COWGIRL honors Texas A&M University faculty member, former students
Magazine's ‘30 Under 30’ issue features innovators, leaders and trailblazers
Four Texas A&M University former students and a current faculty member are listed among COWGIRL magazine’s 30 Under 30 Class of 2026 standouts.
For the seventh year, the magazine is recognizing innovators, leaders and trailblazers who open doors for others, share their enthusiasm and embody the qualities that keep the Western industry thriving.
Among the 30 Under 30 Class of 2026 are Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences students Ashley Dibbs ’21 ’23 and Victoria “Tori” Teegarden ’22, both Department of Animal Science graduates; and Sarah Kezar ’22, Ph.D., a Department of Soil and Crop Sciences graduate; and Audra Jones, DVM, faculty member in the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences’ Veterinary Education, Research and Outreach, VERO; and Maggie Murphy, Ph.D., former student in VERO.
They will be recognized at the COWGIRL Leadership Summit, May 20-23, at the Wrangler COWGIRL 30 Under 30 Empowered Gala at Live! by Loews in Arlington.
Sarah Kezar, Ph.D., ’22
Kezar, of Stillwater, Oklahoma, earned her doctorate in weed science and agronomy and is now an assistant professor of weed science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
While in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, she was named a Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, FFAR, Fellow and served as a graduate research assistant under Muthukumar “Muthu” Bagavathiannan, Ph.D., professor and weed scientist, concentrating on the control of Palmer amaranth.
Ashley Dibbs ’21 ‘23
Dibbs, of Spring, earned an undergraduate equine certificate, her bachelor’s and master’s in animal science, and a graduate Extension education certificate while at Texas A&M. She completed an internship with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and is now the annual event’s horse show coordinator.
Dibbs served as a graduate teaching assistant and a Texas A&M Animal Science Ambassador during her time in the Department of Animal Science and as a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service intern in Montgomery County.
Victoria “Tori” Teegarden ’22
Teegarden, based in Washington, D.C., earned her master’s in animal science with a focus on food safety and is now the agriculture policy adviser in the office of U.S. Sen. John Barrasso.
As a graduate research assistant in the Department of Animal Science, she researched the effects of Vitamin E on salmonella in fed cattle. She was a graduate teaching assistant and taught the integrated study of the processing of meat-type animals and the science and technology of their conversion to human food. Additionally, she earned an advanced certificate in international affairs.
Audra Jones, DVM
Jones, originally from California, earned her bachelor’s degree from West Texas A&M University in Canyon and her veterinary degree from Kansas State University before returning to the Texas Panhandle as a clinical assistant professor with VERO.
Her career has included a mixed-animal veterinarian practice and a focus on beef production and bucking bulls.
Maggie Murphy, Ph.D.
She is now an instructor, coach for the horse judging and ranch horse teams at Fort Collins, Colorado, as well as an American Quarter Horse Association judge.
Murphy, originally from Colorado, conducted her doctoral research on the microbiome of young livestock at VERO in Canyon under advisor Paul Morley, Ph.D., DVM, professor and director of research at VERO and the Sally Rau McIntosh Endowed Chair, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and West Texas A&M instructor John Pipkin, Ph.D.
