David Yeates joined Texas Foundation for Conservation as Policy Director in May 2024.  He served for over seven years as the Chief Executive Officer of Texas Wildlife Association, a state-wide membership organization focused on natural resource education, hunter recruitment and retention, while maintaining a robust advocacy presence at the Texas Capitol.  Yeates graduated with an Agricultural Economics degree from Texas A&M University, and completed the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University.  Prior to and after TWA, he worked in comunity banking for over 15 years.  His family still owns their fifth generation homestead and continues to farm and ranch in the Rolling Plains of Texas.  He is an avid hunter and angler, spending much of his recreational time in the field or on the coast.  He has also been an active volunteer for several conservation related non-profits and sits on two TPWD advisory committees.