How are we every going to be energy independent with the so-called environmentatlists trying to stop any domestic development. They don't really care about the caribou, who are thriving around the oil pipelines, they just want to use the environment as an excuse to wreck the US economy.
Not this eco-crap again. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that we need to drill more here at home in order to ease us off foreign supplies.
Less than 2% of the available area. What the fu*k is their problem this time?
How about a class action suit against the environmental groups for the extra 50 cents a gallon they are costing us SUV drivers. Also sue them for causing the ice age coming soon because we are not burning enough gas.
Northern Alaska Environmental Center Board
Staff
David van den Berg (Executive Director) graduated college and came to Alaska in 1989 to help clean up oil from the Exxon Valdez. He moved to Fairbanks that winter to intern for the Northern Alaska Environmental Center. He joined the Center's staff in 1991-93 and again 1995-96. He presently owns and operates with Jennifer van den Berg the wilderness guiding company Arctic Wild, which operates throughout the Brooks Range and Alaska's North Slope.
Nikki Braem (Membership and Communications Director) Nikki received a M.A. from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Northern Studies Dept. in Summer 2004, having completed a thesis on the relocation of the King Island Inupiat to Nome. She earned a B.A. from the University of Detroit in 1992 with a double major in History and English. She then moved to Nome, Alaska for a one year-year stint with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, but stayed for ten. Nome remains the center of her Alaska universe, although the Interior is becoming home. Her interests include fishing, hiking, camping, softball, and skiing. She lives in the Goldstream Valley with her two dogs.
Rob Cadmus (Community Organizer) Rob is originally from the Upper Great Lakes Region, but moved to join the Northern Center because of his concern for our great wild lands. He completed his undergraduate degree in ecology at Northern Michigan University and then went on to research wetland management and restoration in Southern New Zealand for his M.Sc. at the University of Otago. His work has led him to do grassroots organizing for several environmental campaigns.
Sara Elzey (Bookkeeper) Born in Alaska and raised in Fairbanks, Sara earned a B.S. in Psychology and an MBA in Business Administration from the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. She joined the Center in 2001. And avid skijorer, she likes winter more than summer, but enjoys outdoor activities in all seasons. Her favorite activity is flying around the local skijoring trails behind her three Alaskan Huskies, Shadow, Myst & Ayla.
Nancy Fresco (Boreal Forest Campaign & Local Issues Coordinator) Nancy graduated from Harvard University in 1994, with a degree in Evolutionary Biology. She spent the next two years in the Peace Corps, working on forest conservation, watershed protection, and environmental education in Jamaica. In 1999, she received a Masters degree in Conservation Biology from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Her master's thesis was based on a boreal forest research project in northern Saskatchewan, investigating regeneration patterns after clear-cutting. She has also worked as a Student Conservation Association volunteer, a Harvard Outdoor Program leader, and a member of the Adirondack Mt. Club trail crew. Nancy joined the Northern Center in July 1999.
Pamela A. Miller (Arctic Coordinator) Pamela A. Miller (Arctic Coordinator) has a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from The Evergreen State College and M.S. in Journalism from the University of Oregon. She came to Alaska about 25 years ago to study fish at Denali National Park. For eight years she served the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, six of them in Fairbanks, Alaska. As wildlife biologist for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge she studied bird habitats on the coastal plain and was a field monitor of seismic oil exploration. She reviewed the impacts of oil development projects in Prudhoe Bay for the Fairbanks FWS field office. She worked for The Wilderness Society as Assistant Regional Director in Anchorage and Alaska Program Director in Washington DC and chaired the Alaska Coalition working nationwide to protect the Arctic Refuge. In 1996 she opened Arctic Connections, a small business focused on Arctic oil impact research and wilderness guiding for non-profit organizations and media. She grew up in Cleveland, Ohio where she played the flute, rode bicyles, and learned to dance. Pam joined NAEC in January, 2006.
Meg Schlesinger (Mining Coordinator) received her B.S. from Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts with a degree in Environmental Geography and dual concentrations in Natural Resource Management and Geomorphology. She worked as a research assistant for several years on projects for both the Jet Propulsion Lab and NASA dealing with topics from deforestation in Mexico to coastal erosion. Her professional experiences range from working as a Natural Resource Officer in her hometown of Plymouth, Massachusetts to working as the Wildlife Director at the Waquoit Bay National Estuary Research Reserve on Cape Cod. She joined the Center in 2005.
Laenne Thompson (Youth Education Director) has worked for several years in the field of youth development at the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation in Ypsilanti MI. She was first a staff member in 1991 and later directed the model summer youth camp (1998 - 1999, 2004 - 2006), the High/Scope Institute for IDEAS. Concurrently, Laenne developed, designed & delivered numerous training modules to hundreds of youth and adult participants from school and community-based after-school programs. She recently completed work on the three-year validation study of the Youth Program Quality Assessment, a tool used to promote youth development best pratices in youth serving organizations. Laenne completed two years of undergraduate course work at Wesleyan University 1989-91 in Middletown CT and one year at Sarah Lawrence College in Florence, Italy in 1991-92. She received a B.S. from the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan in 2001. Laenne's interests include organic farming, cooking, photography, electronic music, foreign films, modern art, camping, hiking and dogs. Laenne joined the Northern Center in March 2006.
Northern Alaska Environmental Center Board
Dan Adams has a B.A. in Health Communications from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He is an RN and a Certified Healthcare Quality Manager working for Tanana Chiefs Conference since 1994. He was a member of the Alaska Native Health Board Epidemiology Center Advisory Board member for 6 years. A resident of Alaska since 1969, Dan joined the Board of Directors in 2002.
Sarah Campbell has an M.S. in Biology and retired in 1999 from a 22-year career with the Alaska Department of Transportation working as office engineer, assistant project engineer, and inspector. Interests include travel, reading, gardening, and outdoor activities of all kinds. Board member since 2001.
Marjorie Cole has an M.A. in English from UAF and an M.L.S. from the University of Washington. After 15 years as a teacher and librarian (including 6 months as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 7 Librarian) she now writes full time. Her stories, poems, essays and reviews have appeared in numerous journals and her novel "Correcting the Landscape" received the 2004 Bellwether Prize.
Kerynn Fisher has a B.A. in Environmental Sciences and Economics. Kerynn is the Communications Coordinator for the University of Alaska Museum. She is the former Membership and Communications Director for the Northern Center (1994 to 1998). Since leaving the Center’s employ, she has been an active volunteer on fundraising events. She has been a Northern Center Board Member since mid-2001.
Nicole J. Fliss, M.D. graduated from University of Michigan Medical School in 1995 and went on to complete her Family Practice Residency in Marquette, Michigan, July 1998. She then entered Air Force active duty to repay a scholarship for med school. This brought her to Alaska. Now out of the service, she focuses her career on reproductive health care and substance abuse treatment. Her free time is spent in the garden, on the dog trail or the river. Her first visit to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was via a self-guided rafting trip down the Kongakut River in June 2002 where she witnessed the Porcupine Caribou herd migration off the Coastal Plain. She is a new NAEC Board Member as of June 2005.
John Hagey, (Treasurer) JD, was an Assistant Public Defender from 1975-1997, and formerly on the board of the Woodriver PTA. Presently he is an active househusband and treasurer for the Fairbanks Paddlers (a non-motorized boating club). John enjoys river trips, whitewater paddling, snowboarding, and jogging. John joined the Board in 2001.
Bill Holman has a B.S. in Forest Management. He retired in 1986 after 29 years with the U.S. Forest Service, working in Idaho, Montana, Washington D.C., and Alaska. After retirement, Bill spent three years as the Alaska representative for the National Parks and Conservation Association. He has also served as a board member of the Alaska Natural History Association, KRBD Public Radio-Ketchikan, Trustees for Alaska, Prince of Wales Hatchery Association, Alaska Trollers Association, and the Association of Partners for Public Lands. Bill owned and operated a fishing and charter business, led Elderhostel and Interhostel programs, and served as a partner in Maiden Alaska Study Tours. He enjoys hiking, canoeing, cross country skiing, scuba diving, and public service. Bill joined the Northern Center Board in 2001.
Stan Justice (Secretary) has an M.S. in environmental engineering. He retired in 1998 after 18 years of working on potable water issues with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Stan spent two years building gravity water systems in Nepal with the Peace Corps. Stan enjoys skiing, climbing, boating, dancing, and trail building. He has been on the Northern Center Board since 1999, with a special interest in preserving wilderness and non-motorized recreational opportunities in northern Alaska.
Fran Mauer received an M.S. in Zoology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He has worked as a wildlife Biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Fairbanks since 1981 with the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Prior to that, Fran worked as a wildlife biologist for USFWS in support of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act passed in 1980 by then President Jimmy Carter. Fran's field assignments on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge include surveys and studies of the Porcupine Caribou Herd, moose, Dall sheep and Peregrine falcons. Fran joined the Board of Directors in 2002.
Jeff Merkel has been a Northern Center Board member since 2002. Directed a 3-day Community Collaboration of 100 stakeholders in 1998-9 (sponsored by ACE) on development in South Side Denali, using Future Search. Freelanced for ACF, as well as the Alaska Rainforest Coalition accepting the position in Fairbanks in September 2000. Past ministry positions include three years in New York City, twelve in West Philadelphia/University of Pennsylvania, two years as Village Pastor at Holden Village (Retreat Center) located on the site of an old Copper Mine near Lake Chelan, WA.
Franz Mueter (President) has a M.Sc. in Biological Oceanography and Ph.D. in Fisheries Oceanography from the University of Alaska. Franz was born and raised in Germany. He currently works on marine fisheries issues in the North Pacific with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. Franz is an avid mountaineer and enjoys exploring Alaska's wild places by foot, by boat, and on skis. Joined NAEC Board in 1998, left Board in 2000 and rejoined in 2002.
Ritchie Musick received her B.A. in Zoology at UCLA and went on to earn a Master's degree at UCLA in Educational Curriculum. Ritchie has taught in both California and Alaska for a total of 28 1/2 years before retiring a year ago and taking a position on our Northern Center Board. In 1996 she accompanied her daughter who organized a youth study expedition to the Arctic Wildlife Refuge which became the subject of a documentary film titled "Arctic Quest".
Michael O'Brien (Vice President) has a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Montana, a M.A. in the Liberal Arts from St. John's College, and a masters degree in environmental law and law degree from Vermont Law School. He moved to Alaska in 1997 and was trail coordinator for Kenai Fjords National Park in Seward, Alaska. He is now a Fairbanks Public Defender and enjoys the outdoors on ski, foot and boat.
Julie Raymond-Yakoubian has graduate degrees in Anthropology and Northern Studies from UAF and received a B.S. in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico. She currently works as an archaeologist for Colorado State University on Army lands in Alaska and is involved in cultural resources planning and management and Tribal consultation issues. Julie is passionate about wilderness preservation issues, creating an inclusive environmental community, corporate and agency responsibility, and sustainable living practices, among other issues.
Mary Shields is a musher, author, and local business owner. She was the first woman to finish the 1,049 mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race. In international racing, she and her team ran in the Yukon Quest and the Hope Race from Alaska to Siberia. She has owned and run "Tails of the Trail," a local tourism business, since 1984. She has also written five books and been the subject of a PBS documentary.
