Texas Sea Grant Agent Amy Nowlin Honored with Texas Extension Specialist Award

  Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension Agent and Texas Sea Grant Marine and Coastal Agent for Matagorda County Amy Nowlin has been recognized with the prestigious Texas Extension Specialist Award (TESA), an honor given to agents who distinguish themselves through excellence in specialized disciplines such as Coastal and Marine Resources. Nowlin received the award during the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service annual conference in Corpus Christi.

“I was both humbled and surprised to receive the award,” Nowlin said. “Without my knowledge, my AgriLife regional program leader, Phillip Shackleford, submitted the nomination, and I was deeply honored to accept this recognition.”

In the nomination notes, Shackleford praised her impact since joining both the AgriLife and Sea Grant teams: “Amy has been a HOME RUN hire! She is smart, innovative and hardworking. She finds ways to partner with multiple entities to ensure the success of her programs, and she has built a program from the ground up. She works closely with her fellow Sea Grant team to accomplish things.”

Nowlin sees the award as not only a personal milestone but also a reflection of the partnerships that shape her work. A large part of her efforts focus on youth education, where she sparks curiosity through hands-on experiences in coastal and marine science, from fishing and aquaculture to conservation projects, helping students understand the value of Texas’s natural resources and the career pathways connected to them.

Beyond the classroom, she leads collaborations with groups such as the Texas Master Naturalists, particularly the Mid-Coast Chapter. Together, they lead initiatives like Sea Turtle Patrol and oyster gardening, which give volunteers and community members meaningful, first-hand experiences in wildlife conservation and habitat restoration. These efforts advance citizen science and strengthen environmental stewardship while expanding conservation education across coastal communities.

Some of her favorite memories highlight the rewards of this work. She recalls when volunteers on Sargent Beach witnessed a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle nest and lay 122 eggs, an unforgettable experience that connected them to the wildlife they work to protect. She also describes the joy of oyster gardening, where she led an initiative with Mid-Coast Texas Master Naturalist volunteers this spring to grow oysters from spat in cages, to later transfer back to the designated bays near natural oyster reefs. Together, the group has cultivated hundreds of healthy oysters and witnessed remarkable marine wildlife interactions as a result of these environments, underscoring the critical role oysters play in healthy ecosystems.

Looking ahead, Nowlin is spearheading several new initiatives. Among them is an expansion of the Monofilament Recovery and Recycling Program (MRRP), aimed at strengthening coastal stewardship by reducing marine debris. She is also developing a Youth Naturalist Pilot Program called Students Engaging in Ecosystem Discovery (SEED), which could serve as a model for statewide implementation through the Texas Master Naturalist program. Additionally, she has launched a new “Catch and Learn” series, hosted through the City by the Sea Museum and the Palacios Pier, to provide engaging, field-based experiences for students during their new four-day school weeks.

Reflecting on the award, Nowlin expressed gratitude for the network of people who make her work possible: “This recognition is a reminder that none of this happens in isolation. It is truly a community effort to build resilience, stewardship, and opportunity along the Texas coast.”

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About Texas Sea Grant

Texas Sea Grant is a unique partnership that unites the resources of the federal government, the State of Texas and universities across the state to create knowledge, tools, products and services that benefit the economy, the environment and the citizens of Texas. It is administered through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is one of 34 university-based Sea Grant Programs around the country. Texas Sea Grant is a non-academic research center at Texas A&M University. The program’s mission is to improve the understanding, wise use and stewardship of Texas coastal and marine resources.