Ashley Reeves, PhD DVM

East Foundation

Dr. Ashley Reeves is originally from Eads, Tennessee. She received her bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy in comparative and experimental medicine degrees from the University of Tennessee. Her research focuses on wild felid reproduction and the use of assisted reproductive techniques and general health in free-ranging ocelots and bobcats. Her PhD research was supported by East Foundation, and she began working full-time for the East Foundation in January 2023 as their research veterinarian where she provides medical and scientific expertise for various research projects, leads the carnivore capture and research team, continues to explore research questions of interest, and focuses on ocelot conservation.

Meghan Murphy

East Foundation

Meghan Murphy is in her third season of serving as an ocelot research technician at the East Foundation’s El Sauz Ranch in Willacy County. She graduated from the University of Vermont in 2021 with a B.S. degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology. Megan has worked with sea turtles, Mexican gray wolves, gray foxes, black bears, ocelots, bobcats, coyotes, and Indiana, Northern Long-eared, and big brown bats.

Tam Ta

Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute

Tam Ta Tam received her B.S. in Medical Laboratory Science and a minor in Environmental Science & Resource Management at the University of Washington. During her undergraduate years, she dipped her toes into many different niches, from acoustic monitoring of rockfishes in British Columbia to analyzing cougar feeding behaviors via camera traps in the Cascades. After graduation, she spent two years as a lab scientist in the Medical Microbiology lab at the University of Washington Medical Center. She is continuing her focus on genomics through her M.S. at the Texas A&M University-Kingsville studying the genetic diversity of captive and wild populations of ocelots in South Texas.