Since volunteering in Olympic National Park in 1964, Frank has been involved in land conservation in one form or another. After he received his Master's degree in landscape planning, he moved to Alaska and started working on the coastal management program. He has also done land use planning for the state government, served as Director of the Habitat Division of DNR, and Commissioner for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Frank has lived in Alaska for 34 years, but the wildness and juxtaposition of the mountains and sea in Juneau kept him in the southeast for 28 of those years. Frank has brought his considerable expertise to the SEAL Trust Board as a board member for 7 years and as President of the Board from 2005 to 2011.
Pat Harris is a lifelong resident of the State of Alaska and Yukon Territory. A former kindergarten and junior high natural science teacher, she has more that 20 years of experience in natural resource assessment and restoration of impacted areas. She was co-principal investigator of several damage assessments and restoration projects related to the Exxon Valdez oil spill and was named Juneau Federal Employee of the Year in 1998 largely for that work. Currently she works as a researcher for the National Marine Fisheries Service and is focused on intertidal habitats, a job that allows her to continue to work with students as a mentor or in the field, which she dearly loves. Pat has been involved with Southeast Alaska Land Trust since 1996, and continues to supply energy and commitment to the Trust’s mission.
Jim King has been referred to as a “patient tenacious visionary.” He proposed the protection of the waterfowl habitat and recreational potential of the 3,600-acre Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge in Juneau, the establishment of Point Bridget State Park and Ernest Gruening State Historic Park, and the pursuance of other natural areas. In 1949, Jim moved to Alaska where he married Mary Lou Neville and had three children, Sara, Laura, and James. He is a retired waterfowl biologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and currently employed as a consulting biologist. In 2002, Jim and his family donated a conservation easement on lands that have accreted to their property adjacent to the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge. He is known as a highly distinguished conservationist, has received numerous awards for his work, and serves on a half-dozen local boards and committee’s.
Mike Mauseth, a financial advisor for Edward Jones, is a believer in sustainability. Though he used to be on the development side of things, he likes that a land trust can create a win-win opportunity for landowners who wish to protect their property in perpetuity. Mike has lived in Juneau for 22 years and says he loves that "Alaska is big, beautiful, and wild and offers up a never ending smorgasboard of climbing, skiing, and fishing opportunities." An avid climber, Mike has probably climbed to the summit of all the peaks in Juneau and is preparing for Denali in the spring. He and his wife Kym have raised two daughters, Ashley and Megan, in Juneau and love the tight-knit community.
Roman Motyka brings incredible expertise in the geology and geophysics of Alaska to the SEAL Trust Board. But he also brings an abiding love for nature and wilderness. As Roman explains, "I've been an outdoors dude all my life, hiking climbing, and skiing in the Sierras, then in the Alaska Range, and now Southeast Alaska." Since coming to Alaska in 1973, Roman has been involved in conservation organizations in Southeast and Fairbanks as a member and occasional board member. As part of this involvement, he played a role in the discussions leading to ANILCA. Roman loves everything about Southeast Alaska, including the people, the native cultures, the outdoor recreation opportunities, the forest, the glaciers, the mountains, the wildlife, and the sea. His research takes him to some pretty amazing places, and so we feel lucky to have had Roman on our board since 2005.
