 What is your current job and what does it entail?
Currently, I am the deputy director of the Natural Resources Department for the Association of Village Council Presidents. AVCP is the local non-profit native organization based in Bethel and serves the 56 surrounding villages in our region of southwest Alaska.
My job requires me to keep current with all the fish, game and marine mammal-related studies and findings, along with the present and future research goals of the different agencies. I also deal with an assortment of everyday issues (e.g., commercial fishing, salmon enumeration projects, harvest numbers of marine mammals, moose population counts, waterfowl regulation processes, maintaining the indigenous rights of people of my area, etc.) and attend the majority of the state, federal and tribal meetings concerning those issues within my field. These meetings encompass everything from in-season salmon run counts and assessments, to passing state and federal regulations for fish, game and/or marine mammals, to expressing the genuine, strong emotions of the local native people regarding their subsistence, their way of life. In addition to fish and marine mammals, I am also tasked to keep abreast of all issues regarding our migratory bird species, moose, caribou and all other critters we have in our region and that are important to our people.
What was the key factor in your career decision?
Being able to come back home to Alaska to work.
What do like most about your career?
I am able to work at home in the town I grew up in, with and for the people of my region. Occasionally I get to "get my hands dirty" with field and hands-on work. Nowadays, I travel quite often and meet with others who share the same concerns and have the same goals. I also get to meet the people, face to face, with whom I might be in disagreement with on a particular issue.
What do you like least about your career?
The politics that come to play within fisheries and land and marine mammal issues and with other resources is so unbelievable. There are so many different agencies and groups of people involved. Depending on the issue, they might include any of the numerous state, federal and tribal governments, the assorted conservationist groups, and those people who just want to be involved, who may or may not have ties to formal groups. So many people have a different stake in each issue, and they all have/want their right to be heard.
What do you do to relax?
The fall, winter and spring times are my busiest with meetings and traveling, dealing with proposal deadlines or with whatever else may be happening. During that time and during my breaks I like to stay home and spend time with my daughter and my husband. The time I spend at home with them is so valuable but I do still like to get out on the river (boat, truck or snow machine) and enjoy the "wilderness" once in a while. My husband and I both enjoy time away from the tensions of work and spending days with our daughter, wherever that may be. Other than that, I like watching a good movie, listening to all sorts of music, getting out in the boat during the summer, and visiting with family and friends.
Who are your heroes/heroines?
My mother and my father. My mother came to Alaska in the 1970s as a registered nurse -- all the way up from Texas. She didn't know anyone here but decided to give Alaska a try. She later moved to Bethel, met a handsome, young Yup'ik Eskimo, fell in love, and got married in a traditional, very small Russian Orthodox Church in a village where her new in-laws spoke little to no English. Both she and my father braved the transition and real hardships of living in a very isolated, very rural part of Alaska, adjusting to each other's cultures and lifestyles. (I say isolated because the only way to get out of Bethel is to hop on an airplane or catch a barge on its way out of town.)
I was fortunate to have grown up with the western, "civilized" culture of a white parent and a traditional, full-blooded Yup'ik parent. They both taught me values that will be with me eternally -- values that I hope to instill in my own children.
What advice would you give a high school student who expressed an interest in pursuing a career in your field?
The ocean and all its elements are so fascinating and appealing. If any part of it interests you enough as a career idea, run after it. If you put the time and energy into working at it, you will ultimately be doing what you've always dreamed of. There is nothing holding you back, unless it is yourself.
Are career opportunities in your field increasing or decreasing and why?
Opportunities in the various marine fields seem to be increasing. In southwest Alaska, in the whole state of Alaska for that matter, we have experienced fish disasters and marine mammal population declines over the past several years. Biological and social concerns have since become the focus of many of the agencies I interact with. Research into what has happened and what is happening with our fish and marine mammal populations seem to be the top priorities to everyone.
What will you be doing 10 years from today?
Other than working in Alaska, I haven't though that far ahead. Right now I can't see myself doing anything much different than what I'm doing now so I will most likely be right here doing the same thing.
Salary: $40,000 - $60,000
Email:jhooper@avcp.org
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