Staff & Board Bios

director@prattmuseum.org

Jennifer Gibbins has over 25 years’ experience in non-profit leadership and management for organizations in Washington, DC and Alaska including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Eyak Preservation Council, Prince William Soundkeeper, Alaska SeaLife Center and the Alaska Forum on the Humanities where she served as Leadership Programs Director. Gibbins joined the Pratt Museum in 2019.

Ahnie Litecky is a historian who specializes in Native history. She has worked on research projects in diverse fields such as the oil and gas industry, environmental studies, psychology, and economics. She spent her first five years living in western Alaska where she developed a lifelong interest in Yup’ik culture. After earning an undergraduate degree in journalism, Litecky served as a U.S. Peace Corps education volunteer in rural South Africa for two years. At the University of Montana, Litecky focused her history M.A. research on how the Yup’ik grappled with the introduction of epidemic diseases.  While living in Montana she also served for five years on the board of a non-profit dedicated to community-based pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum education. After spending three years in Cairo, Egypt, Litecky and her family moved halfway around the world to Homer in 2017. Litecky is excited to support the Pratt Museum’s mission of exploring and sharing the history of the Kachemak Bay region.

Jeff is a professor in the History/Political Science Department of the Kenai Peninsula College, Kachemak Bay Campus. For the past five years, he has taught and created curriculum for traditional and online history courses at the University of Idaho, George Fox University, and KBC. Jeff’s book, The Criminal-Terror Nexus in Chechnya, dealing with the connection between crime and terrorism in the twenty-first century in Chechnya and the Russian Federation, is due for publishing in April 2017. Jeff’s interests in the Pratt have come from the good things he has heard from the community, especially his colleagues at the college, and are threefold. Firstly, he and his family love Homer and want to be a part of the community in any way they can, and the Museum is a place where he can use his skills. Secondly, being a newcomer to the area, he is interested in the history of the area’s peoples. And third, Jeff is committed to connecting the Museum with his future history and political science courses, and with the college in general.

Linda Rowell is a retired educator who has taught in Maryland, Illinois and Alaska and has worked with students from preschool through college. She has been an active volunteer at the Pratt since moving to Anchor Point over 15 years ago. During this time she worked as a docent with school groups, developed educational materials, served as a National Park Service Laureate interpreting the bear camera, led the Harbor Walking Tours for summer tourists, and helped make countless gingerbread houses at the annual Stocking Stuffer Party. Active with the Patrons of the Pratt Society, most recently Linda completed two terms as president. Prior to that she was the president of the Anchor Point Public Library Board for five years, where she wrote their newsletter and ran their summer reading program. Rowell was elected to serve on the Board in 2012.

Monica brings 26 years of nonprofit leadership, formal and informal pedagogy, and museum community engagement experience. Her passion is focused on creating authentic community-led and intergenerational experiences based on relevancy, and she thrives in mobilizing teams to be catalysts for collective change. Most recently, Monica served as the Executive Director of the Alaska Museum of Science and Nature. Before that, Monica was Director of Education and Public Engagement at the Anchorage Museum for five years. Previously, she also served in leadership positions at the American Museum of Natural History, The Field Museum, Wonder Works – a Children’s Museum, and the Chicago Center for Music Education. These experiences have provided her with a strong foundation in non-profit fundraising, outreach, and partnership building.

Mannfried Funk after vacationing at Juneberry Lodge in Homer in 2014, Mannfried and his wife, Marcia Kuszmaul, purchased the lodge and moved to Homer in 2015. Mr. Funk has a distinguished career as an award-winning cellist and symphony manager. He began musical studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music when he was five. Beyond earning his BA, BAed, and MA, he pursued studies in Israel. He entered the professional world as the Co-Principal cellist of the Sinfonica National de Colombia in Bogota. In Bogota, he also played for commercial recordings and toured Europe with the Orquesta Pro Musica de Bogota. Returning to the US, he was hired by the Seattle Symphony, the Seattle Opera, and the Pacific Northwest Ballet. He also was a fellow at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute playing under conductors Leonard Bernstein, Daniel Lewis, Eiji Oue, and others. Later Mr. Funk built a 35 student cello studio, was an adjunct teacher at North Seattle Community College, performed chamber music, and recorded for the movie industry. He was recruited as manager for The Federal Way Symphony and later also the Bellevue Symphony. In Homer he has worked collaboratively with the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra, the Homer Council on the Arts, the Homer Youth Orchestra and Opus program, and the Pratt Museum.  

Sara Jackinsky is a dedicated and long-serving member of the Pratt. Alaska Native and a native Alaskan with Alutiiq/Slavic heritage. She was raised in Ninilchik, has spent most of her life on the Kenai Peninsula, and has roots in commercial fishing, homesteading, Native issues, and Alaska history and culture. She and her family have been members of the Pratt Museum for many years. She has a continuing interest in studying and preserving the culture and history of Kachemak Bay and the surrounding areas. Sara has served on several boards, including the Ninilchik Traditional Council. Sara first joined the Pratt Board in 2010.