AUUF Podcasts

Zack Fields represents downtown Anchorage, Fairview, South Addition, Government Hill, and Eastridge in the Alaska House of Representatives. He also works as an organizer for Laborers Local 341 and writes outdoor columns for the Anchorage PRESS. He has previously worked as Workforce Development Coordinator for the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development and as a legislative/policy staffer at the local, state, and federal levels. Zack earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Virginia. His family enjoys camping, fishing, skiing, and other outdoor activities. 

Elvi Gray-Jackson was elected to the Alaska Senate in 2018. She served on the Anchorage Assembly from 2008 to 2017, including terms as Assembly Chair and Vice-Chair. Elvi began her public service career with the Municipality at the Public Transit Department 36 years ago and has worked since in a number of positions, including Director of the Alaska Energy Railbelt Authority for ML&P and most recently as Director of the Budget and Legislative Services Office. She’s served on the boards of Boys and Girls Club, Woodside East Homeowners Association, and National League of Cities. She is a mentor for young people and the recipient of the Women of Achievement Award and many other awards. Elvi is a graduate of UAA and has one son, Ramon. 

Leslie Ridle grew up in Douglas and Anchorage. She started as a social studies teacher at Gruening Middle School until she took a year’s leave to work in the legislature to learn more about government from the inside. She loved the work and built a career working for the Legislature, for Mayor and Senator Begich, and Governors Knowles and Walker. She also ran several local and statewide political campaigns and served four years as Commissioner of Administration and Deputy Commissioner. She has started a new chapter in her work life as the CEO of Girl Scouts of Alaska where she loves the mission of raising girls with Courage, Confidence, and Character. 

Susanne Fleek-Green currently serves as Superintendent of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, which encompasses over four million acres of wilderness, volcanoes, lakes, rivers and Cook Inlet coastline. Before joining the National Park Service, Susanne served as Mayor Ethan Berkowitz’s Chief of Staff and as State Director for U.S. Senator Mark Begich. She also worked for Anchorage’s Office of Economic and Community Development, for the United States Senate in Washington, DC, and as a Presidential Management Fellow with the U.S. Department of the Interior. Born and raised in Alaska, Susanne has lived in Yakutat, King Salmon, and Anchorage. She is a Sealaska shareholder and member of the Central Council of Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. Susanne has a B.A. and Masters of Public Policy from UC Berkeley. 

Darcy Dugan is the director of the Alaska Ocean Acidification Network. She has worked for the Alaska Ocean Observing System since 2009, collaborating with scientists and stakeholders to fill gaps in ocean monitoring and ensure ocean data and information is available for safe marine operations, environmental stewardship, and decision making. Darcy received her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in the Earth Systems program, and a Masters of Environmental Science at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies where her research focused on coastal vulnerability in western Alaska. She has served as staff for the Alaska Legislature and as a research associate for ISER at UAA. Darcy enjoys exploring the Alaska wilderness with her husband and two young sons. 

Mara Hill has been attending AUUF since the beginning of her angsty teenage phase in 2004. She became an RE volunteer in 2012, filled out her first pledge form after attending an Annual Meeting where the cost of coffee was included in the budget discussion and signed the book to become a member shortly thereafter. Mara has previously assisted in 4 A's luncheons and the Forum Committee, completed elementary OWL training this past April. During the week Mara works with preschool age children and their families as a mental health clinician at Anchorage Community Mental Health Services. She enjoys reading, hiking, and volunteering on whatever political campaigns her friends

Shelley is AUUF's Interim Minister.

A gathering to joyfully celebrate AUUF and the beginning of the fellowship year with song, story and Water Communion.

Shelley is AUUF's Interim Minister.

Joshua Decker, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska since 2014, did three things when he turned eighteen: he registered to vote, joined the Selective Service, and became a card-carrying member of the ACLU. An experienced litigator, Joshua was an attorney at Clifford Chance US LLP in New York City, and before that, a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee. Joshua earned his law and bachelor's degrees from the University of Chicago. In law school, he helped represent victims of police brutality in a landmark federal civil rights lawsuit, and was executive editor of the Chicago Journal of International Law. In college, he worked for his US Senator and the ACLU of Illinois.

Joshua Decker, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska since 2014, did three things when he turned eighteen: he registered to vote, joined the Selective Service, and became a card-carrying member of the ACLU. An experienced litigator, Joshua was an attorney at Clifford Chance US LLP in New York City, and before that, a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee. Joshua earned his law and bachelor's degrees from the University of Chicago. In law school, he helped represent victims of police brutality in a landmark federal civil rights lawsuit, and was executive editor of the Chicago Journal of International Law. In college, he worked for his US Senator and the ACLU of Illinois.

Bodil Kjelstrup is a Norwegian museum administrator who is serving as guest curator of the Anchorage Museum's "SEED Lab" (Solutions for Energy and Equity through Design). Art and music have always played a formative role in her life. After 20 years on the southwest coast of Norway, her longing for the north brought her back to Tromso. Through a circumpolar network of art institutions, she visited Anchorage five years ago, which led to fruitful collaborations between the Anchorage Museum and Bodil's Norwegian base: Northern Norway Art Museum.  Until October next year Bodil will help establish SEED Lab as a place for envisioning a positive future.

Bodil Kjelstrup is a Norwegian museum administrator who is serving as guest curator of the Anchorage Museum's "SEED Lab" (Solutions for Energy and Equity through Design). Art and music have always played a formative role in her life. After 20 years on the southwest coast of Norway, her longing for the north brought her back to Tromso. Through a circumpolar network of art institutions, she visited Anchorage five years ago, which led to fruitful collaborations between the Anchorage Museum and Bodil's Norwegian base: Northern Norway Art Museum.  Until October next year Bodil will help establish SEED Lab as a place for envisioning a positive future.

Joelle Hall is the Alaska AFL-CIO's Director of Operations and has been on board since 2006. She is a proud member of UFCW, Local 1496. She has a long resume of political experience from running extensive issue campaigns to heading up the efforts of the AFL-CIO labor program. Joelle served in the U.S. Army and is a graduate of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She lives in Peters Creek with her husband and two children.