Amanda Sargent

Amanda Sargent is the Social Media Coordinator and works primarily on connecting the public and theTurtleRoom through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. She also contributes to the blog and development of other educational resources on the site.

Amanda has been obsessed with reptiles since she found her first garter snake outside as a curious five year old, and since then hasn’t been able to get enough of finding all types of reptiles outside. She also loves to keep a large collection of reptiles, and her first pet reptile was a Russian tortoise. Since then, she has kept a wide variety of snakes, lizards, and amphibians but her favorite animals to work with remain turtles and tortoises. Her favorite species to work with currently is the diamondback terrapin, and has 4 of them that she loves to share with the public during educational events.

Amanda has a background in environmental biology and lots of unique experience working in the field with chelonians; most notably, sea turtles. Amanda was an employee at the New England Aquarium in Boston, MA for around 2 years, where she worked with captive sea turtles as well as educating the public about them. She was also involved in the rescue, rehabilitation and research of Kemp’s Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and Green (Chelonia mydas) Sea Turtles for two winters during New England’s cold-stunning events. In addition to her work with sea turtles, she has also worked extensively in the field with species such as the Eastern Box Turtle, Blanding’s Turtle and Diamondback Terrapin.

Aside from working with theTurtleRoom, Amanda is also a leader for the Georgia Reptile Society’s Greater Atlanta area chapter and does whatever she can to work or volunteer in the conservation of reptiles and amphibians. She lives in Atlanta with her boyfriend, their two dogs, and a colorful crew of herps! She hopes to grow her experience in conservation by not only working in the field and with captive breeding/husbandry, but also in pursuit of her passion – educating the public and sharing her love for turtles and tortoises with the world!