Cameron Wilson joined the Applied Environmental Research Team at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) in spring of 2020. He recently completed his M.S. in Civil Engineering at UAA with a project titled Per Capita Water and Fixture Use in Rural Alaska. The project involved collecting data on water use ranging from per capita consumption based on community water production to measuring how much water is used at each individual fixture within the home at any given time. He designed, built, and programmed custom sensors to accomplish the task and then deployed them in several villages. He is now involved in a variety of projects including coastal GPS surveying and modeling, pacific salmon studies, forestry, and the identification/eradication of invasive plant species. Originally from North Carolina, he grew up in the earthmoving business and has experience operating heavy equipment and project implementation. He earned his B.S. in Biological Engineering from NC State focusing on bioprocessing and alternative fuels, then immediately after graduating and completing his research, he drove to Alaska seeking opportunity. After only a few short months, a field engineering position led to five years in the west Texas oil fields before he was finally able to come back to Alaska to continue his education and a career in research.

Joseph Cook, CMSgt USAF (Ret) serves as a Project Manager and works with multiple facets of the Applied Environmental Research Center to include contractual, fiscal operations, and compliance with federal, state, and agency specific regulations. Cook has more than 20 years of management and leadership experience with a proven record for leading dynamic and diverse teams through multifaceted projects towards organizational success.  After completing a career in the United Air Force, Cook recently transitioned, joining the University of Alaska Anchorage team in 2023.  He holds a Master’s in Management with a concentration in Organizational Leadership. He completed his undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. 

Vanessa Allen serves as the Education and Workforce Manager for UAA’s Applied Environmental Research Center (AERC). In this newly created position Vanessa manages the Registered Apprenticeship programs and assists with Workforce Development initiatives for ADAC-ARCTIC. Vanessa was a former educator for 21 years with the Anchorage School District and transitioned to Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) working in clinical education before joining UAA. As an alumna, she holds a Master’s of Science Degree in Career and Technical Education, e-Learning Graduate Certificate and Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Sociology. She joined the University of Alaska Anchorage family and the AERC team in August 2023.

Caitlin Kollander was born and raised in Anchorage Alaska. She began work as a participant with the Applied Environmental Research Center (AERC) in 2019 surveying Tricolored Blackbirds in California and performing bat surveys on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. She continued to participate on a variety of AERC projects while she completed her B.S., majoring in Biological Sciences and Natural Sciences with a minor in Environmental Studies, and then her M.S. in Biological Sciences at UAA. Her master’s thesis, titled The Virus Ecology of Myotis lucifugus in Southcentral Alaska, explored how bat ecology influences the Alaskan bat virome and likelihood of novel virus emergence from subarctic bats. She joined the AERC team as a research technician in 2023 and now primarily studies bat ecology in addition to assisting with salmon, forestry, and invasive plant management projects. While Caitlin specializes in bat ecology, she has research experience in a variety of other fields including song- and shorebird, marine mammal, fish, and small and large mammal ecology.

Alta Franklin joined the UAA Applied Environmental Research Center (AERC) in January 2022 after completing a Forestry and Wildlife Research Technician position on JBER. Alta graduated from University of Alaska Fairbanks during the spring of 2020 with a B.S. in Fisheries and Ocean Sciences with a concentration in Ocean Science, and a minor in Marine Science. She is an avid scuba diver, with certifications in Nitrox, Rescue, Cold Water and Dry Suit diving, and has experience with AAUS and technical diving. Specialized cold water diving played an integral part of her undergraduate research project in the Chemical Oceanography Department at UAF. At the AERC, Alta is part of the Oahu team working to restore wetlands on Bellows Air Force Station.

Samuel Franklin graduated from the University of Alaska in spring 2021 with a B.S. in Natural Sciences, concentrations in biological and geological sciences, and a minor in public health. He joined the Applied Environmental Research Center in summer of 2020 as a participant before moving into a research technician position a month later. In 2016, he worked as a research technician for UAA maintaining experimental sites and collecting data for various climate change studies at Thule Airbase in northwestern Greenland. In his current role at AERC, he works on the wetland restoration project at Bellows Air Force Station in Hawaii.

Sam Golden was raised in southern California, spending every summer camping and hiking in the Channel Islands National Park and Mammoth Mountain. There, she discovered her passion for being outdoors and searching for animals. She attended Humboldt State University in Northern California, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Biology with an emphasis in Vertebrate Conservation in 2021. As an undergraduate, she worked on survey projects involving songbirds, waterfowl, invertebrates, and invasive species removal. She came to Alaska in May 2022 to be a field participant with AERC and was hired as an apprentice field technician for the 2023 season. Sam will be assisting with salmon surveys, invasive species management, moose browse enhancement, and urban forestry.

Jacob Hart joined the Applied Environmental Research Center (AERC) in April of 2022 as the lead forester. Growing up in Wisconsin, Jacob realized his passion for nature through spending much of his free time outdoors and cutting countless cords of firewood. Jacob served in the United State Marine Corps Reserves, and in the spring of 2020, graduated from the University of Missouri - Columbia with a B.S. in Forestry also earning a GIS certificate. Following graduation, Jacob worked for the Missouri Department of Conservation in multiple roles and regions gaining experience as a wildlife technician and forester. In his current role at AERC, he primarily works on the forest resources and moose browse enhancement projects conducted on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

Bryson Smith grew up in a military family which brought him to Alaska where his passion for wildlife conservation began. He graduated from UAA with a B.S. in Biological Sciences in 2022. During his time at UAA he worked on multiple game camera projects in the Goose Lake area, one to spatially track birds, and the other to determine the potential of man-made tree cavities for nesting birds. After completing his undergrad he became a participant with AERC for the 2022 field season. In 2023, he spent the field season on the Situk River working with Alaska Department of Fish & Game on a weir conducting samples and escapement counts of Steelhead and Salmon. He rejoined AERC as a research tech in July 2024 to assist with various projects.

Like many children raised in Anchorage, the urge to leave and live in the Lower 48 prompted John Naumann to move to Seattle, Philadelphia and Chicago (with some brief international travel in-between).  Aside from Washington State, he found that no other place compared to Alaska and its terrain and people. COVID and isolation presented an opportunity to not return home to Alaska, and also to continue pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biology at University of Alaska Anchorage that had been put on hold for so long.  The opportunity to join a team of AERC researchers working on salmon and environmental field work was a dream come true.  John is excited about further exploring the Last Frontier and being part of a community of like-minded people passionate about the sciences, while hoping to make a positive impact for Alaska’s future.

Joey joined AERC in 2023. He previously worked in UAA's Advancement office as a writer and served as interim director of communication and marketing at Alaska Pacific University. He was selected for a climate journalism fellowship by the National Press Foundation in 2021 and an ocean science journalism fellowship from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 2022. He has a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from the College of Wooster and a master’s in water security from University of Saskatchewan.