Alumni

Barbara moved to Juneau in 1981, after earning her Master of Education degree in School Psychology from Central Washington University.  She worked as an itinerant School Psychologist for several years, and then began working for UAS in 1985.  Barbara started as the Admissions Counselor and Recruiter, and then moved to the Financial Aid Director in 1987.  Because she  loves learning and taking classes, she entered the UAS MPA program in 2004 and graduated in 2008.  Says Barbara, “I absolutely loved this program – I even devoted enough energy to it that I received the Student of the Year award!”  Barbara retired from UAS in July 2011 after 26 years at UAS. As Alumni Board President, she continues her enthusiastic support of UAS and promotes UAS as an institution where opportunities abound, the faculty is great, and learning takes place both in and out of the classroom.

Mary Lou Madden is a 35+ year resident of Juneau.  She obtained her M.Ed. from UAS in 1980 and continued her graduate education at Johns Hopkins University and The American University.  She has been the director of the Ketchikan campus and Dean of Faculty at the Juneau campus of UAS.  She is interested in tapping the liberal arts potential of the Juneau campus and in the workforce development potential of the extended campuses.

Nathan Zierfuss grew up on and around Air Force bases throughout the U. S. and in Spain. He initially came to Alaska in 1985 with his parents but returned in 1994 for college after a year in San Antonio.  He attended University of Alaska Fairbanks and received his Bachelors of Science in Computer Science in 2001 and is currently working on his MBA at University of Alaska Southeast. Professionally Nathan has progressed from an entry level information technologist to a senior strategy position where he strives to create cohesive policies and procedures for unique distributed enterprise groups. Despite the consistency in his career focus, he believes one of the keys to success in Alaska is versatility. In the past, he has delivered papers, been a cook, a truck driver and worked construction off the road system. He was elected to the UAS Alumni Association board in January 2011, and as treasurer in 2012.

Karen Polley has worked in public education in Alaska since moving to Alaska in the late 1960’s. She has worked for the Juneau-Douglas School District, the Alaska Department of Education, Southeast Regional Resource Center, and the University of Alaska Southeast. She retired in 2005 after serving as the Campus Director in Ketchikan for five years. She graduated from Eastern Washington State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Home Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in Home Economics Education. She received a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education from the University of Alaska, Juneau in 1978. She has been a teacher, education administrator, political consultant, grant writer, small business entrepreneur, licensed boat captain and tour operator. She currently operates her own jewelry manufacturing business Stone Soup Alaska Designs. She has been active in professional and civic organizations including the Alaska Home Economics Association, The Alaska Vocational Association, Rotary 2000, and is a lifetime member in the University of Alaska Southeast Alumni Association.  Karen resides in Juneau, Alaska, and has received awards from her professional associations for leadership and service. She spends the summers at her cabin near Pelican, Alaska.

In her own words: “As a retired educator and one who has a vested interest in the well-being of the University of Alaska Southeast, I feel I can contribute in many ways to the programming and activities of the Alumni Association.   I remain knowledgeable and active in educational issues in Alaska and want to see the Alumni Association continue its strengths in numbers of members and in impact on current and future students at UAS.   UAS serves students from the around the state and the alumni goals and activities should promote ways alumni from around the state can be involved and benefit from the activities the UAS Alumni & Friends Association.”.  

John Svensson was raised in Southern California and worked his way slowly North. He was recently interviewed as one of the last living Polar explorers by Ohio State as he worked in both the Antarctic and Arctic. John has traveled to a large percentage of coastal Alaska Villages doing Oceanographic research and commercial Fishing. John has earned  two BAs from the University of Washington and a MPA from the University of Alaska.  He taught Environmental Economics and other business classes at Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, Alaska. John was the graduate student representative to the academic council when he attended the University of Alaska, has served as an elected member (2006,2007,2008) on the Tillamook/Clatsop County Farm Service Administration (USDA) and as chairman for a year.  John was also on the board of Directors of the United Marine Fund, a private insurance company, serving two terms which expired in 2006.  He was elected to the UAS Alumni Association board in January 2011.

In his own words: "My family moved to Juneau in 1965 when I was in grade school and except for education (go Oregon Ducks) and occasional vacations haven’t left. I grew up in Auke Bay so I have been wandering through the Auke Lake campus since it was built and eventually received a BBA in accounting from UAS in 1992. I have worked for the State of Alaska for over thirty years and am currently the retiree payroll supervisor for the Division of Retirement and Benefits. At some point I hope to have learned enough about retirement to actually do it. As a long time government employee I am interested in how we can educate our young adults and then provided them with challenging rewarding careers. Currently one of my own young adults is attending UAS.”

In her own words: “I moved to Juneau in 1991 as a transfer student to UAS.   I completed my Bachelor of Business Management degree in 1994 and earned a Master of Science degree in Sports, Recreation and Tourism through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2010.  I have been employed full-time with UAS I.T. Services since 1994 and currently serve as their Information Systems Manager.  I am a lifetime member of the UAS Alumni Association and am involved with the Juneau Gun Club.  In my spare time, I teach tennis part-time for the Alaska Club.”