RAM Group Staff

Dr. Lilian Na'ia Alessa

1. University of Alaska Anchorage
   Biological Sciences
   3211 Providence Drive
   Anchorage AK 99508
   afla@uaa.alaska.edu
   1-907-786-1507

   Current research interests:
   Dr. Alessa is an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She heads the Resilience and Adaptive Management Group at UAA, and has served on the board of the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States. She currently conducts extensive research on human adaptation to climate change, funded by the National Science Foundation, including International Polar Year projects such as the Indigenous Arctic Observing Network. Canadian-born and raised, Alessa holds a Ph.D. in cell biology from the University of British Columbia and has extensive training in cognitive psychology. Her studies of cellular organization greatly inform her current approaches to social ecological complexity. Lil’s expertise is in the conceptual development and application of complex systems thinking, and development of research strategies.

Dr. Andrew Anaru Kliskey

1. University of Alaska Anchorage
   Biological Sciences
   3211 Providence Drive
   Anchorage AK 99508
   afadk@uaa.alaska.edu
   1-907-786-1136
   
   Current research interests:
   

   Andrew (Anaru) Kliskey comes from Aotearoa / New Zealand. He trained as a land surveyor (BSurv), resource planner (MRRP), and gained a PhD degree in geography that integrated geographic information systems, behavioural geography, and resource management. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of British Columbia, BC and at the Arctic Institute of North America’s Kluane Lake Field Station in Yukon Territory, Canada. He is currently Associate Professor in Biology and Geography & Environmental Studies and co-leader of the Resilience and Adaptive Management (RAM) Group at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Anaru has spent the last five years working with people in Inipuiat communities in northwestern Alaska to understand their perception of environmental change. This is part of a broader research initiative that the RAM Group is engaged in examining community response and adaptation to multiple scale environmental changes. Andy’s expertise is in the application and integration of questionnaire surveys, in-person interviews, geographic information systems, and agent-based modeling along with the development of methodologies for synthesizing social and ecological understanding.
   

Holly McQuinn, EPSCoR Administrative Coordinator

1. University of Alaska Anchorage
   Biological Sciences
   3101 Science Circle
   Anchorage AK 99508
   anhm1@uaa.alaska.edu
   1-907-786-7765
   
   Holly has worked as the EPSCoR Administrative Coordinator since July, 2009. She grew up in sunny New Mexico but enjoys the outdoor lifestyle Alaska offers. Holly is responsible for outreach and communications, grant assistance and a myriad of other tasks. Holly's background in grant writing, communications and grant project/event management are valuable assets. Her interests include science (since working with so many scientists), art, design, cooking and gardening. When Holly is not in the RAM lab, she can be found in her art studio, using her torch or kiln to create sculptural forms out of glass, or spending time with her young son, husband and loyal pup.
   

Kacy Krieger, GINA Geospatial Scientist

1. University of Alaska Anchorage
   Biological Sciences
   3101 Science Circle
   Anchorage AK 99508
   kekrieger2@uaa.alaska.edu
   1-907-786-7749
   
   Kacy Krieger moved to Alaska and joined the RAM Group in 2011 as a GINA Geospatial Scientist. He works on many projects with the RAM Group and provides GIS and remote sensing support. He comes from sunny and windy southern Idaho where he studied geology at Idaho State University with an emphasis on Arctic geomorphology. His Master's thesis took him to the Northern Foothills of the Brooks Range where he researched the occurrence and evolution of thermal erosion on the landscape using LiDAR (Light
   Detection And Ranging). When Kacy came to Alaska to do his graduate work, he fell in love with the state, and convinced his wife they should move their family here. His research interests include studying human-landscape interactions using high resolution remote sensing and GIS. Aside from his work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two kids, who love living in Alaska. They have a great time being outdoors and savor the spirit of adventure that exists here.