Dr. Josephine-Mary “Josie” Sam grew up in Cape Coast, Ghana. She is Akan; her mother is an Asante from Effiduase and her father a Fante from Cape Coast.

Dr. Sam has a bachelor’s degree (BA Hons) in English and History from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, as well as a master’s degree in Natural Resources Management and Ph.D. in Natural Resources and Sustainability from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She is currently an
Assistant Professor in the Department of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development and the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

She has worked extensively in the areas of rural and community development, including assisting villages in Ghana to build sustainable water supply systems and helping Alaskan communities address climate change impacts. She most recently served as the coordinator for the Food Security Working Group of the Arctic Observing Summit, and is the program director for the Nyarkoa Foundation, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization she co-founded in 2007 to support community-based projects in Ghana.

Her teaching and research focus on equality and fairness in climate change adaptation and natural resources management, and addressing barriers to long-term success in rural and community development
efforts.

She enjoys reading humorous mysteries, listening to music, and spending time on the beach – when she can get to one!

Christine Davenport is an alumna of the rural development Master of Arts program and is currently working toward a Ph.D. in Indigenous studies. Her research focus is culturally relevant, community-led strategies for promoting wellness in Alaska Native and rural communities. Davenport resides in and works from Sheetkʼá (Sitka).

For the past several years, she has served half-time Assistant Professor for DANSRD and a half-time Graduate Student Coordinator for the Indigenous Studies and Rural Development graduate programs. Davenport earned her B.A. in social sciences through UAS Ketchikan. She enjoys capturing images of her surroundings, swimming in the ocean, and exploring the old-growth forests of Lingít Aaní.

Dr. Charleen Fisher is Gwich’in, Koyukon, and Dena'ina from Beaver, Alaska. She currently teaches at the University of Alaska Fairbanks as an Assistant Professor where she earned a Ph.D. in Indigenous Studies.



Publications:

• Improving the relationships between Indigenous rights holders and researchers in the Arctic: an invitation for change in funding and collaboration
  
• Shijyaa has research: reflections on positionality, relationality, and commonality in Arctic research
• The Co-Create Collaborative
• The Alaska Historical Society Guide to Sources for the Study of ANCSA
• Towards Arctic Research Upholding Indigenous Peoples’ Rights: Recommendations for ICARP IV, the International Conference on Arctic Research Planning
• They Came but Could Not Conquer: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Alaska Native Communities
• Nothing About US Without US! Sharing the Indigenous Participants Statement from the International Conference on Arctic Research Planning IV (ICARP IV)

Ade' Yuxudz (Hello Everyone)! Sonta Hamilton Roach is Deg Hit'an from the village of Shageluk, Alaska, where she lives and works as Assistant Professor in the Department of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. 

Professor Roach received her bachelor's degree in Rural Development at UAF and her master's degree in Elementary Education from UAS. Her research interests are in the areas of community and strategic planning, rural economic and business development, and education in rural/tribal areas of Alaska. She has served on the Board of Directors for Doyon, Limited, for nine years, along with Doyon Foundation, an educational non-profit organization supporting Doyon shareholders through scholarships and language learning opportunities. 

She enjoys living in Shageluk where she continues to live a traditional and subsistence lifestyle connected closely to the land. If she is not in the office, she is out on the river or in the woods.

Tia Tidwell is an Assistant Professor of DANSRD. She belongs to the Nunamiut people of Anaktuvuk Pass and currently resides in Fairbanks. Tia holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Her research focuses on the intersection of settler colonial studies, Arctic literature, and Indigenous counter-narratives. Tia is especially interested in adapting settler colonial theoretical frameworks borrowed from New Zealand, Australia, and the continental United States to account for alternative land claim resolutions and creative resurgent responses from Indigenous communities of Alaska and Northern Canada.

An alumna of the Rural Alaska Honors Institute and Dot Lake High School, Fitzgerald earned her Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences at UAF and most recently graduated from the Doyon Leadership Training program.

Fitzgerald has worked the last 15 years in the Office of Human Resources, Biology and Wildlife Department, College of Natural Science and Mathematics Division of Research, and most recently in the Signers' Business Office. Before UAF, she worked for Tanana Chiefs Conference for seven years.

She enjoys outdoor activities such as: hiking, skiing, floating and boating. She also enjoys traditional activities: picking berries and wild rhubarb, fishing, hunting, beading, singing Athabascan songs and attending potlatches.