Carter Smith

Carter Smith is a partner and managing member of S2S Holdings, his family’s agricultural, oil and gas, and real estate investment company, and Asido, a biological and agricultural products supply and distribution company with operations in Texas, California, Kansas, and the southeastern United States. 

Smith formerly served for 15 years as the Executive Director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department(TPWD), where he was responsible for an agency with 3,300 employees in areas including state parks, inland and coastal fisheries, wildlife management, law enforcement, fishing/hunting/boating, and outdoor education/outreach. He was particularly active in the areas of private lands conservation, state park funding, acquisition of additional state park and wildlife management areas, children in nature initiatives, myriad fish and wildlife conservation issues, and coordinating the state’s conservation response and investments along the Gulf Coast following the Deepwater Horizon incident. In addition, he worked closely with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation to leverage significant private philanthropy with public resources to advance state fish, wildlife, and park related conservation priorities.

Prior to his role at TPWD, Smith was the Texas State Director for The Nature Conservancy, where he led the Texas team in protecting important habitats in areas like the Devils River, the Edwards Aquifer, the Laguna Madre, and the Davis Mountains. 

A native of Central Texas, Carter holds a B.S. from Texas Tech University and a M.S. from Yale University. He has served on numerous conservation-related boards and advisory councils, including as Chairman of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and President of the Southeastern and Western Associations of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. He is a member of the Texas Order of St. Hubertus, the Boone & Crockett Club and a lifetime member of the Texas Bighorn Society, the Dallas Safari Club, and the Houston Safari Club. He currently serves as a Board member of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust Foundation and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation. Smith was named an outstanding alumnus by Departments at Yale University and Texas Tech, and has been honored by the Texas Wildlife Association, the Audubon Society, the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, the Harvey Weil Foundation, and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies for lifetime achievement in conserving fish, wildlife, and natural resources for the public trust.

Smith sits on the Boards of Directors of Jefferson Bank and AgriCapture, and serves in an advisory capacity to Lee and Ramona Bass on various conservation, wildlife, and land related matters. He resides in Austin with his wife Stacy and their son Ryland. They attend Woodlawn Baptist Church and are active in managing and enjoying their farm and ranch holdings in the Hill Country, north Texas and in central California. Smith is an avid bird and big-game hunter, fisherman, and general outdoors enthusiast.