Vendor Set-up

John is currently employed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources'  Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program as a Senior Wildlife Biologist  specializing in amphibian and reptile conservation (unofficially
regarded as the State Herpetologist). Previously worked as a Project  Manager/Ecologist for the Florida Natural Areas Inventory in panhandle
Florida. Past contract work with the US Forest Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service focused on surveys and inventories of rare and endangered amphibians and reptiles in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. Author or co-author of nearly 100 scientific papers, notes, and book chapters. Lead editor and author of Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia published by the University of Georgia Press in 2008. Attended both the University of Iowa and Auburn University.

Carlos Camp, professor of biology at Piedmont College, has been studying amphibians and reptiles in Georgia for 30 years.  He received his MS in zoology from Auburn University, where he studied water snakes under the tutelage of Bob Mount.  He earned his PhD under Whit Gibbons at the University of Georgia, where he studied the southern red-backed salamander (Plethodon serratus).  Most of his research has focused on salamanders in Georgia’s highlands, including the discovery and description of the dwarf black-bellied salamander (Desmognathus folkertsi). 

Whit Gibbons

University of Georgia

Whit Gibbons is Professor Emeritus of Ecology, University of Georgia, and Head of the Environmental Outreach and Education program at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL).  He received degrees in biology from the University of Alabama (B.S.-1961; M.S.-1963) and in zoology from Michigan State University (Ph.D. - 1967).

 Whit  is author or editor of ten books on herpetology and ecology, including

Snakes of the Southeast. 2005. (with Mike Dorcas). University of Georgia Press. Winner of National Outdoor Book Award

North American Watersnakes: A Natural History. 2004. (with Mike Dorcas). University of Oklahoma Press  

Ecoviews: Snakes, Snails, and Environmental Tales. 1998. (with Anne Gibbons) University of Alabama Press. Choice Outstanding Academic Book award. 

Life History and Ecology of the Slider Turtle. 1990. Smithsonian Institution Press.

Their Blood Runs Cold: Adventures with Reptiles and Amphibians. 1983. U.of Alabama Press.

Turtles of the Southeast. 2008. (with Kurt Buhlmann and Tracey Tuberville). University of Georgia Press.

Frogs and Toads of the Southeast. 2008. (with Mike Dorcas). University of Georgia Press.

            Whit has published more than 250 articles in scientific journals, has had commentaries on National Public Radio (Living on Earth, Science Friday, and others), and has had more than 1,000 popular articles on ecology published in magazines and newspapers, including a weekly environmental column distributed by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group. His encyclopedia articles have appeared in World Book, Compton's, and for the past 25 years have included the annual summary of Zoology for the Encyclopaedia Britannica Year Book.  He wrote the latest edition of Reptile and Amphibian Study, the merit badge booklet for the Boy Scouts of America.

            Whit Gibbons received the Henry Fitch Distinguished Herpetologist Award at the national Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists for long-term excellence in the study of amphibian and reptile biology. He was awarded the IUCN Behler Turtle Conservation Award in recognition of long-term turtle research and conservation nationally and internationally. Other awards include the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association's First Place Award for the Best Radio Program, the South Carolina Governor's Award for Environmental Education, the Meritorious Teaching Award presented by the Association of Southeastern Biologists (ASB), and the ASB Senior Research Award.  

            Whit is a frequent banquet speaker at meetings, both civic and scientific, and gives talks each year to college and pre-college school groups. Many of the talks use live animals, particularly reptiles and amphibians, in discussions of ecological research and environmental awareness.

Reptile Wrangler, Ken Panse, exhibits an assortment of live exotic and indigenous reptiles and a few giant bugs for Atlanta area functions and events. His presentations are customized from his collection of 40 animal “ambassadors” which often include a 4’alligator, 2’ snapping turtle, 3’ orange iguana, 8’ boa, or 12’python.

Robert Hill

Atlanta Botanical Garden

Robert Hill is the Amphibian Specialist for the Atlanta Botanical Garden and a former herpetology keeper at Zoo Atlanta, but has been working with reptiles and amphibians both professionally and as a hobby for over 20 years.  First becoming a member of the Georgia Herpetological Society in 1996, he's gone on to be a long standing member of the GHS executive board.  Through his employment at the Atlanta Botanical Garden he has been able to not only maintain and breed a diverse collection of neotropical frogs, but monitor populations of native GA amphibians and work directly with the GA Department of Natural Resources to headstart the rare Gopher Frog. 

Dr. David Martinez-Jimenez DVM, MSc

Loving Hands Animal Clinic

Dr. David Martinez-Jimenez was born in Valencia, Spain and completed his veterinary degree at the College of Veterinary Medicine of Zaragoza, Spain in 2002. After several externships in exotic, zoo and wildlife animal medicine and surgery, he enrolled in a Master’s degree program in Wild Animal Health at the Royal College of Veterinary Medicine and the Institute of Zoology of London in 2003. In 2005, Dr. David Martinez came to the USA where he completed an internship in Exotic, Zoo and Wildlife Animal Medicine and Surgery at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia. Since then, he has been working in private practice and zoo medicine. He has assisted at the Natural Science Center of Greensboro, NC and was instrumental in their acquisition of the America Zoo Association accreditation. He currently practices Avian, exotic and wildlife medicine and surgery at Loving Hands Animal Clinic in Alpharetta, GA. Dr. Martinez also lectures for veterinarians, nurses and the public. He is widely published in numerous scientific journals. Dr. Martinez-Jimenez is currently pursuing board certification in Zoological Medicine.