UAS Alumni & Friends
Board of Directors
MISSION STATEMENT
UASAA is an open membership organization whose purpose is to serve as a vital connection between the alumni and the university. The UASAA communicates and advocates the goals and programs of UAS, and fosters a continuous sense of community by establishing relationships and networking among alumni.
Barbara Burnett, President
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 Presient, 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, Vice President
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, Treasurer
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.
Tanya Howard
Tanya Howard was born in Juneau, Alaska and has obtained a BBA in Management and is finishing her BBA in Accounting. Says Tanya, "I am excited to apply for the MBA program at UAS next year. While in school I was the President of the UAS Student Alumni Association and then became a board member of the UASAA. I am very interested in trying to do some UASAA related events over in Sitka. Attending UAS has been a wonderful experience for me and I am really excited to become part of the UASAA Board of Directors once again." Tanya served on the student alumni board from 2005-2006, and on the UASAA Board of Directors from 2006-2008, and was recently elected once again in 2010.
Dr. Kristy Smith
Kristy Smith grew up in Southeast New Mexico and has lived in many different states including Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, Texas, and Washington. She is interested in field of leadership within the virtual team environment. Kristy completed both her DM and MBA in online programs and has worked in a virtual environment as a consultant. Her dissertation focused on preparing students to take on the leadership role within a virtual team, studying the student's perception of preparation. Kristy has worked in a variety of fields including law, health, environment, and higher education administration. Kristy formerly worked for UAS as Interim Associate Dean of Career Education, and recently relocated to Utah, where she is currently the Academic Dean at Eagle Gate College. Her belief is that both student and teacher benefit from each other in the pursuit of continual learning. Kristy is on the board because she wants to to give back to UAS as UAS has given to her. As a former student and current employee, UAS has been a part of Kristy's life since her first course in January of 1997.
Roberta Stell
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
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.
Rick Wolk
Rick is an educator (Assistant Professor Marketing & Entrepreneurship) and an entrepreneur with experience in all aspects of running organizations that strive for management and marketing excellence. He earned his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and he is currently a PhD student at Leeds Metropolitan University in the U.K. In Alaska, Rick is a member of the Southeast Conference's Economic Development Committee, a member of the advisory board for Alaska’s T.E.A.M. (The Entrepreneurs and Mentors Network), a member of the Alaska InvestNet advisory board (and former Executive Director.) Rick’s Green Gazelle research (www.GreenGazelle.org) allows him to work with Alaska’s entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial ecosystem to influence high growth sustainability entrepreneurship in rural Alaska, helping entrepreneurs to be more financially successful, to create more jobs, and to be more ecologically positive. Rick is the advisor and Sam Walton Fellow for UAS’ Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE). When he is not working, you will most likely find Rick in a kayak, on cross-country skis, or just hanging out with his wife and business partner Bobbie Sue Wolk.