1964 Graduate of Brazosport High School
After graduation from Brazosport High School, Andrew (Andy) Sansom attended Austin College in Sherman and then Texas Tech University to major in Parks and Recreation Administration. Dr. Sansom served the National Recreation and Park Association in Washington D.C. as executive secretary of the association’s student branch and as a special assistant to Interior Secretary Rogers Morton.
In 1974 he was appointed director of conservation education at the Federal Energy Administration. After leaving the federal government, Dr. Sansom went on to become vice-president for development for Old River Company and then executive director of the non-profit Texas Nature Conservancy.
In 1987, Dr. Sansom joined the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as the agency’s coordinator of land acquisition and management and in 1990 was appointed as TPWD’s executive director. After retiring in 2001, Dr. Sansom went on to establish and head the River Systems Institute at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, whose charge is to address Texas’ water problems. He has volunteered to serve many non-profit organizations including commissioner of Brazoria County Parks Board; trustee of the Texas Historical Foundation, Board of Bat Conservation International, and Board of KLRU Public Television in Austin; and he was founder of the Cradle of Texas Conservancy. Dr. Sansom is a published author writing books about Texas, about conservation and has authored the much loved children’s book Scout, the Christmas Dog.