With Texas roots of almost 200 years, Charles is a 6th Generation Texan, of which, five generations have called South Texas home. His family has been ranching in Bee County since the 1880’s. He and his wife Kris raise registered quarter horses and run a small herd of commercial Brangus cows in Central and South Texas. Charles studied Range and Wildlife Management at Texas Tech University where, as a student of Drs. Fred Bryant and Russ Pettit, he began a lifetime passion for all things wild and wonderful with an eye toward healthy soils and ecosystems through native plants. He has a special place in his heart for bobwhite quail and “yard birds.”
Charles has an entrepreneurial spirit that has propelled him into business ventures in retail, direct sales, residential and commercial construction, real estate, ranching and, most recently, industrial by-product water and related technologies.
Upon his father’s retirement from a well-known Texas farm and ranch organization, the two of them began a consulting group dedicated to agriculture and landowner issues, working to make sure that for-profit companies better understood and respected the unique perspective of rural Texans. As an outgrowth of that work, Charles developed a strong working relationship in the non-profit sector as well.
Charles currently serves as Advocacy Director for South Texans’ Property Rights Association. While based in South Texas, STPRA’s work positively impacts the lives of Texans across the whole state. Along with nine other key policy areas, his role with STPRA has kept him attuned to water and water policy as it relates to private property and landowner rights. With a desire to help find “new” water for a drying Texas, in early 2025 Charles decided that a role with Fit For Purpose 2100 would complement his ongoing work on behalf of Texas landowners. F4P is a startup focused on ensuring the safety and efficacy of beneficial reuse of industrial by-product water.
Preferring policy over politics, you will find him in Austin working at the Texas Capitol during Texas’ every other year legislative sessions. In between, he spends much of his time on grassroots education and outreach while working to build sustainable agriculture focused businesses with a view toward land stewardship.
