Associates
Amy Gilson - Project Associate / Alaska Office Manager
Originally from Minnesota, Amy fell in love with Alaska in 1996 while working at a salmon processing plant hoping to earn study abroad funds to complete degrees in Elementary Education and Spanish. It was a taste for adventure and travel that lead her back to Alaska the following summer and it has been home for her since.
A ‘Bio-Sherpa’ at heart, from 1999-2005 Amy was a Fish and Wildlife Field Technician for the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, living and working in remote locations across the state, collecting commercial fishery and research data for both salmon and crab. She moved to Seldovia permanently in 2005 and began working with Nuka Research in January of 2006. Amy brings valuable data collection and management skills to the Nuka Research team and has applied them to several in-house administrative and bookkeeping projects, as well as client projects involving data compilation and analysis and geo-referencing of Nuka’s considerable library of aerial photographs.
Still not quite out of the field, Amy and her partner have been living in a wall tent on their property outside of Seldovia, milling their own trees for building material.
Kathleen George – Graphic Artist
Kathleen graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science. Her concern for the natural world and wildlife has guided her in her journey as she moved from New Hampshire to Alaska in 1991 to continue her work with The Nature Conservancy.
Although her career as a graphic artist began many years before in Virginia, it was in Alaska where her business began to thrive. In addition to working with Nuka Research as the resident graphic artist since 2001, she continues to pursue her other career as a watercolor artist, painting the Alaska landscape with an eye on its ever-changing surroundings. She promises us she will soon create a website to showcase her considerable talents.
Bretwood Higman - Geologist / Mapping Specialist
Bretwood Higman, or Hig, began contributing to Nuka Research's project work in 2009, after completing a 4,000-mile trek with his wife and partner in Ground Truth Trekking, Erin McKittrick. Hig's work with Nuka has been focused on geospatial data management and mapping, and he has played a key role in our ongoing work to develop a WebMapper application for emergency response planning. Hig has a PhD in Geology from the University of Washington. He recently settled in Seldovia with his wife and young son.
Erin McKittrick - Project Associate / Technical Writer
Erin McKittrick joined the Nuka team in 2009, along with her husband Hig. Erin has 
worked on a number of Nuka projects focused on arctic oil and gas development and various marine policy issues. Erin is an accomplished blogger and recently published a book about her year-long trek from Seattle to Unimak Island. Her considerable writing talents combined with her background in biological sciences make her a key component of many of our research and reporting projects. Erin has an M.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of Washington. She lives in a yurt in Seldovia with her husband, Hig, and their son.
Sanne Schneider - Project Associate / Massachusetts Office Manager
Sanne Schneider joined Nuka Research at our Plymouth office in
2008.
Like most of us, Sanne took the scenic route to her position at Nuka Research. Sanne worked previously as a Resource Specialist and Program Specialist at Northeast Passage, a community recreation program for people with physical disabilities. She was responsible for organizing, setting up and implementing programs, running an adaptive equipment rental program, writing and disseminating a monthly newsletter, creating and maintaining a member database, and a variety of other duties.
In her role as Research Assistant for our east coast operations, Sanne enjoys many opportunities to utilize her multitasking and organizational skills. Sanne proofreads and edits, manages data, organizes paper and electronic files, maintains client records, arranges meetings, and develops administrative procedures. In short, she manages all of the details - big and small - that keep our Massachusetts operations running smoothly and efficiently. While her past experience managing recreational therapy programs is certainly important, we're pretty sure that the on-the-job-training she has received as a mother of two is where she truly honed her exceptional skills.
Sanne received her BS from the University of New Hampshire and her MEd from the University of Georgia. Sanne grew up on Cape Cod near some of the most beautiful and dynamic shoreline in the world, and she is delighted that her work with Nuka Research focuses on preserving and protecting the coastal environment.
Kathy Cotter - Bookkeeper
Kathy Cotter joined the Nuka Research team in 2009, and we are not sure how we survived so long without her. Kathy is a master of efficiency, and she manages our client invoicing, bookkeeping, bill paying, payroll processing and all of the other un-fun stuff that is critical to the day-to-day operation of any business.