Board of Directors
Alaska Wilderness League Board of Directors
Former President Jimmy Carter is one of the true heroes of Alaska’s environment. In 1980, he signed the historic Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in which protected millions of acres in Alaska as wilderness and expanded the boundaries of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It is a testament to his continued commitment to protecting the Arctic Refuge that President Carter has agreed to serve as the Honorary Chairman of the Alaska Wilderness League Board.
Tom Campion, the Chairman of our Board, lives in Seattle, Washington, where he is the owner of the retail chain, Zumiez, which sells surf and skateboard clothing and accessories. Tom has been involved with many environmental organizations including the Northwest Ecosystem Alliance and the Mountaineers. Tom is also an avid outdoorsman and has visited the Arctic Refuge several times.
Diane MacEachern, Alaska Wilderness League’s vice-chair, is a successful entrepreneur, best-selling author and environmental activist. For almost thirty years she has helped develop and implement advocacy communications campaigns to protect endangered species, public lands, clean air and water, national forests, and wilderness. In that capacity, she has worked with coalitions across the country to help safeguard the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Utah’s Redrock Wilderness, and many other of our nation’s natural treasures.
Mike Matz, our Treasurer, was an original cofounder of the Alaska Wilderness League and has had a very impressive career in the environmental community. Mike has served as Chairman of the Alaska Coalition, the Washington director of the Sierra Club’s public lands program and the Executive Director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. He is currently the Executive Director of the Campaign for America’s Wilderness, which works to pass legislation to protect wilderness areas across the nation.
Doug Ray, our Secretary, works as an ecological and natural resource consultant and describes his job as trying to balance the needs of people with the needs of nature. He helps minimize the impact of land development on wetlands and oversees the design and construction of new wetlands when it is necessary. His work is directly linked to his experiences in the Alaska wilderness because it has to be done with an immense amount of humility in order to succeed. His passion for Alaska has shaped his life and who he is today.
Tim Bristol is the Alaska Program Director of Trout Unlimited, and is based at TU’s main Alaska office in Juneau. Prior to joining TU in June 2005, Bristol served as the Executive Director of the Alaska Coalition, worked as a grassroots organizer for the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council and as the Alaska Representative for the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition. When not working he can be found fishing the rivers and streams of the surrounding Tongass National Forest, playing hockey, or yelling at a television as he follows the failings of his beloved Buffalo Bills.
The Honorable Tom Evans is a private political consultant in Washington, DC. He is a former Member of Congress from Delaware. While serving in the House of Representatives, Tom championed coastal environmental issues and was a leader in the passage of the 1980 Alaska Lands Act.
Ellen Ferguson is the Community Relations Director for the Burke Museum in Seattle, Washington. She visited the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 2004 and is a dedicated philanthropist in the Pacific Northwest.
John Gilroy is the associate director of the Campaign for America’s Wilderness. For the past 13 years he has worked on wilderness and forest protection issues with the Campaign and several other national and regional campaigns that he helped develop. In 1993 John spent the year at the Rockefeller Family Fund; and from 1988 until 1992 he was the executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. He is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center (JD) and New York University (BA). He also serves on the boards of the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation and Public Interest Projects.
Bruce Gitlin is the Chief Executive Officer of Milgo/Bufkin Industries, the world’s largest fabricator of fine art contemporary sculpture. He is an avid outdoorsman and had previously served on the board of the Alaska Wilderness League for six years.
Betsy Loyless is the Senior Vice President for Public Policy at the National Audubon Society. She served as Political Director for the League of Conservation Voters in Washington, DC for over a decade.
Tim Mahoney worked for ten years in the Washington, D.C. office of the Sierra Club, and previously worked for The Wilderness Society. He now is a consultant on Alaska issues for environmental organizations and Native corporations. He also served as Chairman of the Alaska Coalition.
John McComb has been an advocate for the environment since the mid 1960s and the passage of the Wilderness Act. John has worn many hats over the years from Conservation Director of the Sierra Club to Deputy Conservation Director of The Wilderness Society. Over the last 15 years John has worked as an information systems consultant for just about every major environmental group. John brings a wealth of experience and a unique ability to blend technology and environmental movement.
Debbie S. Miller is an author and teacher who has lived in Alaska for more than three decades. She has written many books and essays about Alaska’s wilderness, wildlife and indigenous people. Her first book, “Midnight Wilderness,” describes the wonders of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge based on 14 years of wilderness trips through the area. As an educator and children’s book author, Ms. Miller travels extensively to schools throughout Alaska and the U.S. She is a founding member of the Alaska Wilderness League.
Richard Spener’s first trip to Alaska was in 1987 where he and his wife, Toni Armstrong, sea kayaked in Glacier Bay. Since then they have paddled and hiked in Alaska a total of 12 times, including 5 unguided trips to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. As Refuge advocates and avid photographers they have been politically active supporting candidates that are favorable to Alaska issues. Richard owns a Midwest manufacturers food service equipment representative firm that he started in 1971. He serves on the advisory board of the Hotel and Restaurant Management program at the University of Missouri in Columbia and is active in the local Sierra Club as a trip leader and instructor in canoeing and kayaking.
Mark Wolf-Armstrong has most recently served as Founding President and CEO of Restore America’s Estuaries, a national nonprofit coalition dedicated to restoring coastal habitat and ecosystems. Mark has 30 years experience in private business and public service, including Executive Vice President, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy; Executive Director, The Nature Conservancy of Ohio; and Deputy Director, Ohio Department of Aging. He has explored the far reaches of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by raft and foot, and the fiords of SE Alaska by kayak, as well as many other treasures of the Pacific Northwest, and Western Canada. Mark holds a Masters Degree in Anthropology.
