Did you know that as a Friends member you have the opportunity to assist and promote a Refuge by participating as a Refuge Volunteer Liaison? We are actively seeking a few members who would enjoy working directly each month with a Refuge Manager and staff. The benefits of developing a personal relationship with a Refuge, learning about special programs as well as daily activities that make our Alaskan Refuges unique is a life-enhancing experience.
Liaisons in the past have been treated to personal tours of a Refuge, worked with biologists, environmental educators, visitor center staff and Refuge managers. For a monthly time commitment (ranging from 1-3 hours) a Refuge Liaison works with Refuge staff to 1) discuss Refuge news, projects, issues; 2) participates in identifying Refuge volunteer needs, funding, outreach assistance; 3) gathers information from the Refuge for newsletters, Facebook posts, blogs and membership meeting programs. The Refuge Volunteer Liaison will have the support of the Liaison and Membership Chairs for training, mentoring, and for assistance in submitting documentation such as brief monthly reports.
If you would like to learn more about the opportunity to serve as a Refuge Volunteer Liaison and to see if you might be match for one of our Refuges, please reach out to Betty or Sandy. We would be happy to share information and work with you to enhance and strengthen your ties with Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges.
Volunteering weekly and for special projects and events with the Friends of Alaska (since June 2018) at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor’s Center is a significant part of my commitment to support efforts to protect the nature of Alaska. I’m passionate about advocating for our land and marine ecosystems and the mammals, birds, plants and invertebrates that inhabit Alaska. I care about preserving Alaska and our planet for generations to come. As a board member, I strive to work towards increasing public awareness and education on the values and stewardship in caring for public lands and waters.
Backed by solid credentials and 34 years of professional experience, I bring strength and expertise in program, personnel, and system development to The Friends of
Alaska National Wildlife Refuges organization. With my prior business management experience for Providence Alaska Medical Center, National Association of Social Workers, and numerous academic entities, I am well versed in public speaking, team building and leadership, risk management, fiscal planning, and program design.
I am a lifelong learner, educator and career social worker. Through my counseling practice, Winter’s Grace Guidance Center situated on 10 acres of meadow and woodland located in Soldotna, Alaska, I mentor others towards healing experiences. Connecting children and families with nature and animals is a central focus of my work. l love spending time on trails, at the coast and high on alpine meadows. On the home front I enjoy companions Icelandic horse Kisi and mini pony Breezy, canine friends Ruby, Hadley, Daisy and Lily and feline Clementine.
Friends came to visit, and it was invigorating!Thirteen Friends Groups from throughout the Pacific plus Fish and Wildlife staff descended on Homer in September for a 4 day “Tanax Agliisada” conference aimed at teaching us all new skills and sharing best practices.Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges hosted the conference at the Alaska Maritime and Kenai National Wildlife Refuges.A grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation brought the 60 attendants to Homer from Alaska, Hawaii, coastal Washington and Oregon, Midway Island and the Marianas Trench.
Building stronger boards, board recruitment and retention, improving community relationships, and empowering our organizations to ensure the success of the Refuge system as a whole were some of the topics covered in. Breakout groups allowed for brainstorming, sharing experiences and goal setting. We learned many of the issues we faced were not unique to us.
We all were fascinated although pretty depressed learning about the Washington D.C. scene from Caroline Brouwer of the National Fish & Wildlife Association and Desiree Sorenson-Groves of the Arctic Refuge Defense Campaign.At least I came away convinced we, Alaska Friends, do need to make a trip to DC once a year to keep our concerns in front of our representatives, and we do need to form a stronger alliance with the National Fish & Wildlife Association.
The National Wildlife Refuge chiefs from both the Alaska and Pacific regions, shared insight on national priorities, departmental directives, long term planning goals and ways we can work together on a panel titled “Impacts of National and Regional Priorities”. Understanding Refuge system priorities will help us work together to successfully develop programs and projects, which should in turn build community awareness and support of the refuge system.
In a small group meeting of the 10 Alaska Friends in attendance we hammered out these goals for the board for this year: 1) create amembership committee and recruit a chair committed to recruiting/following up with members who have indicated an interest in participating at a higher level in our organization; 2) improve our communication efforts to highlight our work, promote our projects within the communities that are benefiting from our financial support of programs tied to the Alaska Refuge system; and, 3) send two from the Board to DC during the budget months of February or March.
Our fellow Friends were very interesting and fun people making for a stimulating four days.Our hosting role went flawlessly thanks to our extraordinary conference organizer, Friends volunteer Anna Sansom. Our visitors loved getting to visit two refuges – Alaska Maritime and Kenai, see their first moose, eat smoked salmon and moose we provided and even participate in Homer’s iconic “Burning Basket”.We hope we have gained new allies in the fights to save Alaska’s Refuges.
Two takeaways from this conference are 1) we are part of a larger organization; and, 2) together we can be a strong coalition for advancing the mission of Wildlife Refuges. This was in line with the goals set for the conference – increase effectiveness and strengthen relationships across refuges. We need to work with other Friends Groups to achieve economies of scale, continue to share know-how and cross sell.
Job Announcement: The Friends of Alaska Wildlife Refuges is seeking to fill a part-time position as a Communications Coordinator to manage and develop content for monthly newsletters, Friends’ website and blog, and social media accounts. The desired candidate will have strong organizational and communication skills; manage time independently, and be able to work with a non-profit board of directors.
Friends Communications Coordinator position:
Approximately 5 hrs. /week, 20 hours/month
Pay Rate: $20/hr.
Main Responsibilities:
Soliciting content for all communications routes by working with board, partners, and volunteers to create original material.
Finalizing content and layout for monthly electronic newsletter.
Maintain/update the Friends website and blog.
Maintain and manage Friends social media accounts
Work with Friends board to update communications strategy
Provide input and help improve communications plan.
Attend monthly board meetings
Job Description:
The Communications Coordinator will work with the Friends of Alaska Wildlife Refuges Board with collecting, managing and curating communications content for both monthly newsletters and social media accounts to support the mission of the organization. This position requires the ability to assemble, organize, and develop content relevant to the goals and activities of the Friends organization. This position requires the ability to prioritize efforts and to efficiently manage time independently to accomplish the timely dissemination of information to promote the conservation of natural resources in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuges. The ideal candidate will have good communication skills, experience with developing written content, working with public outreach efforts, and an understanding of the US Fish & Wildlife Refuge system.
Deadline to apply is NOON, MARCH 11th, 2019. To apply, please send your cover letter and resume to: info@alaskarefugefriends.org
