Meet the People Involved in School of the Earth, an Exciting Educational and Ecotourism Experience That Helps to Save Planet Earth


High tundra near Wellwood Center, Alaska
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	Dave Wellman Dave is retired from a career of teaching high school sciences in rural Alaska. Among other pursuits, he now manages a small Bed and Breakfast, does technology consulting, and coordinates an effort to study the factors that keep the local watershed healthy. Dave and his wife Gay have, for over 25 years, organized weekend service camps at Wellwood Center in the Copper River region of Alaska.
	Gay Wellman Gay is a psychiatric nurse, assisting Alaskan clients with issues relating to substance abuse, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease. She serves as a director on the board of several local nonprofit organizations.
	Dorothy Dunne, PhD Dorothy is an Associate Professor at Alaska Pacific University where she is the director of the Human Services degree program. She leads workshops on using stories for personal healing and on collaborative decision making. Dorothy is passionately engaged in community development efforts in her home town of Palmer, Alaska, with a special interest in elevating the devotional character of communities and helping youth awaken to their nobility.
	Riki Ott, PhD Riki is a marine toxicologist, an author, and a former commercial fisher in Cordova, Alaska. She is a featured character in the award-winning film BLACK WAVE: The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez. She has also given advice concerning the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and is involved in the movement to end the legal concept of corporate personhood through a constitutional amendment.
	Deborah Williams Deborah has for many years been a champion of sustainability. She was a founder and co-editor of the Harvard Environmental Law Review and served as a Special Assistant to the US Secretary of the Interior for Alaska. She has been director of two Alaska conservation organizations. Currently she serves as the Executive Director for the Anchorage Youth Development Coalition. She has been the recipient of many awards, is active in the political arena, and has been widely quoted in the media. She is an eager participant in programs that put people and nature together.
	Ellen Maling, MBA Ellen is a writer, a social entrepreneur, a wilderness guide, and an organizational development and management specialist, focusing primarily on environment, health, and youth development. Since 2011 has lived in Southeast Asia (currently Cambodia) where she is engaged in teaching, writing, and inspiring others toward positive change.
	Karl Schleich, MEd Karl is a 30-year veteran teacher, coach, principal, district-level administrator and consultant in Illinois, Alaska and Athens, Greece.He is a sought-after leader in education, assisting school districts throughout Alaska—from Akiak to Anchorage—in their efforts to enhance instruction and school environment. In his home-town of Wasilla, he works with friends to create a culture that is healthy and empowering for young people.
	Alice Thaggard Alice is an Alaskan artist, with paintings exhibited at various galleries and juried shows, as well as at businesses and public buildings throughout Alaska. She is a former hairdresser, farmer, tour guide and brailer bag maker, but considers her most important work to be raising a family, spiritually nurturing others and creating art.