BIO
Troy Frensley, PhD
Troy grew up in Nashville, Tennessee where he spent most of his time outside, playing in the backyard, swimming in the creek, hiking, or playing sports. He spent time each summer in Florida where he fell in love with the ocean. That love affair with nature, particularly the ocean, led him to pursue an undergraduate degree in marine science and environmental science from Coastal Carolina University. He was lucky enough to conduct coral reef research in Jamaica and complete two education and conservation internships on barrier islands in the Carolinas during his senior year, and he began developing a passion for educating the public about science and nature. After graduating, Troy began his career as an interpretive park ranger at Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina. His office was a 2500 acre barrier island where he educated visitors of all ages about the natural environment of the island, its history and culture, and a wide range of plant and animal species.
He then accepted an education position at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida where he eventually became the education manager and had the fortune of leading educational trips on the beaches, swamps, and forests, work with many amazing species including birds of prey, reptiles, small mammals, and fish, design a new nature center with a wonderful team of colleagues, and interact with visitors from all over the world. During this time, Troy received his master's degree in environmental education from Nova Southeastern University in Florida and began focusing on trying to understand the outcomes of participation for students and adults in the environmental education programs he and his team were delivering and what might lead to better outcomes for diverse participants.
Life threw a curve ball and Troy moved to the island of Grenada, in the West Indies, and taught at St. George's University in the department of Biology, Ecology, and Conservation. He enjoyed teaching students from many different countries and bringing his nonformal education approach and marine science background to the university classroom with student-centered, field-based, and hands-on approaches to learning. He worked with diverse partners and colleagues to study and support conservation and education initiatives across the three islands of Grenada. He became passionate about higher education and moved back to the United States to pursue a PhD from Virginia Tech where he focused on research and evaluation projects with his mentors and colleagues in the fields of environmental education, environmental interpretation, program evaluation, and citizen science. Upon completing his PhD, he accepted a position at the University of North Carolina Wilmington where teaches and conducts research in the Department of Environmental Sciences and manages the 'environmental education & interpretation' and 'marine & coastal education' graduate concentrations. To learn more about his research, courses, and students in his lab, please click the tabs above.
Troy enjoys spending his free time with his wife and two daughters. Whenever the swell is good, you can find him surfing and he has been surfing for over 20 years. His favorite things to do are spending time exploring the barrier islands of North Carolina by boat, hiking, surfing, camping, and cooking with his family and friends.
Releasing a loggerhead sea turtle when working at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida
Hiking Mount Qua Qua in Grenada, West Indies