Board Members

 Pete Pritchard-President

Pete has a background in the U.S. Coast Guard, and while enlisted received his BS in Liberal Studies by Regents College (now Excelsior).  He grew up in coastal Maine, and has a love of deep water sailing.  A PADI Divemaster and NOAA Trained Working Diver, he now works as the response supervisor at Chadux Corporation, a Not-For-Profit Co-op that responds to emergency oil spills throughout Alaska and beyond.  Perhaps his best known attribute is having been awarded the General Certificate of Brewing by the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. He is also a weekend disc jockey on KRUA, 88.1 FM--a place for good jazz.

 Bob Shipley - Vice President

Bob Shipley has lived in Anchorage for 34 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 and has stayed for nine years as a board member and issues committee chair.

  Christine Geis - Treasurer 

Christine has a B.A. in Business Administration and has worked for the Yosemite Association and National Park Service in Yosemite.  Much of her time was spent in planning.  She also was the past treasurer of the Pacific Chapter of the River Management Society.  Currently she is the volunteer coordinator for the Municipality of Anchorage's Parks and Recreation Department.  Her other interests include invasive weed management.

 Craig Valentine- Board Member

Craig has a B.S. in Civil Engineering and Geology.  Much of his professional career has been with the Alaskan Air Command, where he visited Air Force stations all over the state.  His focus was on trouble shooting building and systems maintenance failures--many of which impacted the environment.  After a stint in Okinawa, he joined the AWC as a Stream Watcher and later became a stream monitor.  He has been on the board since 2007, and has served in the capacity of treasurer. 

 Dave Trudgen-  Board Member

Dave has over 33 years of experience working as a biologist in the State of Alaska. His work, primarily in fisheries science, has been in both in the public and private sectors. Dave is currently Vice President and Principal Scientist for OASIS Environmental, Inc. an Alaska based environmental consulting firm. Dave joined the board of the AWC to use his fisheries and science background to help AWC conduct scientifically credible programs that aim to inform and educate the public about the importance of maintaining healthy river systems within the anchorage bowl. “Healthy creeks lead to clean water, which leads to good fish habitat, which leads to good fishing now and for future generations, all within the largest city in the state.”

 Scott McKim-Board Member

Scott has lived in Alaska since 2005 when he moved to town to work as a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.  Scott holds a BS in Meteorology, a MS in Watershed Science and recently earned a Teaching degree from the University of Alaska.  He is currently a middle school science teacher in Anchorage where he enjoys teaching environmental stewardship, getting students engaged in local environmental issues as well as teaching a Freshwater Science class that has formally adopted Chester Creek as a classroom outside the classroom. 

 Birgit Hagedorn-Board Member

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 15 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 to help protected the unique nature of Anchorage's creeks.

 Isaac Watkins-Board Member

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., and has worked 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.

 Sammie Freeman Shephard - Youth Board Member

Sammie is a freshman at West High School and likes to cross country ski, hike, bike, and kayak Alaska's great lands.  She hopes to help the community of Anchorage by being on the AWC board.  Her future plans include going to medical school in addition to helping preserve Anchorage's waterways.  Sammie moved up to Alaska in 2009 with her family, and has been enjoying life here ever since.  She is a member of a bluegrass band called Sarahndipity, and she has been playing fiddle and singing for 10 years.  Sammie volunteers for the Homebase program, which teaches kids how to play violin, and she also tutors the same kids once a week with their homework.  She is looking forward to the adventures that 2011 will bring.

Sarah Warnock - Board Member

As a biologist for more than 10 years, Sarah followed migratory birds from breeding grounds in the Alaskan tundra to stopover and wintering sites in California, Mexico, and Australia.  In 1998 she switched course, becoming a science educator working with a variety of school and non-profit organizations to introduce kids to the world of nature through authentic science experiences.  Sarah is currently the Chugach Children's Forest program manager at Alaska Geographic.