The Wrangell Mountains Center Board
The WMC board is composed of a dedicated group of individuals who actively work to fulfill the WMC’s mission. The board supports and oversees WMC staff and engages in strategic planning that contributes to the organization’s success.
Sally Gibert, President, owned the Old Hardware Store from 1976 to 1986, launching the first of many stabilization and restoration efforts. She was a founding member of the WMC in 1985, and still maintains a cabin next door to the Hardware Store that she visits whenever she can. From 1984 to 2011 she worked as the State of Alaska’s ANILCA Implementation Coordinator, working on numerous national park and wildlife refuge management issues on behalf of the State. Now retired and living in Anchorage, she has returned her focus to the Wrangells and rejoined the board. She enthusiastically supports how the WMC so often transforms the lives of those involved in WMC programs and activities.
Brita Mjos, Vice President, works as an environmental engineer in Anchorage, designing water and wastewater infrastructure for rural Alaska communities. She first became involved with the WMC in 2010 as a summer intern following college graduation. McCarthy and the Wrangells grew deep roots into Brita's heart during that magical summer, and she looks forward to visiting the community and rugged backcountry every chance she gets. As a board member, Brita enjoys coordinating fundraisers and helping the WMC become a more sustainable organization.
Molly Mylius, Secretary, is a born and raised Alaskan with a deep connection to McCarthy. Molly spent many of her childhood summers in the quaint family cabin, conveniently sandwiched between McCarthy Creek and the Wrangell Mountains Center campus, and four summers living and working in the Wrangells as a historical and wilderness tour guide. Molly appreciates how the Wrangell Mountains Center celebrates the area's rich cultural and natural history and creates opportunities for the community to come together, and she is excited to be a part of the organization's journey. Molly now lives in Anchorage and works as a community planner. When she is not in the office you can find her adventuring outdoors, volunteering as a ski race official, gardening, and singing a cappella with her quartet and chorus.
Tyler Boyes is an energy specialist at Alaska Housing Finance Corporation and manages the building monitoring program which uses open-source software to track building energy usage. He was a student in the college program in 2009 and returned in 2010 as an operations intern at the Hardware Store. Tyler has worked as a carpenter, truss designer, field scientist, and building consultant and is passionate about energy efficiency and net zero construction. His goals on the board include investigating options to restore residency at the Hardware store and address summer housing needs on the WMC campus, reconnecting with college program alumni, and finding excuses to visit McCarthy.
Tim Bartholomaus had the good fortune of completing both his master’s and doctoral degrees while studying glaciers within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. He is presently a professor at the University of Idaho, from which he and his students continue to study the dynamics and rapid change of glaciers in Alaska. He first came to McCarthy and the Wrangell Mountains Center in 2006 to study the nearby Kennicott Glacier. Subsequently, he returned as a 6-time faculty member of the WMC's College Program. As a board member, Tim is excited to help build on the WMC’s history of education, research, and community outreach.
Howard Mozen is a special education teacher in Anchorage, AK, outdoor educator, and commercial fisherman in Bristol Bay. Educated at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and University of Oregon, Eugene, Howard taught programs for the Wrangell Mountains Center for nine years, and has been working with the Center since 1985. He owns a homebuilt yurt and beautiful log cabin just meters from the Kennicott Glacier.
Leif Mjos is a lifelong Alaskan passionate about sense of place in wild spaces and the human communities they interact with. He came to McCarthy more than a dozen years ago to volunteer at the Wrangell Mountains Center, fell in love with the town and its wild surroundings and returned to co-instruct the college field studies program for eight years. He gets excited about field instruction, sharing natural history, and leading people in wild spaces. When he can't be in Alaska he works as a biologist with the Mojave Desert Tortoise.
Jared Steyaert first came to the Wrangells in the spring 2006 to be the Hardware Store Manager for WMC. He thrived in the hearty and communal environment, and at the same time fell in love with McCarthy and the surrounding wild lands. He stayed with WMC through the summer of 2008, where he then moved on to becoming a full time mountain guide in the Wrangell Mountains. In 2011, he and his 2 business partners took over ownership of Kennicott Wilderness Guides, bought a piece of land in McCarthy and started building his dream cabin. He spends much of his summer as a committed guide, sharing the wonder of the places he loves most. As a new WMC board member, Jared is looking forward to supporting working with the rest of the organization to continued providing programming that encourages the power of self discovery in the raw and beautiful environments of the Wrangell Mountains.
