Alumni Board of Directors

In her own words: “As a retired educator and one who has a vested interest in the well-being of the University of Alaska Southeast, I feel I can contribute in many ways to the programming and activities of the Alumni Association. I remain knowledgeable and active in educational issues in Alaska and want to see the Alumni Association continue its strengths in numbers of members and in impact on current and future students at UAS. UAS serves students from the around the state and the alumni goals and activities should promote ways alumni from around the state can be involved and benefit from the activities the UAS Alumni & Friends Association.”  

Greg Lange was introduced to the grandeur of Juneau by his mother, Nancy (McDowell) Lange, who was born and raised in Juneau and has had family in the area since 1928. He graduated from Juneau-Douglas High School and UAJ (now UAS), a true home-town boy. While at UAJ, he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting (1984) while working for the Department of Public Safety as an Accounting Clerk.

Greg became a teacher in 1995, and has been in the education field ever since. He is very excited to be an active alum working directly with UAS’ newly-established advisory committee for the UA College of Education. He is currently a high school teacher in Edmonds, WA presenting “math renewal” to struggling and challenged freshman and sophomores.

Greg has also carried his Juneau and Eaglecrest-bred love of the mountains and outdoors into his professional work through programs designed to introduce his students to the snow. For 12 years, he worked with a ski bus company that coordinated and transported almost 600 Seattle middle and high school students to local ski areas on Friday nights. Finally, remaining a torch-bearer for the spirit of Juneau, Greg has been active in coordinating the Annual Seattle-based Juneau-Douglas Picnic each July since 2007, which is in its 77th year.

Serving on the UAS Alumni Association Board of Directors allows Greg to positively contribute to UAS, Juneau, and Southeast Alaska through active engagement with UAS staff and alumni and friends, who add so much vitality to the university and region.

Originally from Los Angeles, Casey transferred to UAS as an undergraduate in 2015. Casey graduated from UAS with a B.A. in Social Science in 2017 and is currently a candidate in UAS' MPA program.  

Casey is currently the Mine Training Coordinator and first-year advisor at the UAS School of Career Education where he is responsible for coordinating the University's mine training program and "Pathway to Mining". Previously, Casey worked for the Office of Senator Cathy Giessel as a UAS Legislative Intern, focusing on natural resources and education. 

Casey would like to serve on the UAS Alumni & Friends Board of Directors to positively contribute to UAS, Juneau, and Southeast Alaska. He plans to work closely with the amazing network of UAS alumni and friends that add so much character and value to our university, town, and region.

Originally from Minnesota, “the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes”, Nathan first experienced Alaska working in Skagway over the summer after high school in 2003. He is a veteran who served six honorable years with two deployments in Iraq (one with the 3/297th Alaska National Guard). His dedication to his service was rewarded with both an Army Achievement and Good Conduct Medals. Nathan received a B.A. in English (with Minors in Philosophy and Tlingít) in 2017 from UAS and is currently finishing his last courses in the UAS Master of Public Administration program. He has been a champion of student club activities at UAS, serving as the President of the Philosophy Club, Vice President of the Flying University, and Vice President of Campus Conservatives.

Nathan’s contribution to UAS Alumni & Friends is defined by his ability to overcome obstacles and to serve others. He served two years in Lemon Creek Correctional Center, nine months at a halfway home, and four years on parole. In prison he set out to change his life. He enrolled in addiction classes and took self-help educational courses. When he received parole for good behavior his first action was to enroll at UAS. He is the first person in his family to achieve a college degree and has remained clean for 10 years. Nathan thanks the education he received at UAS for his rehabilitation and wishes to support future students at UAS discover their passion.

Michael Ciri was raised in the wilderness by wolves and dropped in front of the Mourant Building in 1982 to fend for himself. And he fended well. He went from student to student employee to a regular employee in computing in 1986. He became director of Information Technology and Media Services in 2000 and served as UAS Vice Chancellor for Administration from 2013 until his retirement in 2023.

He is UAS educated, receiving an AA in 1988, a B.A. in Liberal Arts in 1994 a Master's in Public Administration in 2007. He also holds the record for most consecutive years of living in student housing and is in the UAS mascot hall of fame as the original "Spike" the whale.

Prior to coming to UAJ then UAS, Michael was a proud recipient of the Alaska GED.  Michael and his partner, Jeri Cary, create the first GED Achievers scholarship to ensure that UAS always provides a welcome to those who may have taken a different path to educational attainment. Contributions can be made by visiting: https://uas.alaska.edu/pub/gedscholarship

Tom was born in Fairbanks, AK and moved to Georgia in the first grade. A week after graduating high school, he moved back to Alaska. Typical of many UAF students, he did not attend for four straight years but worked some and schooled some. Eventually, Tom graduated from UAF in 1990 with a BA in Political Science. During this time, he spent a semester earning twelve credits at UAS where he was a participant in the first full class of legislative interns. This was an opportunity that gave him his first inside view of Alaskan legislative politics. After UAF, Tom joined the Laborers Union, Local 942. He worked construction in the summer and fall for a couple of years and campaigns and staffed legislative offices in the winter and spring.

In 1992, Tom threw my hat in the ring and won a seat in the State House in Fairbanks. He served as a representative until January of 2001. After his last legislative session, Tom started working for the Alaska Works Partnership. This is a small non-profit made up of Alaska’s construction trades and their affiliated training and apprenticeship programs. During this time, Tom moved down from Fairbanks to Juneau. He worked at Alaska Works until June of 2004, when he started working as the regional representative for the Alaska Laborers here in Juneau. Tom worked in that position till my retirement in 2018.

The day after his retirement, Tom got recruited to run for the UAF Alumni Association’s board of directors, an honor he had till last month (May) when he finished my second term. He and his wife are lifetime members of the UAS Alumni Association. Over the years they have enjoyed participating in the association’s activities including the golf outings and auction fundraisers. "I appreciate the association’s work bringing alums and the community together for a better educational experience for UAS students," Tom says.