Emily Maurveluviiluq Brockman

My name is Emily Maurveluviiluq Brockman. I was born in Dillingham and raised there until my father moved the family to Seward. Both places are home. My mother's parents hale from Togiak and Aleknagik. Moving to the road system and and balancing high expectations inspired my love and pursuit of teaching. I’m a 9-12th grade certified English teacher. I've worked at the Alaska Humanities Forum on a variety of post-secondary readiness and cross-cultural programs for Alaska Native youth and educators, and now manage the Bristol Bay Teaching and Learning Collaborative (BBTLC) at the Bristol Bay Foundation. As a former Foundation scholarship recipient, I feel like coming to BBF brought me full circle (the Deputy Executive Director threatened to pull my old essays). I love binge reading with a stiff latte and being on the ocean. My partner and I live in Anchorage with our two pets.

Shaelene Grace Moler

Shaelene Grace Moler (she/her) grew up in Ḵéex̱’ Ḵwaan, the community of Kake. Her Tlingit name is Sgweín and she is of the Tsaagweidí, the split-finned killer whale clan, from the yak’s lits’eix̱i hít, the house that once anchored the village. She now lives in Haines working for Spruce Root as the Sustainable Southeast Partnership Communications Catalyst. Shaelene graduated from the University of Alaska Southeast with dual bachelor of arts degrees in English and environmental studies emphasizing in creative writing. She grew up hunting, fishing, and harvesting on her ancestral lands and is a lifelong storyteller through her experiences in writing, editing and photography throughout various publications statewide. Prior to becoming the Communications Catalyst, she worked for Spruce Root as a First Alaskans Magazine Writing Fellow, Sustainable Southeast Partnership storytelling and engagement intern, and as an editor on the regional literary and arts journal Tidal Echoes.

Robin McKnight

Robin was born and raised in the forests and fjords of coastal Alaska. She received her Environmental Studies and Geography undergraduate degree at Florida State University. Robin spent two years in the Westfjords of Iceland, attending grad school for Coastal and Marine Management before returning to Alaska. She currently works in education and outreach. She is a lover of romance novels, Diet Coke, and road trips.

April Tan'gerpak Hostetter

My name is April Tan’gerpak Hostetter. I am from Igiugig and Kokhanok, two small villages in Southwestern Alaska. I am Yup’ik. I am a US Navy veteran, serving six years as a language analyst. After living outside Alaska for several years, I was inspired by my sisters to return home. I choose to live in Igiugig, my home-village nestled at the mouth of the Kvichak river where it meets Lake Iliamna. I work within the community on initiatives such as climate change planning, coordinating language activities in Igiugig and Bristol Bay, and managing social media to ensure our presence reflects our values and mission. I have a deep love for my people and a passion to tell our stories, from our perspectives. My favorite food is blackberry akutaq, an Alaska Native ice cream dish made with local berries. I am passionate about Indigenous Data Sovereignty, Tribal Sovereignty, and Land Back. I consider myself a budding writer and “tundraroots” activist and am excited to begin a new journey exploring both paths!

Ilegvak

Ilegvak is Peter Williams Yup’ik and preferred name. He is a culture bearer, artist, designer, filmmaker, writer, activist and educator originally from his family’s village of Akiak, Alaska. His hand-sewn visual art repurposes skin from self-harvested traditional foods, bridging worlds of Indigenous art and subsistence. He has completed artist residencies at Santa Fe Art Institute and the Institute of American Indian Arts. Ilegvak has guest lectured and/or taught skin sewing at Yale University, Stanford University, UCLA, Portland Art Museum, and Alaska State Museum. His art has been shown at museums and galleries across North America. His presentations at New York Fashion Week and Fashion Week Brooklyn in 2015 and 2016 led to profiles in The Guardian and The New York Times. He produced the documentary Harvest: Quyurciq, and an accompanying curriculum for the film. Ilegvak became a Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellow (2020) and received an NDN Collective Radical Imagination Grant (2021), a Forge Project Fellowship, and a United States Artists Fellowship (2022). Inuit Art Foundation Fellowship for Alaska Native art writers (2023). He has contributed to First Alaskans Magazine and Inuit Art Quratly, covering various topics, including art, politics, Native rights, environmental justice, climate change and Indigenous knowledge.

Desiree Hagen

Desiree Hagen is a reporter and artist based in Qikiqtaġruk (Kotzebue). She is the News Director for KOTZ radio station and to her knowledge is the only reporter currently living and working above the Arctic Circle. In her spare time, she enjoys riding her fat bike, subsistence activities, and gardening.