Cassandra Gomez is a Graduate Student at Texas A&M University pursuing her master’s degree in collaboration with the USDA Southern Plains Climate Hub within the Fellowship Program. She is studying the utilization of prescribed burning to prepare and manage land for green energy. Cassandra previously earned her bachelor's degree in Rangeland Ecology and Management with a Ranch Management Option from Texas A&M University.
Currently, Cassandra actively participates in the Society for Range Management at both the national and state chapters, where she is a part of the Young Professionals Enclave. At Texas A&M University, she is a Steward for the Rangeland, Wildlife, and Fisheries Department within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In this role, she gets to interact as a liaison with prospective and current students, as well as professionals in the field.
Her career and research goals are focused on education and outreach to the general public in regard to fire, both controlled and wild. She also plans to study international responses to extreme wildfires, and different mitigation techniques that could be implemented at similar climates globally. Cassandra is passionate about networking and connecting people with the land.
With various types of experience in the agricultural and educational fields, Cassandra has been able to work closely with the younger generation that will be next to inherit the land. She has thoroughly enjoyed teaching and connecting with young elementary and middle school kids in different aspects of natural resources, whether through wildlife camps, fishing, hunting workshops, habitat management practices, or a combination of these activities. For a brief period, Cassandra also was able to work with high school students, and while the content was not always focused on the natural environment, she still had meaningful conversations with them about being conscientious about the world around them.
Beyond her professional work and studies, Cassandra is a first-generation small-acreage landowner. She can be found in the Texas Panhandle riding her horses, collecting eggs, harvesting food, and tending to the small Beefmaster herd at the ranch. In her free time, Cassandra enjoys reading, running, CrossFit, watching hockey, working on DIY projects, or painting on a canvas. She is also heavily involved in helping with her father’s ministry and assisting the coaches with her old high school volleyball team. One day, Cassandra hopes to travel the world and make friends from various cultures.
