Instructors
Emily Gervaise Moran
Emily Gervaise Moran is a musician, artist, teacher, and healer. A lifelong spiritual seeker, Emily’s journey took an unquestionable leap forward when she discovered that she had obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in adulthood. She experienced profound transformation and awakening using yoga, meditation, and other creative modalities to heal from OCD, and has made it her mission to share her unique approach to healing with others.
Emily holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music, where she studied Contemporary Writing & Production. She is a gifted composer, performer, and producer, and creates music under the name Aurora Birch. Along with her father, Emily is the Co-Director of the New Rising Sun Center, a community center for ecological & cultural regeneration in Ganges, Michigan. When not creating & teaching, Emily spends her time tending her herd of goats & livestock guardian dogs.
Naomi Morris
Naomi grew up in Cordova, Alaska and enjoyed baking from an early age, taught by her mother who would make all kinds of delicious treats, especially at Christmas. She studied biology at UAF and has worked in Anchorage, Denali, and Fairbanks as a Park Ranger and Environmental Educator. She dived into baking sourdough about 7 years ago and was instantly hooked by the fascinating alchemy, simplicity, and flavor of this type of baking.
Jennifer Moss
Brett Nelson
Brett is originally from Minnesota and has lived in Fairbanks for 25 years, with some time in Michigan along the way. Always enjoying the outdoors (hiking, canoeing, skiing and fishing), he was encouraged for many years to take up wood carving by his mother-in-law who was a master carver in Minnesota. Finally after taking a spoon carving class from John Manthei a number of years ago, Brett started to see ‘spoons’ in the birch logs while splitting firewood. Still gathering firewood, he now is also always on the lookout for spoons, kuksas, spreaders, and coffee scoops that may be in the wood.
Jennifer Nu
Jennifer Nu is a freelance writer, photographer, and multimedia storyteller specializing in wellness, the environment, traditional food systems, and stories about people and community. Her work has appeared in Edible Alaska magazine, Alaska Dispatch, Capital City Weekly, and the Juneau Empire. She enjoys backcountry trekking, packrafting, home cooking, and foraging. She is grateful to friends across the state who have shared their teachings and wisdom with her.
Nick Nugent
Nick Nugent was born in west central Indiana and grew up there. He was in Cub and Boy Scouts. He was also a Merit Badge Counselor for the Midnight Sun Council while his son was in scouting. He has been in Fairbanks since July of 1977. Nick enjoys primitive outdoor skills. Nick studies Alaska History and more broadly the history of North America prior to 1840. His interests also range to the use of carbide lamps and vintage pressure stoves.
Bill O’Malley
Bill O’Malley is a long-time arts educator experienced in cross-discipline education and collaboration, comfortable in both urban and wilderness environments. Bill was born and raised in Santa Barbara County, California and has been sharing his love of art as an educator for over 20 years. Along with teaching art, he has worked doing installation, public programming, and as a working artist running a small gallery. Since moving to Fairbanks, he has been fortunate enough to work with many local organizations including Camp Habitat, Calypso Farms, and Boreal Sun Charter School. He is excited to be joining The Folk School program and looking forward to a summer filled with art and adventure.
Becky Oviatt
Becky Oviatt is an award-winning fiber artist, owner of AK Frayed Knot, a local online yarn and specialty shop, and co-owner of the Fibering Squad, a fiber craft studio in Anchorage, AK. She teaches spinning with wheel or drop spindle, beginning weaving, fiber painting, and fur sewing.
Mary Pagel
Mary moved to Alaska in 2003 in pursuit of adventure. She has not been let down. She is an avid canoeist and kayaker, and a volunteer instructor for the Becoming An Outdoors Woman program. She makes her living as a Civil Engineer.
Carolyn Parker
Carolyn has done botanical surveys throughout Alaska and in other far northern landscapes for over 30 years. The rest of the time she stays based at the University of Alaska Museum while gardening, hiking and ski-joring in the boreal forest around Fairbanks.
Kaari Parrish
Kaari has lived in the Interior since 1974. She has been obsessed with fiber and textiles her whole life and has been fascinated by weaving since her first class in 1995. A main focus in recent years has been on narrow bands and the techniques used to both produce the yarn needed and weave them. Most of her yarn has been spun by walking the dog.
John Peirce
John began woodworking in earnest in 1985 when he apprenticed with Maine furniture maker David Margonelli. About the same time he discovered green woodworking. Guided by books by Drew Langsner, J Alexander and Roy Underhill, he started with post and rung chairs and snowshoes. Over the years has made spoons, kuksas, wooden skis, and other items beginning with a freshly cut tree rather than lumber yard wood. Currently John does cabinets and carpentry as Boreal Woodworks to pay the bills, but for fun he works on boats, bowls, and bodgers benches!
Marisa Pena
Marisa Pena, Program Manager, Stone’s Throw
Born and raised in the Philippines, Marisa and her family moved to Chicago in 1998, where she earned a BAS in Culinary Management. Over the next decade, she worked in professional kitchens from fast food to fine dining. Marisa came to the village of Tok in 2013 for a summer job but soon fell in love with Alaska and decided to make Fairbanks her new home, where she currently lives with her significant other (who is also a chef), their dog Hagi and cat Izzy. The Bread Line is Marisa’s first venture into the non-profit world and she is honored and excited to be part of an organization that makes positive changes in the Fairbanks community.
Don Pendergrast
Don and Tracie Pendergrast are co-owners of the Alaska Canoe School. Don has been recreating in Alaska for 45 years. They have been enjoying Alaskan adventures together for over 25 years. Both on personal, work, and guided trips, they have organized many remote and road-based adventures; from weekend trips to multi-week expeditions. Their goal is to help others gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to get out and experience Alaska.
Tracie Pendergrast
Don and Tracie Pendergrast are co-owners of the Alaska Canoe School. They have been enjoying Alaskan adventures together for over 25 years. Both on personal, work, and guided trips, they have organized many remote and road-based adventures; from weekend trips to multi-week expeditions. Their goal is to help others gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to get out and experience Alaska. Tracie has also been combining two of her favorite things, food and wilderness canoe canoeing, for over 20 years. Whether it be on a journey for two over a long weekend journey, or a longer fly-in expedition for 10, she is dedicated to never eating another pre-packaged, freeze-dried meal again.
Tony Perelli
I’m excited about art and handcraft, teaching and learning, and about nature and wild places. To me, all of these things are connected and influence each other in my life. Most recently I’ve been working on wooden plates, bowls and spoons, objects for daily use. I love working with wood as a way to interact with nature and also a way to create objects for everyday use at the same time.…
Read MoreI’m excited about art and handcraft, teaching and learning, and about nature and wild places. To me, all of these things are connected and influence each other in my life.
Most recently I’ve been working on wooden plates, bowls and spoons, objects for daily use. I love working with wood as a way to interact with nature and also a way to create objects for everyday use at the same time.
I’m interested in including more handmade, natural objects in our lives as well as the process of teaching and learning together.
I have studied and carved with Bill Coppertwaite & Jarrod Dahl and have a teaching degree & teaching certificate from the state of Alaska. I have taught carving skills in Eagle River, Anchorage, Fairbanks, McCarthy, Homer, Seldovia, Tatitlek & Nuuciq culture camps.
I also do work with clay, making functional ceramics that complement the wood work I do.
My path to art and craft has included living and working in various residencies with potters, woodturners, carvers, and homesteaders.
I’ve been an educator at all levels, teaching woodcarving, packrafting, wilderness travel, and special needs physical education. Originally from Wisconsin, I currently live in a small home on the edge of the Chugach mountains with a yurt that serves as my workshop.
When not making things I like to explore and adventure by foot, ski, & packraft all over Alaska.
See more info and work at tonyperelli.org
Liann Peryea
Liann Peryea, Production Chef, Stone’s Throw
Liann has 15 years experience in the food service industry and has been an avid home cook all her life. After graduating Stone’s Throw in December 2015, she went on to work with the Chartwell Team at UAF. She also has been involved in several high profile local food event such as Arctic Science Summit Week 2016, Arctic Interchange 2017, and Sotomayor 2016. She now leads the Fairbanks Summer Food Program through Stone Soup and is the Production Chef for the Stone’s Throw Program.
Anika Pinzner
Robert Prince
Rob Prince is an Associate Professor in the Communication & Journalism Department teaching courses in video production and documentary film making. In 2014 he created Dark Winter Nights: True Stories from Alaska with the goal of sharing the real Alaska with the world. Since then the live show has drawn audiences of over 800 to Hering Auditorium and the podcast has over 1000 subscribers.
Leila Pyle
Leila Pyle is a local artist and outdoor educator. She teaches environmental education at Calypso Farm in the summers, and she is passionate about connecting people to nature and the place where they live. In her free time loves to experiment with a variety of different art mediums. These include drawing, painting, bookmaking, printmaking, and fiber arts like knitting and felting.