Presenter Bios - Alaska Trails

Speaker Biographies for 2016 Statewide Trails Conference
KEYNOTES
Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins
Born and raised in Sitka, Alaska, Jonathan Kreiss‐Tomkins represents Sitka, Petersburg,
and 20 other rural Southeast Alaska communities in the Alaska House of
Representatives. Jonathan dropped out of Yale to run for the legislature against a four‐
term incumbent. Now serving his second term and 26 years old, Jonathan is the Alaska
Legislature's youngest member.
Jonathan cares deeply for rural Alaska. His 2014 legislation enshrining Alaska's 20 Native
languages as official languages of the State of Alaska attracted national attention.
Jonathan was recognized by The Washington Post in 2014 as one of its “top 40 under 40
” in American politics.
In addition to his work, he enjoys endurance running and outdoor adventure, and has
won or placed in various trail races and ultramarathons across Alaska and Lower 48.
Jonathan also plays cello and double bass, and has twice toured through rural Alaska
with a piano trio sponsored by a performing arts grant from the Rasmuson Foundation.
Ned Rozell
Ned Rozell has written newspaper columns about science topics for the
past 21 years. In the third year of that job, he hiked from Valdez to
Prudhoe Bay along the gravel road that runs beside the trans-Alaska
pipeline. He wrote the book Walking my Dog Jane about that experience.
He is the author of four other books, including Alaska Tracks and Natural
Alaska.
He lives in Fairbanks with his wife and daughter and a feisty puppy.
Anne Johnson
Anne Johnson is the Geospatial Information Officer for the Department of Natural
Resources, and has worked on statewide mapping since 2009. She holds a
graduate certificate in GIS and a Master’s degree in landscape ecology from Iowa
State University, and a Bachelor’s degree in wildlife management from the
University of Idaho. She moved to Alaska with her husband Ryan in 2005, and can
be found on the trails around Eagle River when she’s not coordinating geospatial
efforts for the state. Her primary responsibility as the DNR’s GIO is to coordinate
the acquisition and distribution of geospatial framework datasets such as
elevation, imagery, hydrography, transportation, and other basemap layers for
the State. Towards this end she facilitates the Alaska Geospatial Council and its
technical advisory group.
BREAKOUT SESSION PRESENTERS
Emily Angel
Emily Angel is the Interpretation and Education program manager for Alaska State Parks.
Emily studied history at the University of Illinois in Springfield and was introduced to the
field of interpretation at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site during an internship
with the National Park Service. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in History, Emily
moved to Skagway, Alaska in 2005 to work as an interpretive park ranger. Since then she
has interpreted natural and cultural history at six different national parks, earned
certificates in various aspects of interpretation, written several interpretive master
plans, and currently guides the content of Alaska State Parks’ interpretive panels,
brochures, banners, and videos. Emily is also the mother of a spirited and independent
threenager, whom she encourages to connect with nature and history in her own
spirited and independent way.
Jean Ayers
Starting at the top of the world in Barrow, Jean Ayers has lived and traveled throughout
Alaska since 1983. On the North Slope, she managed basic water and sewer
infrastructure grants; in Nome, grants for education and the women’s shelter; and in
Anchorage, an array of grants for social services, historic properties, and Alaska State
Parks.
Jacques Boutet, P.E.
Jacques is a second-generation Alaskan and a licensed professional civil engineer
with a focus on transportation planning and engineering. As a consultant to
public agencies and private organizations, he has 34 years of experience with
trail and pathway development. In 1996, Jacques founded The Boutet Company,
a multi-disciplinary consulting firm licensed to provide professional services in
civil and environmental engineering, land surveying and landscape architecture.
The firm now employs nearly 30 people with offices in Anchorage, Wasilla and
Juneau.
Jacques was a founder and is current Chairman of “Anchorage Tomorrow”, a
registered political action committee that has campaigned on behalf of
Anchorage’s Municipal infrastructure bonds since 1990, using public speaking,
mailers, social media, radio and television. Jacques has also worked to leverage
bond funds with private, State and Federal grants.
Mike Brook
Mike Brook is a software developer and outdoor enthusiast. He believes in using
technology to help people live healthier, happier lives. Some of his recent projects
have helped a group of chronically ill patients get diagnosed faster, helped Native
Alaskans observe and report the effects of climate change, and helped the
perpetually lost find their cars after a romp in Kincaid Park.
You can learn more about him and his work at akappworks.com.
Christine Byl
Christine Byl, co-owner of Interior Trails, is a writer and a trail builder of 20 years. After
12 years working on federal trail crews in Glacier NP, Chugach NF and Denali NP, in
2008 Christine and her husband Gabe Travis founded Interior Trails, specializing in
sustainable trail design, layout, construction, consulting and training. Christine is also
on the board of the Professional Trail Builder's Association. Christine's first book, Dirt
Work: An Education in the Woods is about trail crews, tools, wilderness, and labor, and
was selected by Backpacker Magazine as one of 20 Great Books for the Trail. She lives
on a few acres of tundra off Stampede Road north of Denali National Park and spends
as much time as possible in wild places by foot, bike, ski, boat and dog. For more
information on Interior Trails, visit www.interior-trails.com.
Jeff Chen
Jeff Chen (陳奕正) is the Alaska Recruiting Coordinator for The Student
Conservation Association. He’s a Maryland-born Taiwanese-American Alaska
transplant with an interest in shifting the conservation narrative and workforce to
better reflect our history and identities. Jeff is honored to recruit rural and urban
Alaskans for public land opportunities in and out of the state. He likes filmmaking, playing music, growing food, and chillin’ outside. Before working at the
SCA, Jeff co-led the nation’s first coast-to-coast litter pick-up – a 3,672-mile threeyear journey. He’s grateful to put down some roots now, and learn about the
many cultures that call Alaska home.
Paul Clark
Paul is the National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance
Program Leader for the Alaska Region, where he supports community-led outdoor
recreation and natural resource conservation projects. From 2008-2015, he
served as an outdoor recreation planner and trails program manager for the
Chugach National Forest. Paul loves to get out on urban and backcountry trails to
run, hike, ski and explore nature with his wife and two sons. He is professionally
and personally motivated by getting people of all ages and abilities to stay healthy
through outdoor recreation and citizen stewardship of public lands.
Amalie Couvillion
Amalie Couvillion is co-owner of CoastView LLC, a company devoted to helping
people appreciate the natural world. Amalie has been involved in the
conservation of natural areas for over twenty years, as a scientist and fundraiser
for The Nature Conservancy, field researcher in the Croatan National Forest, and
wilderness ranger in Yosemite National Park. A native of Fairbanks, she holds a
Bachelor of Arts in geography from UCLA and a Master of Arts in environmental
management from Duke University. Amalie is grateful for trails that allow her and
her family to access special outdoor places.
Lars Flora
Lars Flora was born in Portland, Oregon and now resides in Anchorage. He is a two time
Olympian in Nordic Skiing and a six time National Champion. He is a three time World
Championship Team Member. He graduated from Alaska Pacific University. When not
cross country skiing, he enjoys fishing, hunting, mountain biking, and backcountry skiing.
He is the director of Nana Nordic and Skiku.
Lola Flores
Lola Flores has a BS in Biology and a MS degree in Environmental Studies. Before
joining Earth Economics Lola worked in Mexico where she gained significant
academic and professional experience in government offices dealing with
management and regulation of environmental issues. At Earth Economics, she
primarily researches ways to implement ecosystem services valuations into local,
regional, and national policy. Her main projects focus on quantifying services
produced by nearshore and shoreline ecosystems for both saltwater and freshwater
systems. Her work includes applying economic tools such as benefit cost analysis and
return on investments to better utilize ecosystem service valuations to influence
policy. Lola is also involved in developing funding mechanisms to provide crucial
financial support for environmental restoration, conservation, and mitigation
projects. She is currently working on completing a funding mechanisms investment
portfolio for the Mat-Su Borough.
Mark Gronewald got his start in the trail world as a trail crew member in 1977.
Along the way he spent 20 years
as a wildland fire fighter in the summers and a back country ski guide in the winters. He was
an early pioneer and manufacturer of fat-tired snow bikes. He founded Valley Mountain Bike
Alliance (now Valley Mountain Bikers and Hikers) in 1999 where he worked on numerous
volunteer trail projects. Since 2005, Mark has served as a trails designer and crew leader for
Alaska State Parks and the Mat-Su Borough. He is currently the owner of Trailwerx, a private
trails consulting and contracting firm.
Lee Hart
Lee Hart is the Executive Director of Levitation 49, a non-profit sports commission in
Valdez dedicated to economic diversification through outdoor adventure. Lee brings
more than a decade of experience and connections from the outdoor, snow sports,
bike and adventure travel industries to her work with L49. She is particularly fond of
singletrack trails for mountain biking and is the founder of the Chugach Fat Bike Bash.
Dot Helm
Dot Helm worked as a vegetation ecologist for 25 yrs at University of Alaska
Fairbanks in Palmer after completing her graduate degrees in Range Science
(Quantitative Ecology) at Colorado State University. Study areas ranged from Exit
Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park to Nolan in Brooks Range mostly looking at
vegetation succession after both natural and human-caused disturbances. Most
work was off trails. She retired 10 yr ago and has since been active in trail running
and volunteer work with a number of volunteer organizations. She’s enjoying not
having to measure anything as she wanders through the woods on assorted types
of trails.
Jennifer Howell
Jennifer came to Anchorage in 8th grade as an Army Brat and has made it her home ever
since. When not adventuring with her wife, her son, and Kenai the Wonder Pup, you can
find her working as the Get Outdoors Anchorage Community Coordinator helping to get
more youth outdoors and loving our public lands, trails, and waters. She has a
background in environmental studies and urban sociology. Her favorite project during
her time as an undergrad at UAA was leading an Earth Day event using Chester Creek
trail as an outdoor classroom. A graduate of Leadership Anchorage, she believes that for
Anchorage to be an even better city where our kids will want to raise their kids, we all
have to support the things we are passionate about.
Eileen Kazura
Eileen Kazura is the Program Manager for The Student Conservation Association, and
manages youth and young adult teams serving across the state of Alaska. She has been
involved with youth and young adult engagement through conservation work 6 years.
She desires to help young people develop critical thinking skills and strong work ethic
through trail and restoration projects, and enjoys celebrating each person’s unique
connection to the non-human world, with the ultimate goal of youth co-leadership in
programmatic decision making. She lives in Anchorage with her partner.
Patrick Kell
Patrick Kell, IMBAs Regional Director for the Southwest and Alaska grew up in Belfast,
Northern Ireland, and started riding there in 1992. He studied Geography at John
Moores University in Liverpool, England and also spend 9 months working on
community service and wildlife management projects in Zimbabwe and Namibia. During
summer 1999 Patrick worked for the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps/Vermont State
Parks and stayed with the youth corps until 2006. Patrick was also involved in several
local mountain bike clubs in Vermont, along with the state-wide organization, the
Vermont Mountain Bike Association (VMBA). In late 2006 he began working for VMBA
as the first Executive Director, focused on legalizing trails on state land; developing new
access in the Green Mountain National Forest; and hosting a mountain bike
development conference for ski resorts from throughout the northeast. Patrick stayed
with VMBA until fall 2011, and then started with IMBA as Southwest Regional Director
in early 2012, Alaska was added to his roster in January 2016. Patrick is currently based
in Prescott, AZ working on all manner of mountain bike advocacy projects including
trails master planning projects in Caliente, NV; Kanab and Cedar City, UT; and Superior,
AZ.
Erin Kirkland
Erin Kirkland is a columnist for the Alaska Dispatch News, author of Alaska on the
Go: exploring the 49th state with children, and publisher of AKontheGO.com,
Alaska's only family travel website. She grew up in the forests of Washington and
Oregon, graduated with a degree in Recreation Management, and promptly went
to work making the outdoors a better place to be. She was a founding member of
the Washington Trails Association trail maintenance program, acting as crew
leader and later, volunteer coordinator, planning day and overnight experiences
for children and adults.
Erin has lived in Alaska for 10 years, and currently serves on the Advisory Team of
Get Outdoors Anchorage, a coalition of agencies, organizations, and individuals
dedicated to encouraging children and adults to make the most of Alaska's
outside spaces. Her second book, Alaska on the Go: exploring the Marine Highway
System with children is due out in 2017."
Sarah Leonard
Sarah Leonard is the President & CEO of the Alaska Travel Industry Association –
the state’s leading membership trade association for the travel industry in Alaska.
Sarah has a a Master’s of Science (MS) degree in recreation management and
tourism from Arizona State University. Sarah joined ATIA after serving as the
Director of Marketing & Fund Development at thread, Alaska’s Child Care
Resource and Referral Network. Previously, she has served as an Associate
Director of Philanthropy for The Nature Conservancy of Alaska, the Statewide
Watchable Wildlife Coordinator for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and
the Executive Director of the Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism
Association (AWRTA). Ms. Leonard also was one of the founding leaders in
Adventure Green Alaska, an Alaska-based nonprofit organization that works to
encourage more environmentally friendly tourism practices in response to
increased consumer demands.
Hugh Leslie
Hugh Leslie is Recreation and Library Services Manager for the Matanuska Susitna
Borough. Graduating from Lake Superior State University with a degree in
Recreation Management, Hugh has worked for over 20 years with various Federal,
County, City and Borough Recreation Departments. He calls Palmer, Alaska home
where he resides with his wife Traci and children Autumn and Greyson.
Terri Morganson
Terri Morganson has worked for Esri since 2003 and before that she was a Cartographer
for the US Fish & Wildlife Service in Anchorage, Alaska. As an account executive on the
Esri State & Local Government team Terri is privileged to work with customers in both
Alaska and Oregon. She has Bachelor of Science Degrees in Geography and
Mathematics from Bemidji State University and University of Alaska Anchorage. Her
and her husband have lived in Anchorage since 1992 and enjoy hiking, running, and
biking on the many fantastic trails nearby and throughout southcentral Alaska.
Rys Miranda
Rys Miranda is the chief engineer for Alaska State Parks’ Design & Construction
Section. With about 15 cumulative years of service with Alaska State Parks, he has
been involved with designing and constructing numerous recreational facilities
across the state including, trails and trailheads, campgrounds, roads, boat
launches, boardwalks and elevated walkways, and other various park structures.
He has lived in Alaska since 1988 and graduated from the University of Alaska
Anchorage with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and Master of
Science degree in Arctic Engineering. Rys and his wife are raising their three young
children to enjoy and have a lasting appreciation for the great outdoors.
Marcheta Moulton
Marcheta Moulton has been with DOT&PF since 1994 and is the Manager of Small
Federal Programs with the Division of Program Development at the Alaska Department
of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF). As the Manager of Small Federal
Programs, she is responsible for facilitating and overseeing grant programs such as
Transportation Alternatives, Federal Lands Access and the Bicycle/Pedestrian Program.
Growing up in Southeast Alaska, she spends most of her free time outside with her dog
Musket. She is most frequently found hiking the extensive network of Juneau trails, on
her boat wrestling a fish, paddling thru Alaska’s pristine waters or on the front porch
of her cabin admiring the wilderness of Southeast Alaska.
Steve Neel
Beth Nordlund
Steve Neel is a Grants Administrator II with the Department of Natural Resources,
Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. He has worked on the Recreational
Trails Program and the Snowmobile Grant Program for eight and a half years.
Beth is a third generation Alaskan park user. Born in Anchorage, she lost her first tooth at
Russian Jack Springs Park. Beth was raised in Juneau and earned a double-major in
Environmental Studies and Political Science from Baylor University, and a Master’s in
Public Administration from The George Washington University.
Beth was the first staff hired for the Anchorage Park Foundation in 2004. Starting from
scratch, she has helped shape the work plan and she enjoys working with volunteers to
help them obtain grants, promote projects, build projects, and celebrate community
achievements. One of Beth’s proudest accomplishments is helping to create and fund the
Youth Employment in Parks program, which won the prestigious Partners in Conservation
Award from the US Department of the Interior. Her community awards include
Anchorage ATHENA Society and Top 40 Under 40. Beth lives with her husband Jim and
child Ella next to a great sledding hill at Balto Seppala Park.
David Northrup
David Northup has worked in construction throughout Alaska for over 15
years, including a substantial amount of remote work. Over an 8 year
period, he was hired as an NPS employee and independent contractor for
remote coastal building projects in Lake Clark National Park. David has a
proven track record of completing complex projects in remote locations
throughout Alaska. He is the owner of Techno Metal Post Alaska, a Homerbased helical pier installation business. Helical piers are the next
evolutionary step in steel piles, as they are non-susceptible to frost and can
be designed and installed to meet precise engineering requirements. TMP
AK is Alaska’s largest installer of helical piers and we have worked from
Southeast Alaska to the Bering Sea installing piers for all types of projects,
including trails, in all types of conditions.
Julie Saupe
Julie Saupe has been President & CEO of Visit Anchorage since May 2007. Visit
Anchorage is responsible for enhancing Anchorage’s economy through
destination marketing. They work to attract and serve visitors in order to create
jobs and economic development and diversity in Anchorage.
Before joining the team at Visit Anchorage, Saupe was the executive director of
the Mat-Su Convention & Visitors Bureau. Prior to that, she held marketing and
membership positions with the Alaska Visitors Association and the Alaska State
Chamber of Commerce. She started her career in 1981 at the Fairbanks
Convention & Visitors Bureau.
George Schaaf
George Schaaf is the Regional Partnership Coordinator for the U.S. Forest Service
in Alaska. George originally came to Juneau in 2002 to work for the U.S. Forest
Service as a wilderness ranger on Admiralty Island National Monument, and in
2006 he became the executive director of Trail Mix, Inc., Alaska’s largest nonprofit
trails organization. While at Trail Mix, George worked on a range of projects with
the City & Borough of Juneau, the State of Alaska, and the Forest Service,
including construction of the Auke Lake Trail, Under Thunder Pathway, and new
bridges along the Treadwell Ditch. Most recently, George served as the Park
Superintendent for the City & Borough of Juneau, where he was responsible for
managing 35 parks, 19 playgrounds, 27 athletic fields, 3 cemeteries, over 60 miles
of trails, and 9,000 acres of open space. He now works with a wide range of
nonprofit groups and local communities that share in the stewardship of Alaska’s
22 million acres of National Forests.
Cary Shiflea
Cary Shiflea got started with electric bicycles in the fall of 2013 after connecting
with the operations team at Evantage/Polaris Electric Bicycles at the annual
Interbike trade show. Cary has been a lifelong bicycle rider and has had an
entrepreneurial spirit from a young age.
With over 7 years experience owning and operating a profitable insulation
contracting company, Arctic Energy Savers LLC, Cary is ready to take his customer
service skills into the sales and service of electric bicycles. Alaska eBike mission
statement is "to provide efficient means of transportation for people looking to
drive less and bike more. Our friendly, knowledgeable and professional staff will
help inspire and educate customers on the technology available within the
electric bicycle market."
Mike Shields started working on trails in 1960 at Olympic National Park in the days of
axes, misery-whips, and 90-lb loads in a Trapper Nelson pack. In his NPS career he's been
a crew leader, ranger, roads foreman, maintenance mechanic, trails foreman, and facility
manager, but primarily and always a trailman, and has worked trails in Olympic, Big Bend,
Canyonlands, Natural Bridges, North Cascades, Kings Canyon, Rocky Mountain and Denali.
Two of those parks (Canyonlands, North Cascades) were brand new and he helped "invent"
the trail systems in both. He became adept at timber felling, log and rock construction, mule
packing, rigging, using explosives as a precision tool,
suspension bridge and tram design, and has been teaching the following since 1972: trail design & layout, trail
construction & maintenance, terrain dynamics, blasting safety, technical blasting & rock mechanics, rigging
safety, abandoned explosives disposal, bridge design, crew management, and field contract administration.
Since his retirement as Denali's chief of maintenance in late 1996 he has been a small contractor providing
training, trail layout, and technical consulting services from Alaska to West Texas and California to Colorado. In
2010 he received American Trails' "State Trail Worker Award" (Alaska) for his efforts at training and mentoring
younger folks.
Kay Shoemaker Howell graduated from Linfield College in Portland, Oregon.
Her undergraduate BSN focused
on trans-cultural youth health and education practices.
For twenty years, she staffed and directed the Northwest Outdoor Science School on the
Oregon Coast. During the summers, Kay worked in Southeast Alaska with over a dozen
communities offering outdoor and environmental education programs and program training
with Girl Scouts of Alaska. She was promoted to Statewide Outdoor and Environmental
Educator in 2010, living and working in Alaska communities across the state for two years. In
2012, Kay worked as a Federal Agent with the Department of the Interior, as a Statewide Master
Outdoor and Environmental Science Educator, stationed at the BLM Campbell Creek Science Center.
Kay completed her graduate work at Alaska Pacific University in 2014, earning a Master of Science in Outdoor and
Environmental Education while writing a book, entitled: “Exploring Ecology in Alaska: Reflective Storytelling as a Model
for Environmental Education”.
Jason Smart
Jayson Smart serves as a Senior Program Officer for the Rasmuson
Foundation, a private family foundation based in Anchorage Alaska. Jayson
provides oversight of the foundation’s portfolio in arts and culture, and
also works on special topics in health and education.
Jayson brings unique experience from the public and nonprofit sectors to
his role advancing partnerships between the foundation and Alaska
organizations. He formerly served as deputy director with the Municipality
of Anchorage Department of Health and Human Services, and has a
background in social service agency management with a focus on disability
advocacy and policy.
Jayson holds two degrees from the University of Alaska Anchorage: a
master's degree in public administration with an emphasis in public
management; and a B.A. in psychology. He has spent the last 30 years in
Southcentral Alaska.
Blaine Smith started doing trail work with Chugach State Park in 1976 as a Boy Scout.
Working with the Rangers and several other scouts Blaine opened the Turnagain Arm
trail between McHugh Creek and Rainbow Valley just to the southeast of Anchorage.
From that point on, Blaine has maintained an active interest in trails, particularly those
in Chugach State Park where he has worked for the past eight years as the coordinator
for the trails program.
James Sowerwine
James Sowerwine is a founding member of Chugach Trails Volunteers, a trail
group dedicated to maintaining existing access routes within Chugach State Park
and other Southcentral area public lands. While originally from Northern
California, James currently lives in Anchorage with his wife Jill and two corgis,
where he is active in the local running community. When not organizing trail
work or otherwise outside, James works as the assistant manager for the DNR
DMLW Southcentral Regional Land Office Easement Unit, though his educational
background is in botany and rare plant conservation.
Holly Spoth-Torres
Holly Spoth-Torres worked for government agencies in Alaska for more than 10 years. 
After completing long-range planning for Denali National Park & Preserve and project
management for the State of Alaska to secure permanent recreational trail access on State
lands, she served the Municipality of Anchorage Parks & Recreation Department as the
Park Superintendent.
As a registered landscape architect in Alaska, Holly’s career focus has been developing
innovative public involvement strategies to get more people involved in local parks and
recreation initiatives; a healthy park system equals a healthy population of citizens.
Holly’s successful work collaborating with the Anchorage community to improve parks and
trails has provided more access and opportunities for residents and families to get
outdoors, get active and improve their health through physical activity.
Holly is now the principal of Huddle Alaska - http://huddleak.com/
Matt Steffy
Matt Steffy has been involved with Parks and Recreation in Alaska for the past 18
years. His experience covers trail design, installation, and maintenance, user
group contracts, wildlands management, campgrounds, day-use areas, and much
more. Currently, he works as a Natural Resource Specialist II with Homer Soil &
Water Conservation District where he administrates the invasive plant program
and coordinates a variety of other trail projects, revegetation, outreach, and
school yard habitats.
Brendan Stuart
Brendan is grateful that as a child, her parents insisted on weekly hikes through
the parks surrounding her hometown in the SF Bay Area; especially when it
allowed her to skimp on inside chores and play outside instead.
She is thrilled to be the Schools on Trails Coordinator at the Anchorage Park
Foundation, encouraging connections between the natural spaces inhabiting the
city of Anchorage and its smallest, growing residents. Who cares if their bed is
made, as long as they find their own sweet, green space to explore and claim as
home.
Moira Sullivan
As Live. Work. Play. Director, Moira spearheads the AEDC initiative to make
Anchorage the #1 city in America to Live, Work and Play. Her responsibilities include
bringing together partners for the initiative, enhancing community participation and
providing sound advocacy to achieve this very important goal for our city, overseeing
seven areas of focus, one of which is the citywide Trails Initiative. Before joining AEDC,
Moira was with the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington DC, focusing primarily on
issues of community development and access to capital for small businesses. Moira is
a fifth-generation Alaskan, born in Fairbanks and raised in Anchorage where she
graduated from A.J. Dimond High School in 2003. She has a BA in History from
Dartmouth College and a Masters in Finance degree from Trinity College, Dublin. She
has spent most of her life working actively on Anchorage policy issues, starting as a
columnist for the Perfect World section of the Anchorage Daily News and later as a
member of the United Way Youth Advisory Board and legislative aide in the Alaska
State Legislature.
Chandre Szafran
Chandre Szafran, originally from Nome, Alaska and proud of her Inupiaq heritage, is
fortunate to call both Anchorage and Nome home. Chandre’s background in the
Alaska Native health care community focused on workforce development, adult
learning, coaching and advising, and supporting continued education for Alaska
Native populations. She has expanded her learning & development interests to
engaging youth in the outdoors as Regional Partnership Director at the Student
Conservation Association in Alaska. She is honored to work in partnerships across
her home state, with federal agencies, corporations, and educational organizations,
to ensure that Alaska’s young people are offered meaningful learning opportunities,
while building bridges between traditional and modern methods of relationships to
the land. Chandre holds a BA in English from the University of Alaska Anchorage,
and is happy to combine writing, speaking, and creativity to engage folks in myriad
interests. She enjoys both outdoor and city lifestyles, and loves hiking, berry
picking, camping, fishing, kayaking, and backpacking, as well as travelling, festivals,
movies, music, and arts.
Anne Thomas
Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Anne completed a BA in Biology in Indiana and then a BSc in
Physical Therapy in Aberdeen, Scotland. Since completing her physical therapy
degree she has become a board certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, completed
an orthopedic residency program through the Ola Grimsby Institute and is a Fellow
of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists. She is also a
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Certified Pedorthist. When not in
the clinic, Anne enjoys outdoors adventures with her husband and two boys, is
passionate about an active lifestyle and is learning to play the violin. Anne’s mission
through her businesses, Body In Balance Physical Therapy, Active Soles
Performance Footwear and Active Body Downtown Gym, is to collaborate with
individuals in their quest to be the best version of themselves.
Gabe Travis
Gabe Travis, co-owner of Interior Trails, has been a professional trail builder since 1996.
Gabe has led trail crews in Glacier National Park, Chugach National Forest, and Denali
NP, and in 2008 Gabe and his wife, Christine Byl, started Interior Trails to address the
need for specialized trail expertise in Alaska. In addition to design and layout,
assessment and prescription, and hand and mechanized construction for clients
statewide, Gabe has taught introductory and technical trails courses for the past
decade. An avid skier, biker, and runner, Gabe is also a visual artist who brings his eye
for design and detail to the trail layout and construction process. He lives in a yurt north
of Denali National Park.
For more information on Interior Trails, visit www.interior-trails.com.
Jon Underwood
Jon Underwood has had a life-long fascination with trails as a biker, skier, runner,
walker, and ATV rider. In 2006 Jon started Happy Trails, Inc. to provide trail design and
construction in Alaska. Since then he has designed and built trails all over the state,
having so much fun he is astonished when it is sometimes profitable. Jon is Vice
President of the Professional Trail Builders Association.
Find Happy Trails on Facebook or www.happytrailsak.com to see more.