AUSTIN – Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) announces two promotions to its Executive Office staff.

Inland Fisheries Division Director Craig Bonds will serve as Chief Operating Officer (COO) in place of Clayton Wolf, who announced his retirement after 30 years of service to TPWD.

Senior Government Relations Specialist Allison Winney will fill a newly created chief of staff position administering agency policy, managing external partnerships and serving as liaison to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.

“I want to extend sincere appreciation to Clayton for his faithful service and unwavering stewardship of TPWD and the resources we work so diligently to protect for present and future generations,” said Executive Director David Yoskowitz, Ph.D. “I am personally grateful for his attentive guidance as I have settled into my role, so I will feel his loss keenly, but am grateful to have two fine leaders who humbly stepped up to embrace new challenges. Craig and Allison will ensure we remain agile and responsive to future opportunities. I am excited about the team we will have in place and am resolutely optimistic for the future of TPWD.”

As COO, Bonds will implement agency strategic planning, oversee agency administration, prioritize key budgetary needs and apprise Yoskowitz on the day-to-day operations of the agency. He will also work with Winney to respond to the commissioners, elected officials, partners and constituents.

Bonds began his career with TPWD in 1999 as an assistant district fisheries biologist in Tyler and San Marcos. He later became a district supervisor in San Angelo and regional director in Tyler before accepting his division director role in 2015. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in fisheries management from Virginia Tech University.

He is also a graduate of the Governor’s Executive Development Program, National Conservation Leadership Institute and TPWD’s former Natural Leaders Program. Craig led our agency’s efforts to develop and implement our strategic Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation plan, sponsored the creation of TPWD’s mentoring programs and, as Yoskowitz noted, has championed countless other collaborative endeavors with partners inside and outside TPWD.

Winney has been a “fierce champion” for TPWD at the Texas Capitol as a senior government relations specialist and liaison to the Sunset Commission. In her role as liaison, she led the compilation of the nearly 500-page report for sunset review and successfully ensured passage of TPWD’s sunset bill in the Texas Legislature.

Prior to joining TPWD nearly five years ago, she worked in the office of then-Texas House Speaker Joe Straus and as chief of staff in the Texas House of Representatives. Winney holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Baylor University, a Master of Science in information systems and security and a Master of Business Administration in management from Our Lady of the Lake University.