Staff

Toby Smith, Executive Director

Originally from Maryland, Toby Smith graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science in zoology and several years of pre-veterinary experience behind him. He traveled extensively across North America, Europe, Asia, Central and South America before settling in the Denali National Park region of Alaska. He spent ten years in Interior Alaska, with much of that time spent as a Program Director and later Operations Director with the Denali Education Center, an educational non-profit that connects locals and visitors of all ages to wilderness via experiential learning programs upon a rustic ten-acre river campus. 

In 2006 Toby moved to Anchorage, Alaska and worked for two years as the Director of Finance and Operations with the Alaska Conservation Foundation, Alaska's only foundation dedicated exclusively to the protection of Alaska's natural resources.  In 2008, Toby joined the Alaska Center for the Environment in the role of Executive Director.  With over 6,000 members across the state, Alaska Center for the Environment is Alaska's largest grassroots non-profit conservation organization and works to protect Alaska's wild places, foster sustainable communities, and promote recreational opportunities.

Toby holds an MBA degree through the University of Maryland and a Certificate in Non-Profit Management from The Foraker Group and University of Alaska Fairbanks.  He holds several leadership positions within the local community, including as Chair of the Denali Education Center, as Treasurer of Green Star Alaska, and as Chair of the Alaska Conservation Alliance's Issue Policy Council.

Butch Allen, Oceans Organizer

 butch@akcenter.org

Butch Allen washed ashore on the ACE doorstep at the beginning of 2005. As ACE’s Ocean Organizer he works to build support for Alaska’s ocean environment through the Oceans Film Festival and well as ongoing marine advocacy work.

Butch grew up in rural south Louisiana and migrated to Alaska 6 years ago to start up a service company. His love of organizing and the outdoors led him and some friends to create the HAMMER, an Alaskan adventure race. After organizing 8 such events, he was ready to organize large events for ACE. Teaching, coaching, and glacier guiding have all helped round out his "road-less-traveled" approach to employment.

Time away from ACE finds him enjoying the Alaska backcountry by foot or by pack raft. He enjoys introducing Alaska's nooks and crannies to fellow friends and his trips usually lead to preposterous misadventures.  Currently, Butch is working from New Zealand where he is finding many new adventures.  You can contact him at the e-mail address above.

Thomas Burek, Trailside Discovery Director

(907) 274-3669 / trailside@akcenter.org

Thomas Burek has been working with ACE since the summer of 1996 as the Trailside Discovery Camp Director. He is responsible for overall management, strategic planning, administration, program development, marketing, and edutainment. During his tenure at TDC, he has worked to expand the program from 250 campers annually to over 2400.

Prior to serving as TDC director, Thomas worked for the Detroit YMCA as the environmental education, summer camp & Tri Gra-Y director. He graduated with a Bachelors degree in Park & Recreation Management from Eastern Michigan University, in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Thomas is  is the Alaska state representative for the American Camp Association. He is an avid sprint musher and you can find him playing in his 8-dog kennel or mushing out on the Willow Creek trail system in Willow.

Jessica Cler, Membership Director

(907) 274-3647 / jessica@akcenter.org

Jessica began working with ACE during its 2006 field canvass and is now the Membership Director.  As the Membership Director, Jessica oversees the membership fundraising, outreach, volunteer and special events programs.

She is originally from Wasilla, AK, but enjoyed stays in Idaho and Nova Scotia while in college.  She graduated with a BA in Political Science and minors in Environmental Studies and French from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2006.

In her spare time Jessica enjoys hiking, yoga, traveling, reading, and anything that takes her outside.

Valerie Connor, Conservation Director

(907) 274-3632 / valerie@akcenter.org

Valerie moved to Alaska in 1982 after receiving a B.S. in Environmental Planning and Management from UC Davis, California. After a brief stint as a “Spit Rat” in Homer she moved across Kachemak Bay to a remote location accessible only by water.  There she learned the trade of wooden boat building, ran a water taxi, and refined the art of lifting and carrying heavy objects.

Returning to Homer in 1999, Valerie spent the next several years building a house and becoming a community organizer and activist.  This work eventually led her to the Alaska Center for the Environment, where she is happily devoting herself to being an advocate for the environment.

As the Conservation Director, she is responsible for educating and organizing ACE members and the general public in support of protecting the wild resources of the Chugach National Forest and other beloved lands in and around Southcentral Alaska.  She has also incorporated her love of wildlife into her work and advocates for a more balanced, ecosystem approach to wildlife management.

Valerie has traveled extensively, loves to hike and view wildlife, is an avid reader, and a supporter of the arts.  She currently resides in Anchorage with her husband, dog, two cats, and several chickens.

Carly Wier, Communications and Outreach Coordinator

(907)-274-3640 / carly@akcenter.org

Proud to call Alaska home, Carly joined ACE to meld her passions for nonprofit work and protecting the wild places she loves.  From mossy forests to rocky coastlines to desolate mountain peaks, Carly has always felt that our treasured places deserve a voice - and through her work, she strives to provide them with one.

Carly graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a BA in Geography and Environmental Studies, worked as a recycling technician (and learned to drive a forklift), enjoyed time as the Executive Director of the High Country Conservation Center in Frisco, Colorado, and has spent countless hours volunteering for organizations and causes she believes in.

When not working to give voice to the places she loves, she enjoys quiet moments in the wilderness, crafting with fiber, and bluegrass music found in small bars, around a campfire, or in big festival grounds.  Carly lives in Anchorage with her husband, two dogs, and a cat with blue eyes.

Doug Tosa, GIS Analyst

(907)-274-3639 / doug@akcenter.org

Fascinated by the vastness of the west on family trips to the National Parks, Doug developed a love for the natural world.  He graduated with a Physical Geography degree and a concentration in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from North Michigan University.  Putting his degree to work, he has more than 5 years of GIS experience ranging from data collection to map production.

Through his experiences in the remote Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Doug quickly developed a love and respect for all places wild.  Exploring and venturing into the outdoors he naturally became interested in maps.  Alaska represented a great opportunity for an outdoor enthusiast, allowing him to pursue a wide range of activities like hiking, biking, sailing, skiing, and camping.  Being able to help save the places that he has become attached to in Alaska is something he considers as a great privilege.

Dwayne Lee, Financial Director

(907) 274-3677 / dwayne@akcenter.org

Dwayne is responsible for reporting the financial functions of ACE. He does all of the day to day accounting, processes payroll, and accounts payable. Dwayne works closely with the Executive Director and the Board of Directors to provide financial information, various reports, budgetary information and other projects as assigned by the ED.

Prior to working for ACE, Dwayne worked full time in a CPA office, has taught accounting and business courses full time at Duluth Business University, and part time at four other universities. In addition, Dwayne completed a 28-year career in managing retail stores for a national chain.

Dwayne moved to Alaska from Wisconsin in 2001, has a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Minnesota and passed the CPA examination in 1990. He is also an adjunct professor of accounting at UAA and teaches two to three accounting courses per semester.

Dwayne, his spouse Gwen, and their daughter Melissa live in Eagle River. Dwayne likes to fish, travel the beautiful areas of Alaska, and can be seen about town on his motorcycle when the snow is off the roads. He can also play a mean guitar.

Kimbrough Mauney, Outreach Education Specialist (SAGA/AmeriCorps Service Position for Trailside Discovery) 

Kimbrough Mauney joins the Trailside Discovery team as a SAGA/AmeriCorps member serving in the role of Outreach Education Specialist.

Having grown up in the warmth of southeastern USA, Kimbrough quickly grew to love the long summers and icy winters of Alaska when she first visited in 2004.  Kimbrough enjoys sharing her knowledge of and passion towards the natural environment with all ages and has worked in various settings including a Montessori school, a French elementary school, an outdoor education school in southern California, an eco-tourism boat in southeast Alaska, and a university office of sustainability. 

She is thrilled to use her experiences, including Master's studies in Environmental Education (Western Washington University) and bachelor's studies in Earth & Ocean Sciences (Duke University), to facilitate and develop great outreach programs and support our summer camp in the role of Team Leader.  You might see her around town coaching Junior Nordic skiing or bike commuting, but look for her on the weekends free heeling in the backcountry.

Alli Harvey, Sustainable Communities Coordinator

Alli sees Anchorage first and foremost as a community made up of people who love Alaska.  From her perspective, the diversity of opinion about why people love their home is what keeps things interesting.  This also creates a powerful common ground.

As coordinator for the Sustainable Communities program at ACE, Alli is constantly finding ways to bring in new advocates on key issues - primarily, local food, transit, and water.  She creates opportunities for Alaskans who may not even like the words "sustainable" or "green" to care about issues that affect all of us and our families, such as Alaskan food security, decreased traffic congestion and clean water.

Having lived in both Anchorage and Manhattan, Alli has a unique perspective on what makes a healthy urban environment.  She earned her degree in Urban Studies with a focus on Sustainability and Planning from the New School University in NYC.  All lives in downtown Anchorage and realizes that life in Anchorage without a car is certainly challenging (and not for everyone!), but feels it makes her a stronger advocate for pursuing alternatives.  She loves Anchorage for our vibrant community, extensive year-round trails system, and enormous backyard playground.

Kaarle Strailey, Energy Coordinator

(907) 274-3667 /  kaarle@akcenter.org

Kaarle joins ACE and Anchorage from Fairbanks where he has worked on a number of interior and arctic Alaska environmental issues, including wetlands protection, regional energy planning, an legislative campaigns with the Northern Alaska Environmental Center and Alaska Conservation Voters over the past five years.  He also conducted boreal forest  climate change research at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, worked in construction, guided wilderness trips on the North Slope, worked as a fisheries field technician for the Department of Fish and Game in western Alaska, and has enjoyed various wanderings in remote parts of the state.

Kaarle has had a lust for mountains, forests, snow, water, and wildlife for as long as he can remember.  He studied Environmental Science and Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkeley.

Christina Weyant, Outreach Education Specialist (SAGA/AmeriCorps Service Position for Trailside Discovery)

(907) 274-3676 / christina@akcenter.org 

Christina Weyant joins the Trailside Discovery team as a SAGA/AmeriCorps member serving in the role of Outreach Education Specialst.

A recent college graduate with a degree in Recreation Management from California State University, Northridge, Christina has worked and played in a variety of settings, from the southern coast of Maine to the arid Joshua Tree desert of Southern California.  She has spent three years as the Assistant Director of Valley Trails Summer Camp in Southern California and has worked as a Challenge Course Facilitator since 2002.  She also enjoyed a brief stint as a zip-line tour guide just before leaving Southern California to come north.

Her position of service with SAGA/AmeriCorps brings her to Alaska for the first time, but she thinks it will be the first of many more visits!  Her favorite area (so far) is the Coastal Trail heading towards Point Woronzoff from Anchorage, but she looks forward to exploring all that Alaska has to offer during her 7 months here.

Penny Bauder, Climate Change Coordinator  

(907) 980-0256 / penny@akcenter.org

As ACE's Climate Change Coordinator, Penny works to draw attention to the pervasive consequences of climate change in Alaska and pursues solutions to the problem by promoting conservation and renewable energy.

Originally from Michigan, Penny came of age in Alaska during a summer internship as a backcountry canoe ranger at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.  After that fated summer, she couldn't stay away from wild places and rambled about the country working as a wilderness ranger at national parks and forests in Idaho, Utah, Alaska, and Oregon before finally settling down in Alaska in 2002 to attend graduate school.

After receiving and M.S. in Environmental Science from Alaska Pacific University, Penny worked as an Invasive Plant Biologist with the National Park Service and then as an Interpretive Planner with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.  Penny comes to ACE after taking some time to hang out with her baby daughter.