Arctic Entries

Nick has lived in Alaska for 11 years, has had Type 1 Diabetes for 30 years, and has loved Madonna for longer than both those. He sells Subarus because he loves them, is an avid Seattle Sounders fan, and hopes to meet David Beckham one day. Typically, Nick and his dog and are the extroverts, while his partner, best friend, and boss (separate people) are all introverts.

Marcia is the Alaskan cliché who came for a year and has stayed 41. Currently, she is the founder and co-director of the Listening Post of Anchorage, where stories of the community are heard and respected at the Transit Center, Brother Francis Shelter and Bean’s Cafe, and soon the Mt. View and Loussac Libraries. To learn more, visit: listeningpostanchorage.com

Born and raised in Anchorage, Trevor is a graduate of Northwest University where he studied business and biblical literature. From 2008-2013, he was the local director of a Christian non-profit called Young Life. He is a former: skydiver, scuba diver, mountain runner college athlete, thrill seeker, and self-proclaimed man’s man. But he’s currently a: Jesus follower, reader, sports spectator, professional therapy participant, and a very happily married man. He’s a future: billionaire, philanthropist, Olympic curling gold medalist, and organ donor.

Lisa works as a writer and editor, with bylines in a variety of local and national publications. If you think she looks familiar but can’t quite place where you’ve seen her, you’ve probably bumped into her out on the hiking trails or seen her Irish dancing. She does other types of dancing, too; in fact, it was a night of dancing that started her down the road to a real-life soap opera.

Jeff moved to Alaska in 2004 from New Mexico when he was 19 looking for an adventure. He worked a variety of odd jobs, including driving a cab and working as a doorman at the Captain Cook Hotel while in school. He graduated from UAA in 2009 and soon after found work doing sales in the IT industry. He speaks Russian and has traveled all over the world.He currently works at GCI as a commercial account manager.

Born in Seattle, Roman went to high school in Virginia and moved to Alaska when he was sixteen. He has been a husband since 1985, a father since 1987, and a professor at Alaska Pacific University since 1992.

Jamie has been living and flying in Alaska since 1995. She owns SkyTrek Alaska Flight Training at Merrill Field, and teaches intrepid students how to fly. When not living and breathing aviation—and scrubbing the grease out from underneath her fingernails—she likes to spend time with her very tolerant husband and two teenage daughters. She’s famous for trying out her tofu recipes on her family and friends, and finding the leftovers in house plants. She’s honored to be chosen to tell another story.

After 16 years in Anchorage, Christy Everett Jordan and her family prepare to move to the edge of the wilderness, up above Lowell Point, in Seward, with plans to build an off the grid home. She’s leaving her job as an elementary school counselor to help transition the kids, work on her first book, build community, and clear land. Christy will continue to write about her experiences at: www.followingelias.com.

Becky has been, among other things, a lawyer, a teacher, a campaign organizer, a travel writer, and an Arctic Entries Storyboard Member. You might remember her as the cheeseburger from October 2011’s “Spooked” show. In her spare time, when not running, biking, skiing, or playing outside, Becky continues to collaborate with her husband Bill to keep the red-haired population of Alaska strong and growing.

Born in MN, and raised without boundaries. Daddy was a beatnik, Mommy was a belly dancer. In high school in the Valley, Orion dreamt of living in the big city. Now he’s living the dream in Fairview, or as he and his wife call it: Paradise.

Kevin performs: upright bass duties as a Super Saturated Sugar String; host and producer duties for the Parlor In the Round (Season Finale, May 20th); Director of Entertainment duties for the Alaska Design Forum Dine By Design Event (May 13th); consultant duties for organizational culture and performance; lunch packing, taxi service and life lesson instruction duties for his 10-year-old boss; and soon-to-be-husbandly duties for his ever-youthful fiancée. Tickets are still available for some of these performances.

Brett Rawalt is essentially a big kid. He is the same height that he was in eighth grade, and PB&J’s are still a main food staple in his life. Even his job at UAA is only a nine-month contract, meaning that he gets summers off to go play. For fun, he likes riding bikes and stressing out his parents.

Issa has six siblings and believes that her love for storytelling is rooted in family dinners, where each person yelled louder and with more charisma to capture the attention of their parents. In recent years, she has been honored to continue to see the strength of stories in her daily work with refugees and working with LGBTQ teens. She is beyond belief honored to be back at Arctic Entries sharing her passion for storytelling with you all.

Don is a screenwriter and novelist. He wrote the Washington Post Notable novel The Raven’s Gift. A new work on nonfiction, Never Quit, will be out next winter with St. Martin’s. He lives in Anchorage and is a professor at UAA. Sign up for his Spam-letter at www.donrearden.com.

Jason is a lawyer, a college professor, and a cautiously optimistic New York Mets fan. He likes to tell stories.

Paul graduated from high school in Nome, Alaska, and has been with the University of Alaska Anchorage for 17 years. He has a daughter who is an award winning poet, three grand kids, and a wonderful nephew and great nieces. Paul has lived in Nome, Kotzebue, Fairbanks, Barrow, Sitka and Anchorage. He is a former photographer of Alaska fashion for public radio.

Linda is a retired art teacher/artist from NY. She has been a docent at the Anchorage museum for 13 years. She works in a variety of mediums and is best known for her playful paper maché dogs.

Like Bob Dylan, Merlin grew up in northern Minnesota and mumbles. His daughter describes him as a cross between Indiana Jones and Red Green.

As Erica likes to say: if at first you don’t succeed, try a new career. This year alone, she has worked in commercial fishing, hospitality, seamstressing, and as of a couple days ago, she was stuck off the Oregon coast in an enormous storm as she tried to track down nesting sites of Marbled Murrelets. It is always nice to be back on land where the dancing is easier and the next vocation awaits.

Steve Durr - I Guess I Neglected to Tell Ya by Arctic Entries