OUR STAFF
Kristen Miller - Executive Director
Kristen Miller has spent her career in environmental policy and politics, with a focus on the lands and waters of Alaska. She joined the Alaska Wilderness League in 2006 as the League’s legislative director. Since that time, she has led the policy and campaign team during multiple League expansions, serving as conservation director and acting executive director. Over those years, Kristen has initiated and overseen several successful campaigns to further conservation protections in Alaska, including the transition away from industrial scale old growth logging the Tongass National Forest and the protection of 125 million acres of the Arctic Ocean by President Obama. She has led the national conservation community during countless Congressional floor votes targeted at industrializing Alaska’s public lands, including several votes targeted at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She serves as a co-chair for the Arctic Refuge Defense Campaign and plays a key staff role for Alaska Wilderness League Action. Kristen has a deep knowledge about how to work with Congress and the administration to move federal land and water policy, and how to best bring leaders and supporters from Alaska and around the country to be a part of realizing these conservation gains.
Kristen fell in love with the beauty of Alaska after living for a summer outside of Denali National Park and relishes every opportunity she gets to visit Alaska. When not at the League, she is a full-time executive assistant for her two daughters and their yellow lab, Cash.
Alex Cohen - Government Affairs Director
Alex joined Alaska Wilderness League in April 2023. He grew up in the Washington D.C. area and graduated from Lewis & Clark College with a B.A. in English. Prior to joining the League, Alex spent four years working on Sierra Club’s political program to elect pro-climate candidates. Alex began working on conservation policy during his time in Senator Ron Wyden’s (D-OR) office, where he supported the director of natural resource policy’s legislative work. He started his career as fellow for Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) during the congressman’s freshman term. Alex fell in love with Alaska after spending a summer in high school hiking in Kenai Fjords National Park and seeing the salmon run in Chugach National Forest. When not advocating for Alaska's wild places, Alex can be found hiking, attending a concert or cheering on the Portland Trail Blazers.
Ashley Davis - National Outreach Manager
Ashley brings a background in partnership building, policy advocacy and community activism to her role at Alaska Wilderness League. Prior to joining the team in 2022, Ashley led an immigrant workforce development initiative in Idaho and supported a program advancing human rights and social justice in the Americas. She thrives when building community around shared questions, such as: What is our responsibility to the land, each other, and all of Earth’s inhabitants? How can we act in a way that respects our interdependence and ensures collective thriving for generations to come? Raised in the Pacific Northwest, Ashley currently resides on unceded Shoshone Bannock and Paiute land in Boise, Idaho.
Maddie Halloran - Alaska State Director
Maddie joined Alaska Wilderness League in March of 2021. She was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, and earned a bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Technological Studies with a focus on Conservation and Development from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. Prior to joining AWL, Maddie worked in various environmental science and education positions in Alaska, Maine, Minnesota, Arizona and California. Maddie finished her master’s degree in Fisheries Biology at Humboldt State University in 2020, where her research focused on local population dynamics of coho salmon.
Chris Konish - Senior Director of Development
Chris began working at Alaska Wilderness League in September 2017. A California native, he graduated with a degree in Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz, followed by fundraising for Los Angeles-based arts and education nonprofits while enjoying the beaches, mountains and deserts of southern California. After starting his career at nonprofit publisher Red Hen Press, he moved on to support individual fundraising at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica and then grantmaking at the Carl and Roberta Deutsch Foundation. Today he directs the League's fundraising operations, ensuring supporters remain connected to and invested in protecting wild Alaska. Chris spends his off hours exploring D.C. and its nearby hiking trails with his wife and dog.
Mladen Mates - Senior Director of Finance and Operations
Mladen joined the Alaska Wilderness League team in January 2008 and also serves as the League's Director of Finance and Operations. He graduated from Empire State College with a Bachelor of Arts in International and European Economic Studies. He is a Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional and works daily to make the most of the League’s limited resources. He’s also an amazing photographer and our website and materials feature many of his images. When not at work, you can find him on the water honing his sailing skills or paddle-boarding.
Ritchie Matthews - Executive & Operations Coordinator
Hailing from the DC-Maryland area, Ritchie joined the Alaska Wilderness League in January 2024 as an Executive and Operations Coordinator. With over 11 years of experience in operations and technology, primarily in non-profits and schools, Ritchie is a seasoned professional. He is passionate about adventure, exploring the world, cooking, and pop culture. Ritchie thrives on devising innovative solutions for operations, leveraging technology and creative thinking to drive efficiency and excellence.
Andy Moderow - Senior Director of Policy
Based in Anchorage, Andy joined the Alaska Wilderness League team in January 2016. A lifelong Alaskan, Andy grew up running sled dogs and finished the 1,100 mile Iditarod in 2001 just before attending Cornell University. After graduating, he returned to Alaska and interned in the National Parks Conservation Association's Alaska office. Following that, he spent four years as a state legislative aide, taking a yearlong break to manage a statewide political campaign. Just prior to joining the League team, he worked for the Alaska LCV State League in a variety of roles, ranging from Executive Director and Political Director to Data Director. When not working, Andy can be found at the family dog kennel — located just outside Denali National Park — or in the mountains skiing and studying the snowpack.
Lois Norrgard - National Field Organizer and JEDI Manager
With Alaska Wilderness League since 2007, Lois transitioned from small business owner to environmental organizer in 2000. As a powerhouse advocate for the protection of our amazing public lands in Alaska, she strengthens, empowers and organizes our passionate grassroots volunteers so they can leave a lasting impact on decision-makers. As JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) Manager Lois helps to support, provide tools and guide the staff and board of Alaska Wilderness League as we continue to strive to use a racial justice and equity lens in all we do. She cares deeply about sustainable living and spends time gardening, hiking with her dogs, and exploring nature’s beauty in her home state of Minnesota.
Anna Robinson - Database Manager
Anna joined the Alaska Wilderness League in September 2019. She graduated in 2018 from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Sciences and French. Before joining the League she spent the 2018-2019 school year teaching English in Rennes, France. Anna has always cared about the environment and discovered her love of conservation and wildlife protection while studying Balinese macaques in Indonesia. When she's not at the League she can be found experimenting with sustainable, vegetarian recipes or exploring Virginia's hiking trails and waterways.
Monica Scherer - Senior Director of Campaigns
Monica develops and manages volunteer efforts for all the Leagues campaigns across the continental United States and coordinates efforts between partner organizations. She strives to empower and support individuals and organizations to engage in meaningful actions on behalf of Alaska’s public lands. Monica joined the League in January of 2007 as a field organizer and later started the Alaska Wild Educator Network, growing it currently to more than 1,000 educators across the country. Prior to working at the League, she worked at the League of Conservation Voters and for Representative John Dingell (D-MI). She has a B.S. in Environmental Policy and Behavior from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Widener University. In her free time she….wait, what free time?!
Anja Semanco - Communications Director
Anja joined Alaska Wilderness League in February 2023. Originally from a small town in Western Pennsylvania, she moved to Colorado to pursue a Master’s Degree in environmental journalism and has remained out West ever since. Anja brings a dynamic background in outdoor storytelling as well as campaign messaging and design from previous advocacy roles in Boulder, Colorado and Bellingham, Washington. She currently lives on unceded Ute, Arapahoe, and Cheyanne land in Colorado’s Front Range. When not busy crafting engagement strategies, you can find Anja on wild single track, skin tracks, or out salsa dancing.
Hilary Stamper - Director of Member Engagement
Hilary has been helping organizations and individuals drive progressive social change for more than 18 years. After graduating from Stanford with a Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a burning desire to help wildlife, Hilary spent nearly 10 years at Care2.com working with nonprofit clients. At Alaska Wilderness League since spring 2013, she continues to focus on developing winning online strategies that engage supporters and turn online activities into offline results. She has continued to evaluate and couple online tools with concise, compelling communications that make it easy for individuals to give money and take actions to protect our wild places. When not working, coaching club soccer or tending a menagerie of pets and kids, Hilary and her dogs are running along the beach or sauntering through California mountains.
Priya Uppuluri - Legislative Associate
Priya joined Alaska Wilderness League in the fall of 2021. She grew up in Illinois and received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her M.S. in Public Policy from DePaul University. Prior to joining the League, Priya worked with various nonprofit groups on health policy and environmental policy issues. She is an experienced field organizer having worked on congressional and issue-based campaigns. In her free time, she enjoys kickboxing, learning Bollywood-style dance, visiting national parks, and scoping out the best bakeries.
Katie Umphlett - Arctic Campaign Manager
Katie is originally from Colorado where she quickly gained a deep appreciation and love for the mountains. After receiving her BA in International Affairs from CU Boulder she worked on environmental policy for the Colorado House of Representatives. She then moved to DC to obtain an MA in Conflict Resolution. While in DC she worked on the Budget Committee for Sen. Sanders, dived into programming for USAID, and managed congressional relations for the DoD and State. She now lives in Northern Utah and is a passionate advocate for equitable access to the outdoors. You will often find her hiking in a National Park, tumbling down a mountain on a snowboard, or falling off a surfboard.