With an impressive background in fisheries management and aquatic habitat restoration, Dodson brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the organization. Dodson has been an engaged community member and professional in the field since 2001, making significant contributions to various organizations in Alaska like Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association, Cook Inlet Regional Citizen Advisory Council, and the Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association. Expressing his enthusiasm for returning full time to the Central Kenai Peninsula, Dodson is eager to leverage his skills and expertise to advance KWF’s initiatives.
Sara is originally from Friendswood, TX and attended Louisiana Tech University, where she majored in Environmental Science. She has spent many summers in the Moose Pass area,
hiking, kayaking, and fishing with her family. After graduating college, Sara immediately moved
to Alaska full-time and began working at the Kenai Watershed Forum.
Sara spent her first year working with and getting familiarized with each department at the
KWF. She has since taken on the role of Development Coordinator. In this role, she hopes to
reenergize KWF membership base, and show our supporters how much we at the Kenai
Watershed appreciate our community members and their support. Sara looks forward to getting
involved around the peninsula, meeting people, and working to protect the area that means so
much to her.
Ben grew up in Wasilla, Alaska and holds an M.S. in Fisheries from University of Alaska Fairbanks. Benjamin has worked throughout Alaska in diverse natural resource management professions including wildland firefighting, science consulting, and tourism. Outside of Kenai Watershed Forum you can find him working on converting an old bus into an RV, coaching Junior Nordic at Tsalteshi Trails, or watching his dog chase squirrels. He loves reading and hearing about Alaska history.
If Ben could meet any famous person from history it would be the caveman or cavewoman who drew the world’s oldest known picture of a salmon, 25,000 years ago on the ceiling of the “Abri du Poisson” cave in France.
Brandon was born and raised in Michigan, and attended Michigan State University for a double major in Environmental Studies and Sustainability & Sustainable Parks Recreation and Tourism with a minor in Environmental Economics. Brandon has enjoyed the outdoors for as long as he can remember, with his favorite hobbies being fishing and hunting. Brandon started as a KWF intern in 2021, but has since made the jump to a full time employee and Alaskan, managing the Stream Watch program. Brandon spends most of his time working and interacting with various volunteers on projects including trash clean up, education/outreach, and stream bank remediation and protection.
Brandon also has a new found passion for volleyball and can be found playing or training when he isn’t busy getting lost in the woods.
Katey is originally from Fort Worth, TX and attended college at Chaminade University of Honolulu, where she majored in Environmental Studies and Mass Media Communications. Since 2017, she spent her summers doing seasonal environmental education work on the Kenai Peninsula, and made the full move to Alaska in the spring of 2021. Katey has also worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and non-profits in Wisconsin, Louisiana, and Hawaii connecting people of all ages to the natural spaces around them. Katey’s passions include hiking, kayaking, cross-country skiing, wild food foraging, watercolor painting, nature photography, and sitting in pretty places.
Melissa Smith
Kenai Peninsula Fish Habitat Partnership Coordinator
Introducing Melissa Smith! Melissa started as the new Coordinator for the Kenai Peninsula Fish Habitat Partnership in late November. She was born and raised in Alaska and has always enjoyed the bounty of the State’s natural resources; from backpacking in the Kenai Mountains to filling her freezer with the most pristine fish and game meat on the planet. Melissa has held various natural resource jobs, which has cultivated a strong sense of connection to and concern for the sensitive fish habitat on the Kenai River and surrounding salmon streams. Melissa is excited to take on this new role, so she can continue to protect and enhance fish habitat through partnerships that actively seek to foster fish habitat conservation on the Kenai Peninsula. You can email Melissa at fishhabitat@kenaiwatershed.org.
Alexis is from Walnutport Pennsylvania and is set to graduate from Paul Smith’s College in May of 2024 with a major in Environmental Science and a minor in Chemistry. In the summer of 2022, Alexis had the opportunity to work with KWF as a Stream Watch Intern, and she is beyond excited to be back at the forum for another summer! In addition to her passion for conservation and restoration, Alexis also loves rugby. When not exploring the mountains or the river, she can often be found playing rugby on a pitch somewhere.
Ashlynn was originally born in Colorado but has since moved over 12 times and grew up in many parts of the world. She attended the University of Pittsburgh and has received a double degree in Environmental Studies and Communications and a certificate and distinction in Sustainability. Ashlynn is strongly interested in environmental conservation, invasive species research, fisheries science, and environmental communication. In her free time, Ashlynn loves to spend time outside kayaking, camping, hiking, hammocking, stargazing, etc. She also likes reading, film/photography, journaling, learning new skills/recipes, and meeting new people. Ashlynn looks forward to being a KWF Conservation Intern as she is interested in pursuing an M.S. degree in Fisheries Science and believes this experience will help expand her knowledge, experience, and skillset within the diverse field of environmental conservation!
Ceili is originally from Winona, Minnesota, nestled right on the Mississippi River. She is a recent graduate from St. Olaf College where she majored in Biology and Environmental Science. Over the past few summers while in school she has worked in a variety of outdoor roles including working as a sea kayak guide for the nonprofit Wilderness Inquiry, partaking in prescribed burns and land management, and also working as a student researcher. Her academic interests have led her to use remote sensing for research in Northern Manitoba looking at forest fires, and also to a geospatial services internship where she first got connected with the Kenai Watershed Forum while looking at anadromous stream network mapping in the Kenai Peninsula. She is thrilled to spend her summer on the peninsula, meeting wonderful new people and working for the watershed!
Ellis grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and currently attends the University of Vermont. She is a junior Natural Resources major with a minor in Geospatial Technologies. Ellis has spent previous summers and semesters working extensively with drone systems, GIS, and botanical research. For the 2024 season, Ellis will be one of the Stream Watch Interns at the Kenai Watershed Forum. This summer, Ellis is looking forward to exploring the Kenai Peninsula and working to help conserve this important ecosystem.
Row grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is a rising junior at Columbia University majoring in Biochemistry. She is interested in environmental conservation and restoration as well as climate change research. She is very excited to spend the summer exploring Alaska and improving the Kenai Peninsula. Her hobbies include hiking, reading, learning new ways to cook eggs, and volleyball.
Field Dogs
You may see our field dogs in the office or out doing fieldwork with our scientists!
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