Patricia Shield Ayres
President Emeritus
Patricia Shield Ayres
President Emeritus
Pat Ayres is the founder of the Shield Ranch Foundation. She treasures her experiences on Shield Ranch Barton Creek since it was purchased by her parents, Fred and Vera Shield, in 1938. A native of San Antonio, Pat visited often during the days when cattle, sheep, Angora goats, and quarter horses were raised on the Ranch.
She attended Wellesley College, and soon after married Robert M. Ayres, Jr., an investment banker in San Antonio. Pat and Bob shared their love for the Ranch with their children, Bob and Vera, as they were growing up.
In 1977, Pat and Bob founded the Shield-Ayres Foundation. Pat served as president until 2014. She has been an advocate to feed the hungry through her Bread for the World board service and for youth in the State of Texas. She was appointed to the Texas Youth Council by Governor Dolph Briscoe and served as chair of the board. She also served on the board of Texans Care for Children, an organization she helped to found.
Pat and Bob built their casita at Shield Ranch Barton Creek where they lived until Bob’s death in 2018. Pat continues to enjoy time on the Ranch and remains engaged with family and staff in planning for the future of Shield Ranch.
Robert A. Ayres
President, Shield Land Stewardship Group
Robert A. Ayres
President, Shield Land Stewardship Group
Bob Ayres relishes the multi-faceted challenges and opportunities inherent in land stewardship. He is passionate about connecting people with the outdoors through the expanding programmatic offerings of the Shield Ranch Foundation. Bob has been an active member of the land trust community at the local, state, and national levels. He served on the founding board of the Hill Country Conservancy as well as the board of the Texas Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Most recently, Bob served on the board of directors of the Land Trust Alliance.
Bob received his bachelor’s degree in Spanish from the University of the South. He holds a Master of Theological Studies from Virginia Theological Seminary and a Master of Fine Arts from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers. A native of San Antonio, Bob and his wife Margy moved to Austin in 1985, where they raised their two daughters Kathleen and Elizabeth. Bob enjoys exploring the Hill Country and the Davis Mountains of West Texas. He is an avid birder and loves visiting parks, nature centers, and wild places whenever he travels.
Vera Ayres Bowen
President, Shield Ranch Foundation
Vera Ayres Bowen
President, Shield Ranch Foundation
As president of the Shield Ranch Foundation, Vera Ayres Bowen's focus is outdoor education and outreach programs. She is passionate about providing opportunities for children and adults to experience beauty and mystery in the natural world.
In her role as Shield-Ayres Foundation president, Vera cultivates community financial support for the nonprofit family foundation’s mission to support human services, social justice, and environmental conservation. She also serves on the advisory council of A ROCHA USA and enjoys actively serving as a member of her church.
Vera finds joy in exploring the natural world and expressing gratitude through artistic expression. She loves playing with her grandchildren and enjoys sharing the Ranch with her grown children and their spouses: Marshall (and his wife Madison), Gentry (and his wife Margaret), Sophie (and her husband Johann), and Mallory. Vera earned a Bachelor of Arts in religion from the University of the South. Born and raised in San Antonio, she now lives in Austin.
Blake Murden, Ph.D.
CEO, Shield Land Stewardship Group
Blake Murden, Ph.D.
CEO, Shield Land Stewardship Group
As chief executive officer of Shield Land Stewardship Group, Blake Murden is responsible for the administration and conservation management of the three Shield-Ayres family ranches comprising 37,000 acres in Central and West Texas. He also supports the mission of the Shield Ranch Foundation through land stewardship, coordination and oversight of capital projects, and operations and management of facilities.
Blake has more than 30 years of experience managing, researching, and monitoring land, water, and wildlife resources on private lands in Texas, Washington, Oregon, and New Zealand. Prior to joining Shield Ranch in 2016, Blake was the director of Wildlife and Fisheries for Port Blakely, where he oversaw the natural resource management of forestlands in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.
He serves on the executive board of the Texas Land Conservancy, the board of the Texas Wildlife Association, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Wildlife Diversity Advisory Committee. Blake has been an active member of The Wildlife Society for over 35 years, where he’s held several volunteer and leadership positions at the state and national levels.
Blake earned his Bachelor of Science in biological sciences from Tarleton State University and his master’s degree and doctorate in wildlife and fisheries sciences from Texas A&M University. He and his wife April reside in Dripping Springs, Texas, and have two grown children, McKenzi and Marshall. In his spare time, Blake enjoys being outdoors, hunting, fishing, and spending time with family and friends.
Andrea Mellard
Executive Director, Shield Ranch Foundation
Andrea Mellard
Executive Director, Shield Ranch Foundation
Andrea Mellard serves as executive director of the Shield Ranch Foundation. In her role, she connects diverse communities to a protected, wild place in an urbanizing environment. For over two decades, she has worked to provide inspiring, restorative, and educational experiences in museums, parks, and historic sites. A commitment to partnership and expanding community access informed her 17 years in a variety of programming, education, outreach, curatorial and leadership roles during The Contemporary Austin’s development of the lakeside Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria and downtown Jones Center. Before moving to Austin, she worked for the Smithsonian Institution for three years developing a museum exhibition and radio series preserving and celebrating Memphis’ cultural and civil rights history.
Andrea is omnivorously curious and wants to talk about what you are reading, listening to, watching, and doing for inspiration. She enjoys observing the artistic beauty of nature while kayaking, birding, and hiking. From her childhood through college years, she lived in Central California, where she learned to value both the agricultural working lands of the Salinas Valley and the Monterey Peninsula’s wild places. Austin has been her home for 20 years since she came to earn a master’s degree in American studies from The University of Texas at Austin. There she met her husband Jason, a professor and Texas music historian.
Dee Dee Wilson
Director of Human Resources
Dee Dee Wilson
Director of Human Resources
As a fourth-generation Austinite, Dee Dee Wilson treasures family and place, the values that drew her to the vision and mission of Shield Ranch. As director of human resources, Dee Dee provides guidance and counsel to management and employees and supports the professional and organizational development of the Shield Ranch team. Prior to arriving at Shield Ranch, Dee Dee worked for IBM, the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, and Apple Computer, where she hired the first five hundred employees at the Apple facility in Austin during the early 1990s.
Dee Dee attended Stanford University and The University of Texas at Austin, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business management with an emphasis in human resources. While attending UT Austin, she played piccolo in the Longhorn Band and launched the Business School’s Management Association for students.
Dee Dee enjoys cooking and entertaining friends, working with children, and spending time with family including her husband, Gregg; grown children Travis, Trent, and Tessa; and daughters-in-law Sydney and Shannon.
Michelle Bryant
Director of Communications
Michelle Bryant
Director of Communications
Michelle Bryant joined the Shield Ranch team in July 2022 as its first director of communications. She is passionate about protecting the natural wonders of the Texas Hill Country and beyond through storytelling. At the Ranch, she leads the communication strategy including website and social media management, brand stewardship, and media relations. Previously, she served as associate director of public affairs for the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin and communications manager for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
She earned a Bachelor of Science in mass communication from Texas Wesleyan University where she played intercollegiate tennis. Michelle grew up in Port Arthur, Texas. She now lives in Austin with her husband, Troy; their son, Beau; and their golden retriever, Lilly. Her favorite days start with a breakfast taco and usually involve reading in her hammock or exploring a new destination.
Meredith Reid
Executive Assistant
Meredith Reid
Executive Assistant
Meredith Reid provides administrative support to the Owners of Shield Ranch and to the Shield-Ayres Foundation. Working with people who are passionate and enthusiastic about what they do is one of her favorite parts of the job. She is intrigued by the human history of the Ranch and all the people, past and present, known and unknown, who are connected to the land in some way. Meredith hopes to join that history in her own way by cultivating a relationship with the Ranch like so many individuals that came before her.