AWC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Adam has been an Anchorage resident since 2005. His education and experience is in geospatial sciences and he has worked all over Alaska on various aerial, terrestrial, and waterborne mapping assignments. He developed a strong appreciation for the responsible stewardship of water resources after a college internship that focused on improving watersheds on the Kenai Peninsula. In his spare time he enjoys reading, hiking, skiing, and taking his family on dog walks throughout Anchorage's many scenic greenspaces.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Treasurer of the Board
Alex grew up in Soldotna, Alaska, moved to Anchorage for college and never left. Growing up near the Kenai River and learning about the importance of the local watershed at a young age helped kindle her passion for water resources. She is a registered civil engineer that specializes in stream hydrology and hydraulics, stormwater, and fish passage design. She joined Anchorage Waterways Council to become more involved in the Anchorage community and to assist with enhancing the health of our local creeks. Alex enjoys being outdoors, running, hiking, fishing, and various activities with her two corgis.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Alyse is a lifelong Alaskan who grew up along the Campbell Creek Greenbelt. She holds a BA in Environment and Society and a certificate of Civic Engagement from UAA. As an environmental scientist she has a passion for an interconnected approach to resource development and conservation; and specializes in wetlands, water quality, invasive species control, and public involvement. Recently she began fostering baby birds for Bird TLC. Packrafting is her favorite summer activity, and she is always up for an impromptu clean-up run of Campbell Creek.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Annie has been an Alaskan resident since 2017. In her professional life, she is an environmental scientist with Midnight Sun Environmental in Anchorage. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Natural
Resource Management from Colorado State University. Annie is a "leave no trace" advocate, stormwater expert, and outdoors enthusiast. When she is not working or volunteering, she can be found back
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Birgit is a geochemist who came to Alaska in August 2006 to manage an environmental research and teaching laboratory at the University of Alaska Anchorage and to do research in the Arctic. She has 20 years of research experience in the Arctic where she investigates water and soil geochemistry and how they are affected by climate change. Recently she became more involved with man-made contaminants in the Arctic environment and joined the AWC board to help protected the unique nature of Anchorage's creeks. She now runs her own consulting firm and trains people in environmental sampling.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Vice President of the Board
Bob has lived in Anchorage for 46 years. He has a degree in biology from Colorado State University. Bob worked for agencies in both Colorado and Alaska in applied environmental sciences until he retired in 1993. His lifetime interest in ecosystem biology led to his joining the AWC Board in 1998 where he became the issues committee chair.
Cherie has a master's and a doctorate in Geography from the University of California Berkeley, where she taught for 19 years. She is also a cartographer--working in GIS, remote sensing, and GPS-acquired data. Her areas of interest are habitat protection and improvement of the natural environment (flora and fauna), student outreach (K-12), and generating public participation in environmental issues. She has been the Executive Director of AWC since 2010.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Secretary of the Board
Donovan was born and raised in Fairbanks where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering from UAF. After moving to Anchorage, he started working as a transportation engineer and has taken personal and professional interest in hydrology and active transportation design. He values working toward ecological conservation and sharing his passion for pollution, waste, and litter mitigation. Donovan enjoys camping, hiking, and canoeing, but you're most likely to find him somewhere out on his bike: commuting, racing, and exploring Alaska. He is also a volunteer water monitor for AWC.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- President of the Board
Isaac came to Alaska in 2000 after working for a volunteer monitoring organization in Illinois for 2 years. He also came to attend Alaska Pacific University (APU) to work on his Master's degree, and has been here since. After graduating from APU, he went to work for HDR Alaska, Inc., where he worked numerous years on projects throughout the state. He is an Aquatic Ecologist specializing in benthic macroinvertebrates. He lives near the Campbell Creek Science Center with his family and enjoys hiking, camping, running, and playing soccer.
Job Titles:
- Research Biologist and Education Director
Thom has M.S. degrees in Wildlife Ecology and Oceanography and a doctorate in Resource Geography from the University of California Berkeley. During his 40+ years in Alaska, he has worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Part of his experience involves management of lands and waters of several Interior watersheds. Currently he oversees the "Creeks as Classrooms" program and the Citizens' Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP), and he works on issues involving monofilament fishing line as well as the effects of feeding waterfowl which encourages overwintering, crowding, and excessive fecal coliform loads in waterways.
Job Titles:
- Administrator
- Outreach Coordinator