Our Staff
Volunteers Welcome
Our dedicated staff exemplifies the highest standards of professionalism, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to our team.
Ashley Carrick, Executive Director
Ashley is a fourth-generation Alaskan living in Fairbanks since 2010, when she headed north to obtain a BA in Psychology from UAF. In 2017, she pursued a job as a legislative aide for the Alaska State Legislature and has served for the last four years as the Chief of Staff for a Fairbanks House Member. In 2020, Ashley received an MPH through the Division of Population Health Sciences at UAA. She brings a breadth of experience in advocacy, outreach, research, and leadership to TVWA. In her free time, she enjoys all that the Fairbanks arts community and the Alaskan outdoors have to offer alongside her husband and two beagles.
Naomi Rambo, Education Director and Office Assistant
Naomi made Alaska her home in 2010 when she moved to Kodiak to be a naturalist and educator for Alaska State Parks and the National Wildlife Refuge. Her trip around Alaska continued with her moving to Sitka, AK, to work as a recreation specialist at a boarding school. In 2015, she managed a recreation company in Denali for a summer season, making Fairbanks her final Alaskan home 2015. She works full-time as an elementary school librarian for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. Naomi’s love for the outdoors and teaching has filled her summers by working for Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District as a Natural Resources Educator and Technician. During the 2019 field season, Naomi worked on the Chinook Sampling project. She can be found fishing, reading, or cooking in her spare time! She is excited to continue working on the Chinook Sampling project and running TVWA's Adopt-A-Stream Program.
Jenna Jonas, Science Director
Jenna grew up in a family that built kayaks in the living room outside of Detroit, Michigan. She fell in love with Alaska in 2009 and has been hard at work exploring it ever since. She has been working for TVWA in various capacities since 2013. She lives on an off-grid homestead on the Tanana River. She and her partner, David, spend most of their time hunting, fishing, gathering Alaska’s bounty and building in the spring and fall. In the winter, they own and operate a dogsled adventure company called Boreal Journeys Alaska.
Heather Mirczak, Education Director
Heather grew up in NY State and found her love for nature, mountains, climbing, hiking, and stewardship for the land in college. She fell in love with the Arctic on a trip to Alaska in 2014 and landed in Fairbanks a few years later. Her 25-year career in education ranges from working in Environmental Education, instructing for Outward Bound, teaching high school, and directing an Outdoor Education Program. Heather has an MA in Teaching from Antioch University and spent 11 years learning Health, PE, and Biology in the classroom. She has worked with TVWA and the Pile Driver Slough project since 2016. She runs her own “Education in Motion” business, developing curricula for organizations and traveling families.