kadey.a@folk.school
As Programs Coordinator, Kadey collaborates with community instructors, students and partner organizations to develop the diverse, hands-on learning opportunities for which The Folk School is known.

Kadey’s background is…eclectic. She has apprenticed in traditional skills, been a dance instructor and choreographer, stage managed a theater company touring rural Alaska, operated vehicles in both the Arctic and the Antarctic, and was, for a couple of years, a professional lynx. Throughout it all, Kadey has found that the very best work lies in making, teaching and supporting the work of others.

Also, Kadey is a basketmaker. She holds a BAS in Ethnobotany from The Evergreen State College and an MA in Studio Art from Eastern Illinois University, both with an emphasis on basketry. She serves on the board of the Northwest Basket Weavers Guild and has a studio here in Fairbanks, where her work is rooted in place, plants, and the belief that creativity is strongest when it happens in community.

sara@folk.school
Sara manages the Folk School’s print shop, which is arguably the most interesting basement in Fairbanks. An enthusiast for all things printmaking, she is always scheming up new ways to connect students to the medium. 

Sara grew up in Fairbanks and returned in 2000 to test the art waters (which apparently were favorable enough). She has a studio art degree from Grinnell College and an MFA in printmaking from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. As much a working artist as a teaching artist, she has exhibited her work widely, participated in national and international art residencies, and has installed public art commissions across the state. 

As an active instructor, Sara finds it important to continue to be a student. In recent years she has taken woodworking and woodcraft classes at the Folk School, photography at UAF, and completed the three-month Furniture Intensive at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Maine. When not teaching, learning, or making, she can often be found out on the trails around Fairbanks skiing, running, or skijoring. 

katie@folk.school
Katie works closely with the Programs Coordinator to provide support for classes and events at The Folk School.

Katie has been living, working, and learning in Fairbanks since 2008. Born and raised in Eagle River, Alaska, she came to UAF to study Art and History and has a Masters in K-12 Art Education. She has worked with a variety of inspiring people and organizations over the years, and when she’s not helping at the Folk School or UAF, she’s often out berry picking, collecting supplies for art projects, or rearranging her garage for the 10th time in a month trying to figure out the perfect arrangement for all her and her husband Tim’s projects.

christina@folk.school
Christina Polge (she/her) is thrilled to join The Folk School team as the Storytelling and Communications Fellow. In May, she graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a degree in creative writing and journalism. She was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. Christina enjoys writing poetry, doing theatre, going for long runs and playing board games with friends.

kelsey@folk.school
As The Folk School’s first Executive Director, Kelsey is working to further develop the role and value of The Folk School in the community. Her hope is that The Folk School can be a place where everyone can feel at home and inspired to develop their craft, their community, and their connection to place.

Born in Fairbanks, Kelsey has been an educator, gardener-farmer, and student of the land from Alaska to Mexico and from the Pacific to the Atlantic. She brings a wealth of experience with organizational development and community outreach from her time in Mexico working with the BCS Food Security Alliance (Alianza Para la Seguridad Alimentaria de BCS), where she developed an integrative program to support farmer-to-farmer education and leverage agriculture for community health and resilience.  

Kelsey’s other pursuits include geeking out over seeds, bugs, regeneration, and living systems theory; keeping too many craft projects going at once; and, together with her partner, Danny, teaching their dog how to skijor. A first generation graduate, Kelsey holds a BA in Biology & Foreign Language from UAF and an MS in Environmental Studies from Antioch University New England.

operations@folk.school
Don oversees the day-to-day operations of The Folk School, including managing class registrations, memberships, finances, and the Pioneer Park facilities.

Don claims that he doesn’t have many outdoors skills, but he sure spends a lot of time outdoors. He is an avid ultramarathoner (middle of the pack), trail runner, whitewater paddler, fatbiking cabin hopper, snowshoer and Nordic skier. He used to mush and skijor a lot with his and his partner’s 31 dogs, but is down to only three dogs. He still lives in a kennel…literally.

Don is a software geek, spending most of the last couple decades of his working life writing software, doing technical writing, speaking at software development conferences, and teaching technical classes.

As of April 2026, Don has stepped down as Operations Director. He is still doing a few things for The Folk School, mainly website maintenance. Contrary to what you might have heard, he is not retiring. He’s still doing a lot of what he had been doing–including as a tour guide, vehicle operator instructor, and tech support geek for Northern Alaska Tour Company. And he is firmly staying in Fairbanks. Unless and until the state starts construction on the gas pipeline. He doesn’t want to live through another Fairbanks boom, so might migrate to some remote part of Canada.

(Photo above is of Don as Beethoven in the Beat Beethoven 5K — photo by Todd Paris.)

iz@folk.school

Iz Klemmer joins The Folk School as the Organizational Development Fellow through the Alaska Fellows Program. The role is focused on implementing new administrative systems to increase the efficiency and capacity of The Folk School, so we can continue offering classes to the people of Fairbanks! 

Iz was born in Fairbanks and lived up on Murphy Dome Road before moving to the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area at age 5. They came back to visit Fairbanks in the summer many times and loved participating in programming like Camp Habitat, Bluegrass Camp through the Fairbanks Folk Fest, and summer activities at Alaskaland. Iz graduated from Yale University in Spring 2025 with a degree in history, and plans to return to school for a Master’s in Library Science to become a professional archivist. Along with the other Alaska Fellows, Iz can’t wait to go on outdoor adventures, cross country ski, play the fiddle, and take up new crafts offered by The Folk School.