The Alaska Tech Prep Consortium is fortunate to be guided by an active governing board consisting of skilled and experienced secondary and postsecondary educators, business and industry representatives.

Meet our board:

Rich started his career in education over 30 years ago in Wisconsin where he received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. He came to Alaska in 1981 to teach in the Bering Strait School District. Since then he has held various positions including counselor, program coordinator, assistant principal and assistant superintendent in the Bering Strait, North Slope Borough, and Lower Yukon school districts. During that time Rich also earned his Superintendent/Principal Credential from the University of Alaska-Southeast. He is currently serving as superintendent for the Klawock City School District.

Robert Cress is Training Director for the Associated General Contractors of Alaska. In that capacity he is responsible for $4 million in federal and state grants directed towards the construction career education efforts in Urban Alaska with the Alaska Construction Academies and throughout Rural Alaska with NCCER teacher training and curriculum support. Robert received the National Center for Construction Education and Research, NCCER, Master Trainer and Administrator Certification in September 2007. Prior to AGC of Alaska he was a teacher with the Anchorage School District.

Working with Tanana Valley Campus as Assistant Director, Torie helped to resurrect Tech Prep for the Interior. She was also instrumental in working with the other UA major academic units to craft a more common agreement for Tech Prep within the UA system. Torie has a Bachelors degree from Colorado State University in Art and Psychology and was certified as a K-12 teacher. She has a Masters degree from the University of Northern Colorado in Motivational Counseling and Education. Torie has worked for over 20 years in the mental health and addictions field serving as therapist, trainer or director. Ten of those years were in rural Alaska. Torie is currently the Director of Health Programs at the College of Rural and Community Development (CRCD) in Fairbanks.

Dr. Iva GreyWolf is a licensed clinical psychologist and addiction counselor. She is currently the Director of the southeast Alaska Area Health Education Center (AHEC) which serves all of southeast Alaska. The AHEC focus is on workforce development in the field of health. Dr. GreyWolf has over thirty years of extensive experience delivering quality behavioral health services to Native people, particularly in rural and remote areas. She has been a trainer and consultant on a variety of Behavioral Health issues for Native people in the United States and Canada. She is a state certified administrator and clinical supervisor. For the past thirteen years, Iva has been serving in southeast Alaska in the field of behavioral health. Prior to moving to Alaska she taught psychology at a private college in Minnesota. Iva is an enrolled member of the Ft. Peck Assiniboine Tribe and on the Ancillary Rolls of the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe (Anishinabe) Tribe.

Brian served four years in the US Navy. He joined the Southern Alaska Carpenters Apprenticeship in 1993-1997 and became a journeyman carpenter in May of 1997 with Local 2247 in Juneau. He moved to Anchorage in 1999 and worked as a journeyman carpenter with Local 1281. In 2002 he became a carpenter instructor with the Southern Alaska Carpenter Training Center until 2007 in which he took over as the Training Director for the Southern Alaska Carpenter Training Center (JATC) Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee.

Gina began teaching in Ohio in 1992. She has taught multiple grades including 2nd, 4th, and 5th. She and her husband moved to Alaska in the fall of 1996. Gina worked in the Fairbanks School District as a teacher aide and substitute teacher until finally settling in with the Yukon-Koyukuk School District. She has held various positions with YKSD including grant writer, and school administrator. Currently, Gina is a Coordinator of various programs for the Yukon-Koyukuk District (Even Start Program, CTE Program and Accreditation).

Kenny is the Staff Development Coordinator for the Alaska Vocational Technical Center (AVTEC) located in Seward.

Melissa is the Career and Technical Education Director for the Valdez City School District.

Sally Spieker is presently Chair for the Alaska Tech Prep Consortium Board and Assistant Professor for Career & Technical Education at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Sally was key to facilitating the planning and coordinated application for the initial grant that resulted in our present Alaska Statewide Tech Prep Consortium.

She has experience as UAA Tech Prep Coordinator where she articulated 120 courses with 10 partnerships. Sally served as Program Manager for Alaska EED and sits on a variety of workforce committees including Putting Alaska's Resources to Work (PARW) and Vocational Technical Education Providers (VTEP). She currently serves as Alaska Association for Career and Technical Education past-president.

During the last five years Sally has chaired 15 and served on three additional graduate committees, taught more than 15 UAA Career and Technical Education courses, advised students, and revised curriculum for the Master of Science, Career and Technical Education; Bachelor of Science, Technology; and Apprenticeship Technologies degree programs. She has helped design indicators of performance & data collection for Perkins' grants.

Sally taught in the public school classroom for 20 years in rural and urban Alaska school districts and schools in California and Nebraska. She has successfully attained a Doctor of Education, Educational Leadership & Change and continues to play a large role in the advancement of Career & Technical Education and career and technical student organizations statewide.