Who's Who at the Pratt

Staff

Diane Converse , Museum Director
dianeDiane Converse joined the Pratt in October, 2009 as its new Museum Director/CEO. Converse grew up in Oregon and eastern Washington and has been living in the greater Seattle area since obtaining her BS degree in Wildlife Science from the University of Washington. She received her masters degree in nonprofit leadership from Seattle University and completed her doctorate in education there last summer. Diane brings a passion for the work of educational nonprofits and 20 years of nonprofit experience to the Pratt Museum. Over the course of her career she has worked as an administration director and publications manager for a regional public land partner organization, as well as leading a small arts organization through a significant period of financial growth and operational change while studying for her doctorate in educational leadership. She also has work experience in wildlife research and in developing theories of change and program evaluation. Outside of work, Diane is involved in the arts and volunteering. An active fiber artist, Diane likes to express her creative side in fabric and yarn and is impressed with Homer's quilting community. Her recent volunteer interest has been adult literacy tutoring for a human services nonprofit. She also enjoys a variety of outdoor activities such as hiking and has a new interest in kayaking. She travels whenever she can, including a trip last winter to New Zealand.

 

Holly Cusack-McVeigh , Curator
HollyHolly is a cultural anthropologist and Curator at the Pratt Museum. She has served as a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Alaska Anchorage -Kenai Peninsula College. She earned a Master’s degree in Anthropology from Michigan State University, with an emphasis in Cultural and Medical Anthropology, and received a Ph.D. in Social/Cultural Anthropology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Her areas of specialization include Native American and Arctic studies, folklore, oral history, archival research and environmental studies. Her most recent fieldwork involves sense of place and storytelling on the Bering Sea Coast, which was recently published in a work entitled “Living With Stories.” Holly has spent many years working as a research consultant to Native tribal councils in the United States and Canada. She has served as a liaison between museum staff and Native groups under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. She has worked as a research consultant for the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society and Alaska Native Regional Corporations. Holly has also conducted numerous grant-funded, collaborative oral history projects in villages throughout Alaska.

 

Ryjil Christianson, Education Director
ryjilRyjil Christianson is an Environmental Educator and Director of Education at the Pratt Museum. She is commitment to inspiring exploration of our environment through the integration of science, culture and art in children and lifelong learners. Born and raised in Kachemak Bay, most of Ryjil’s early years were spent exploring the wilds of Bear Cove. At a very young age, she showed an interest in art and the natural beauty around her. Later on Ryjil moved with her family across the bay to Homer for school. In the fall of 1998, Ryjil moved to Fairbanks to attend UAF. After graduating with a BA in History, Ryjil returned to Homer. Aside from being the Director of Education at the Pratt Museum, Ryjil is also a ceramic artist. During the summer months Ryjil can be found pit firing ceramic vessels on the beaches of Kachemak Bay.

Michele Miller, Development Director
Michele Miller comes to the Pratt from a three-year stint as Executive Director of Alaska Moving Image Preservation Association, a nonprofit in Anchorage that preserves and protects Alaska’s moving images. Prior to that, she had her own consulting business in nonprofit management with an emphasis in fundraising. A lifelong Alaskan, Ms. Miller grew up in a logging camp on Prince of Wales Island, where she learned to boat, fish and shoot at a young age. Later in life, she earned a private pilot’s license and instrument rating. She is an avid volunteer for the arts and has served as juror/panelist/commissioner for various arts organizations, including the Alaska State Council on the Arts and the Anchorage Arts Advisory Commission. A member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Michele served on the Board of Directors for two years; she currently serves on the Board of Directors of the the Anchorage International Film Festival, Bunnell Street Arts Center, and was appointed by the Mayor to serve on the City's Public Arts Committee last year.

Jennie Engebretsen, Visitor Services
Jennie has lived in Alaska since 1976 when her father came to the “Last Frontier” to work on the Pipeline. Most recently her life has been filled with raising a family and working toward earning a BA in History and Anthropology. Observing the development of the Lower Kenai Peninsula has fueled her interests in eco-tourism. Jennie believes that working together as a community will eventually contribute to the world’s betterment. Being Visitor Services and Retail Manager at the Pratt Museum lends itself nicely to supporting local markets and encouraging responsible tourism programs. It also allows her to direct visitors on how to better access what Alaska’s most beautiful playground, Homer, has to offer. She enjoys photography, walking on the beach, camping, and fishing on the Anchor River.

Heidi Stage, Bookkeeper
Heidi StageHeidi is a New York transplant who came to Alaska on her honeymoon in 1985 and never left. She lives in Homer with her husband and their two children, whose extracurricular activities keep her busy outside the Museum. Heidi first started at the Pratt in 2000 as the assistant to the office manager. She hopped around where needed doing stints in the Museum Store, Development and Marketing and Visitor Services before settling into the Bookkeeper position she currently holds. Heidi likes working behind-the-scenes crunching numbers, but she also enjoys interacting with the many visitors, volunteers and community members she comes into contact with on a daily basis. They truly make her job at the Pratt more interesting and rewarding.

Kim Wylde, Office Manager
Kim Wylde has always felt a strong connection to nature and has lived her adult life in the forests of the Western U.S. She moved to Alaska after spending a few years living a wilderness lifestyle with her family in the Flathead National Forest of Montana. With a BA in Interpersonal Communication and an English Minor, Kim is enthusiastic about interacting with Pratt Museum volunteers and members as well as Museum visitors from the local community and all over the world. In her time away from work Kim enjoys being at home with her husband and four children gardening, playing music and building their house.

Art Koeninger, Building Manager
ArtArt enjoys a wide variety of tasks as Building Manager. Besides regular maintenance and repair of the four museum buildings, his responsibilities include monitoring the climate control, fire and security alarm systems; supervising and assisting garden, grounds, forest and trails staff and volunteers; maintaining the aquaria systems and coordinating aquaria volunteers; and providing support for exhibit installations and gift shop displays. Art is not new to the Pratt. As a local metalsmith and jeweler with decades of experience, he was hired to make many of the mounts for the artifacts and other objects in the museum's permanent exhibit. Perhaps his best preparation for this job has been his experience completely restoring a dilapidated, historic building in Chitina, Alaska, with the help of federal and state preservation grants, transforming it into a functioning art gallery since 1986. Art is pleased to find a job in Homer to which his varied skills and interests can be applied.

Peter Gnad
Peter has lived in Alaskan since the winter of 1961/62. He moved to Fritz Creek in 1972 and has been a Homer resident since 1982. Since 1982 Peter has been in charge of general maintenance at Pratt Museum and is the chief aquarium critter feeder.

Erik Pullman, Technology Administrator
erpErik manages computers and their users at the Pratt through a unique combination of science, meditation, and ignorance. Prior to joining the Pratt, Erik traveled throughout Alaska as an ecologist and wetland scientist for a local consulting firm in Fairbanks. Erik holds a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology from Clemson University and has been caught teaching science classes at the Kachemak Bay Campus. When not working, he can usually be found playing with his children, sailing on the bay, or making a mess in the kitchen.

 

Board of Directors

Milli Martin
Milli is past President of the Kenai Borough Assembly, where she served from 2000 through 2009. Her public service experience includes service on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Board of Education, Homer Electric Association, KBBI Board of Directors, Homer’s Parks and Recreation Commission, Kenai Peninsula College’s Kachemak Bay Branch Advisory Board, and Kachemak Bay Advisory Planning Commission. Milli has a keen interest in education and outreach and the growth of the Museum. (First elected in 2010.)

Kristine (Kris) Holderied, Vice President
A physical oceanographer with the National Ocean Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Kris Holderied came to Homer from the Washington, DC area to coordinate research, education and outreach activities at the Kasitsna Bay Laboratory, near Seldovia. Before coming to NOAA she worked on environmental compliance issues for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Norfolk, VA and earlier served on active duty with the U.S. Navy as an oceanography officer (more frequently known as a “weather guesser”). Ms. Holderied holds a B.S., M.S. and is completing doctoral work in physical oceanography. Ms. Holderied was re-elected to a three-year term in 2009. (First elected 2006.)

Julia Clymer, Treasurer
Julia Clymer a certified public accountant working as a Plant Accountant for Homer Electric Association. She has also worked in a public accounting firm that specialized in conducting financial audits for nonprofit organizations statewide. Until 2004 Ms. Clymer served on the staff at the Pratt Museum in various capacities for thirteen years. Her experience with the Museum bridges early days and the very beginning of the sperm whale project to the successful launch of the live web cams and recent major exhibit renovation work. Ms. Clymer was elected to a three-year term in 2009.

Tina Day
Tina Day currently runs her own business, T.Day’s Marketing Consultants, focusing on business and program development. Tina was previously the Executive Director of the Homer Chamber of Commerce, where she was responsible for all operations. Notable achievements include implementing a new web site and financial reporting system, growing annual revenue streams, and writing a strategic business plan to grow the organization. Tina’s strengths include senior management, strategic planning, marketing and public relations, government affairs and media relations, fundraising and public speaking. (First elected in 2010.)

Greg Kimura
Dr. G.W. Kimura is a fourth generation Alaskan and holds advanced degrees from Harvard University and Cambridge University. Formerly, he was University chaplain, assistant professor of ethics and humanities, and department chair at Alaska Pacific University. Currently, he is the President/CEO of the Alaska Humanities Forum. Greg would like to see the Pratt continue to flourish in its mission of telling the story of the natural history, ethnography, history, and art of the Kachemak Bay region. He would like to see it continue to grow and both intellectually stimulate and challenge its members and visitors. (First elected in 2010.)