Kate McClellan was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and spent her youth in the suburbs of Chicago. In 1977, just before she turned 17, she left a traumatic home life and headed for Alaska in a VW bus, moving here permanently in 1986. Kate received a bachelor's degree in Sociology with a minor in History in 2002. During her last year at UAA, in the build-up to the war in Iraq, she became an activist with Alaskans for Peace and Justice, opposing the war, and met a Palestinian man named Khalid, who expanded her perspective on the conflict in Israel/Palestine. As a consequence, she has been avidly following what has transpired there. She lives in Nunaka Valley with her dog Mariah and takes in other dogs for boarding. She is a long-term member of St. Marys Episcopal Church, loves long walks with the dogs, hiking, and gardening, and is something of a compulsive news junkie.

Link to slides that Kate used - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/kosfn2biax5j67kkpjc70/TheSituation.pdf?rlkey=cywafl80uqylkdws06jj8ohi9&dl=0

Link to YouTube video that Kate showed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhI2Rlt3SSc&rco=1 This link is to a video - If you only open the Forum podcast, you will experience the audio of this video. It is well worth accessing the video.

Cindy Chaput is the College, Career, and Life Ready Director for the Anchorage School District. An Alaskan resident for 28 years, Cindy has spent three decades in the education sector, gaining valuable experience in administration and counseling across various schools in the Anchorage School District. In her current role, she supports the expanding technical and real-world opportunities for ALL students, bridging the gap between education and the workforce through the Academies of Anchorage initiative. Beyond her professional life, Cindy and her husband, Dave, enjoy building projects with their four adult children, retreating to their cabin, and hiking in the mountains.

Misha Chakraborty, with over 15 years of experience in academia, brings a wealth of knowledge to her role at United Way, Anchorage. Her personal interests, such as spending time outside and enjoying music, make her more than just a professional. She is a mother of two daughters and a fur baby, and she is excited to be involved in the Academies of Anchorage initiative through United Way, where her role is to connect the schools with the community and business partners.

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ylotzb6nn92a5f7ubyoe0/Community-Partner-AoA-Presentation.pdf?rlkey=b2zsvpdnpae6pdwthfcdadyfj&dl=0

How to get involved - https://www.asdk12.org/domain/6221 Building a Partnership / Partner With Us (asdk12.org)

Academies of Anchorage Pathways link - https://www.asdk12.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=1507&ModuleInstanceID=43761&ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=86054&PageID=2516

Chat - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4jb5jn7k5i6jgvjwmru6a/20240714_chat.pdf?rlkey=ooqg1e2z7nt3tscsem69g40o4&dl=0

Travis’s primary interest areas are star formation, climate change advocacy, and astronomy education research. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Physics from Trinity University in 1992 and his master’s (1995) and Ph.D. (1998) in Astrophysics from the University of Colorado. His UAA Faculty website lists his many publications. He also works with a team to make color astronomical images, which you can see in the NOIRLab image gallery. Paola Banchero is a journalist and Professor of Journalism and Public Communications at UAA. She worked as a reporter and editor at the Kansas City Star, the Kansas City Business Journal, the Wichita Eagle, the Arizona Daily Star, and the Anchorage Daily News, as well as in strategic communications for a large agribusiness. Paola is the chair of JPC and has taught various courses, from Corporate Communications to Documentary Filmmakers and Filmmaking, to Magazines to Media Literacy. She is a faculty adviser to The Northern Light and a member of the UAA Media Board. She serves on the Alaska Public Media Board of Directors. She earned master’s degrees in Journalism (Northwestern) and Business Administration (Benedictine).

Travis and Paola have one daughter and enjoy the outdoors in Alaska.

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ua7t5p0bvcry2y2e1dp6i/AUUFJuly2024.pdf?rlkey=pnpfq0uwt6ca05qfze6u3hz24&dl=0

Some interesting websites -

http://www.citizensclimatelobby.org

http://www.ThirdAct.org

http://www.350.org

https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/05/what-you-need-to-know-about-record-breaking-heat-in-the-atlantic/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1cdf50Zt6ph8l26eXPl8Q80GjHIgHBajfpaQPNjSKcK1IBSikaEAzcw5A_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw

https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2022/10/what-can-you-do-about-climate-change-take-this-quiz-to-find-out/

https://drawdown.org

Travis;s pubs -https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/college-of-arts-and-sciences/departments/physics-and-astronomy/faculty/rector.cshtml

Color astronomical images - https://noirlab.edu/public/images/