Bill is the manager of Paint Rock Excursions, Inc., established in 1987 with his parents and brother, Scott, in 1987, to help manage the pictograph site. Bill Campbell’s Great Grandfather, D.E. Sims, came to the Painted Rocks site in the 1870s. Finding the site (as well as the vandalism), D.E. Sims decided to acquire the land around the site and to protect it. Bill shares the mission started by D.E. Sims and carried on by his parents, Cora Ellen (“Kay” Sims) and Fred Campbell. Bill is a lawyer and rancher and served as Concho County Attorney for 30 years. He has provided tours of the site for decades and is an avid researcher of tribal history and Texas history. Bill ranches land near the pictograph site with his son, John, and founded PRHSI with help from his son Auggie and nephew, Steven, and niece, Jill. He is proud to partner with family, tribal leaders, researchers, and the community to better understand a place that is important to many for many years and for many reasons. He lives in Eden with his wife, Judy.
Jeremy Elliott, PhD, studies and teaches environmental literature at Abilene Christian University. His research centers on human interactions with the environment and how we use time and place when we create or read narratives, with particular attention to central Texas Indigenous rock art. Dr. Elliot began investigating the Paint Rock site in 2019 and has organized annual events at the site along with his partners at the Edwards Plateau Archeological Research Group since 2021. These annual events, generally hosted near the Spring Equinox, bring tribal leaders, academic experts, students, and the Paint Rock community together to deepen connections and understandings between these groups. Dr. Elliot’s recent publications have appeared in Environmental Humanities, Whole Terrain, Southwest Review, Passages, Western American Literature, and Saltfront. He lives with his family on the Callahan Divide, where they raise sheep.
Steven Campbell is Senior Vice President, Director of Corporate Relations &Communications at Southside Bank based in Tyler, Texas. Previously, Steven was the Executive Director at Breckenridge Village, a non-profit organization that provides services for adults with intellectual disabilities. Steven grew up in San Angelo, but spent much of his childhood at the family ranch with his father (Scott), mother, and sister (Jill), and of course his grandparents, Fred and Kay. As a property owner with deep ties to the site and an experienced nonprofit executive, Steven is passionate about preserving the rich history painted on the bluff and buried beneath the soil and sharing this history with care and understanding. Steven moved from San Angelo to Tyler in 2004 to attend The University of Texas at Tyler where he played tennis for the university and went on to obtain a bachelors degree in Psychology and a masters degree in Public Administration. He and his wife, Haley, reside in Bullard, Texas, with their two children.
Carol Macaulay, PhD, heads the Baylor University Archeology Field School and serves on the Texas Archeological Society’s Executive Committee. Carol has brought her extensive experience in archeological site investigations and field work to Paint Rock, training students at the site since 2021. Carol’s passion for education and deep connections with the archeological community around Texas and beyond have been crucial to PRHSI’s education and outreach efforts. Carol has authored several papers and presentations, which discuss pictographs and other topics related to the Painted Rocks and similar Texas sites.
Kim is an attorney and researcher at the SHUMLA Archeological Research & Education Center. He co-authored The White Shaman Mural: An Enduring Creation Narrative in the Rock Art of the Lower Pecos with Carolyn Boyd (2016). He started the Paint Rock Project in 2018 to investigate the pictographs, bringing his knowledge of the White Shaman Mural and Mayan sites to Paint Rock. Kim’s research and collaborative efforts have turned up previously undiscovered solar markers, connections between Paint Rock pictographs and Mayan mythology, and the oldest graffiti discovered at the site, dating back to the 1590s. Many researchers and indigenous experts have been drawn to the site thanks to Kim, making their own discoveries, often with the benefit of his insights. Kim lives with his wife in Corpus Christi.
Eric Schroeder, PhD is affiliated with the University of Texas at Austin and serves on the Board of the Gault School for Archeological Research. Dr. Schroeder grew up near Paint Rock, developing a profound appreciation for rural landscapes and their inhabitants. Weekends on his grandparent's farm fueled his imagination about the area's Indigenous peoples and early European explorers. After starting a career as a consulting archaeologist, he pursued further studies at the University of Texas at Austin, completing his doctorate in anthropology in 2019. He has served as an archaeologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and UT’s Texas Archeological Research Laboratory. He is a cofounder of the Edwards Plateau Archeological Research Group. He has authored hundreds of archaeological reports, several articles in edited volumes, and has recently published in the Bulletin of the Texas Archeological Society. A retired Army colonel with 34 years of service in the Texas Army National Guard, he resides in Bastrop County with his wife, Susan.
Mary Motah Weahkee is a tribal member of the Comanche Nation and Santa Clara Pueblo involved with various projects. Mary has been contributing to research and demonstrating her understanding of her ancestor’s methods at Paint Rock since 2019. Mary was an archaeologist for the State of New Mexico from 2006 until 2023, contributing to various archaeological projects. She is also involved in archeoastronomy at sites in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Texas, and was part of the Crow Canyon’s Bear’s Ears Indigenous Learning Project. She has recreated artifacts for movies, museums, and other projects, bringing her deep understanding of culture and archeology to life to educate people on how her ancestors used natural resources to make sophisticated products. She was born in New Mexico and grew up in Santa Clara Pueblo while her father was stationed overseas in Germany.
Eddie Gomez, an actor, expert horse trainer, and a Penatuka Commanche and Mescalaro/Lipan Apache descendant, grew up near Paint Rock in Brownwood, Texas. Eddie has played various roles in movies and shows from Ron Howard’s Alamo to Yellowstone. His demonstrated knowledge of Commanche horsemanship and his passion for raising buffalo speak to his strong cultural connections and love for the history of the area. Eddie is a graduate of Howard Payne University, lives with his wife in Brownwood, and enjoys spending time with his granddaughter.
