Our Team
Jax Oyster Conservation aims to provide a continuous oyster shell recycling program for local restaurants and events around the greater Jacksonville area for the purpose of reuse in living shoreline projects deployed by us and our partners.
Hunter Mathews, MS
Founder and Director
Hunter Mathews was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. Growing up, his love for Florida’s beaches, springs, and waterways sparked a passion for Florida’s ecosystems and conservation. He received his bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Florida State University and began working as a biologist for the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve, where he found his calling to study and protect our estuaries. He received his master’s degree in biology from the University of North Florida, where he focused on oyster reef restoration ecology, studying the performance of a novel oyster reef restoration method, the Pervious Oyster Shell Habitat (POSH). Hunter founded Jax Oyster Conservation in 2024, motivated to provide an oyster shell recycling program for local restaurants, citizens, and events, to reduce our landfill contribution and provide oyster shell for coastal restoration and resilience projects in the area.
Kelly J. Smith, PhD
Director
Kelly Smith has always had a strong interest in human impacts on ecological systems and has
been involved in ecological restoration projects in multiple estuarine systems including northeast
Florida’s intracoastal waterway, Delaware Bay, and the Hackensack Meadowlands near New
York City. At the University of North Florida, her research interests focused on developing
coastal and shoreline resilience to climate change related challenges such as erosion, sea level
rise, and changing precipitation patterns. Kelly has been investigating the effects of different
methods of shoreline restoration on fish habitat use and abundance. With her recent move
back to New York from Florida her research is transitioning to a focus on freshwater wetlands.
Capt. J. Silas Tanner, MS
Director
J. Silas Tanner is the Program Director for Matanzas Riverkeeper, a non-profit organization
dedicated to protecting the health of the Guana, Tolomato, Matanzas estuary and watershed
through advocacy, education, and community engagement. Silas holds a bachelor’s and a
master’s degree in biology from the University of North Florida, where his research focused on
the impacts of shellfish harvesting and novel sensor technologies for monitoring estuarine
health. He is also a U.S. Coast Guard Captain and previously worked as a staff scientist at the
Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve. In his off-time, Silas enjoys
fishing, kayaking, hiking, and traveling with his wife Katelyn.
Christopher Paige
Secretary
Christopher Paige grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. His first experiences in the workforce came
at a local seafood restaurant, where he worked his way up from shucking oysters and deveining
shrimp to eventually holding a general management role within the industry. Those early years
sparked a deep love for food, community and a commitment to sustainability. Motivated by
these values, Christopher earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology with an interdisciplinary
minor in sustainable development from the University of North Florida. His career has since
spanned logistics, distribution, and operational management, and he now serves as a Sales and
Operations Planning Coordinator for a Jacksonville-based company. Outside of work,
Christopher enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, fishing, reading, and staying
active.