organization, including administration, fundraising, and program oversight and with his excellent interpersonal skills, will serve as a spokesperson for CCCA. Ryan reports to the Board of Directors, will oversee staff, and assist Committee Chairs.
Ryan brings a wide range of conservation knowledge and experience from his work at the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, and the Children in Nature Collaborative of Austin, and his involvement with conservation groups across the Hill Country. Ryan’s skills and commitment to conservation will help lead CCCA’s efforts to ensure that growth in the county is balanced with the protection of open landscapes and our important water resources. Fun Facts about Ryan:
Welcome to CCCA, Ryan! |
“I am absolutely thrilled to join the Comal County Conservation Alliance! I have been humbled by the generosity and encouragement that the board has given me and look forward to working with this incredible group of volunteers as we work to preserve land, water, and wildlife in Comal County.” - Ryan Spencer
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