Gerald “J.J.” Frost, President

J.J. first moved to Alaska in 1995. He earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1999. Gerald then worked on a variety of avian and vegetation studies in Alaska’s interior, arctic, and the western Aleutians for ABR, Inc. and the National Park Service. In 2007, he began a Ph.D. in Ecology at the University of Virginia, studying recent changes in the forest-tundra boundary across Siberia. He is now a Senior Scientist at ABR, Inc. and works on a range of ecosystem and avian studies, including songbird surveys and habitat assessment. JJ also serves on the board of the U.S. Permafrost Association.

Rebecca Young, Vice President

Rebecca recently earned her doctorate from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Her research focused on biological age, telomeres, physiology, and behavior of long-lived seabirds. Her major interests are how hormones and other physiological measures interact with behavior to affect individual fitness in organisms of varying life histories. Current projects include: how telomere length relates to foraging behavior and environmental conditions in thick-billed murres; how telomere length and oxidative stress differ in black-legged kittiwake chicks in the nest in Atlantic and Pacific populations; and a comparison of telomere lengths and chronological ages in a wide variety of alcid species.

Amy Turner, Treasurer

Amy has a diverse background in food systems, nutrition, large and small scale wildlife and vegetation studies. She has served on several non-profit boards including Arctic Audubon and Calypso Farm & Ecology Center. Amy has been involved with birds and education in Fairbanks since 1999. Amy formerly worked at ABR, Inc. as a project management and proposal coordinator. She currently is a freelance writer and novelist living in Salida, CO. 

Michelle Sopoliga, Secretary

Michelle moved to Alaska in 2013 after teaching high school science for five years in Manteca School District in California. She earned her B.A. in Liberal Studies and B.S. in Biology, with an emphasis in Ecology in 2006, as well as her Teaching Credential in 2008, from California State University, Chico. Michelle’s first experience with Alaska was in 2005, when she spent a summer interning for the National Park Service in Eagle, Alaska. She also worked in the summer of 2007 for U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) studying Spectacled and Common Eiders on the Yukon-Delta National Wildlife Refuge. In 2012, Michelle helped with the Steller’s Eider research project for USFWS in Barrow. Currently, Michelle teaches high school science at Effie Kokrine Charter School in Fairbanks.

Dan Rizzolo, Board Member

Dan is a Fish and Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Recovery Program in Fairbanks where he works with listed Steller’s and Spectacled eiders. His background is in avian energetics and population biology. Dan has worked in Alaska for over 20 years, from Southeast to the Arctic Coastal Plain. He earned a BA from St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, MS from Oregon State University, and PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Teresa Thompson, Board Member

Teresa has lived and worked in the Fairbanks community for over 34 years. She currently serves UAF eCampus in Corporate Enrollment, partnering with employers in Alaska and across the country to provide world-class online educational opportunities to their employees. She has held a variety of positions in Fairbanks, including Executive Assistant to the UA President, Development Officer for the UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Director of Recruitment and Partnership Development for Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Community Development Manager for United Way. She currently serves on the board of United Way of the Tanana Valley. Teresa earned an Associate’s degree in Administration in 1983 from the State University of New York and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2004. 

She has been married to her husband Todd for 30 years. Teresa is an avid outdoors adventurer, recreational birder, hiker and camper, loves to cook, and she loves living in the Great State of Alaska.