For Jazz Hawk, a life outdoors didn’t begin with Stewards of the Wild. It started long before, rooted in family traditions and time spent outside.
“I grew up in the outdoors,” she says. “I competed as an equestrian doing hunters and jumpers from a young age all through college, and I was on a sport field any chance I could get. After college, some friends and I started doing annual trips to national parks.”
For Jazz, time outside wasn’t something planned, it was simply how life was lived. That foundation still guides her today, whether she’s walking a field on an upland bird hunt—her favorite pursuit—or casting a line along the Texas Coast during the annual Matagorda fishing tournament with friends.
A graduate of Texas A&M University, Jazz found her way to Stewards of the Wild through a friend, Allie (Biedenharn) Alcorn. What started as an introduction quickly became a deeper connection, one that has since grown into a leadership role on the Houston Chapter’s advisory committee.
Along the way, she’s gained a broader perspective on conservation and the role Texas Parks and Wildlife plays across the state.
“I think a lot of people associate it with hunting or state parks,” she says. “But there’s so much more. Education, conservation, and the work happening behind the scenes. Getting to learn about that has been really neat.”
That discovery has only strengthened her belief in the importance of organizations like Stewards, especially in creating a welcoming space for others to step outside and try something new.
“It creates a safe and fun environment for people to explore the outdoors, even if they don’t have experience, to build knowledge, meet people and find something new to fall in love with.”
Today, that spirit shows up in the traditions she holds close, including annual pheasant hunts with family, time on the water with friends and new experiences like the Houston Chapter’s growing slate of events.
Looking ahead, Jazz hopes to see that momentum continue.
“The goal is to keep building awareness, growing the chapter, and bringing more people into it,” she says. “We’ve got a great group, and there’s so much opportunity to expand that.”
For Jazz, it all comes back to something simple: time outside, shared with others, and passed on.
