Board of Directors
Debra Brushafer, President, moved to Sitka AK in 1992. She has worked as a family practice physician since her arrival in Sitka. She is an avid outdoors person. She enjoys kayaking, hiking, camping, and boating to explore the beautiful Tongass with her family and friends. Her husband, children, and she regularly subsistence hunt, fish, and gather. She believe in preserving the Tongass for future generations. Debra joined the SCS Board in 2015 and became Board President in 2020.
Krystina Scheller, Vice President, is originally from Hawaii and has always had close relationship with the land and water around her. In 2015, Krystina moved her family and her Arctic sailing business to Sitka via the Northwest Passage. Her passion for the environment and sustainable living has taken her to some of the most remote parts of the Northern Hemisphere including the Central Arctic Ocean, Northwest Greenland and Ellesmere Island. During her voyages she has seen firsthand the devastating results of climate change, the disappearing sea ice and the side effects of industrial practices in remote locations. Her lifelong relationship with the natural world and firsthand knowledge of the affects of climate change motivated her to join the SCS Board. She has a degree in Political Science and Economics from Drew University. Krystina became Board Vice President in 2021.
Marian Allen, Secretary, is a longtime Southeast resident and former fisherwoman. Marian’s roots are in Maine. From her father she got her love of the woods and mountains and from her mother love of the sea. As a young person during the 1960s her passion for a healthy planet where there would be equity for everyone, drove her into political activism. A spontaneous trip on the ferry up the Inside Passage in 1978 opened the possibility of living the quiet, off-the-grid life she yearned for. After living that lifestyle for 16 years on Kasiana Island, she had to move to town for economic reasons. It was the rescinding of the Roadless Rule by the Bush administration that convinced her that she had to get actively involved in activism again. Her first action was a Green Peace protest on Kupreanof Island and shortly after that she joined the SCS Board, recognizing that working in an organization is more effective than simply as an individual. She has worked in commercial fishing, as a seasonal Forest Service employee, for Alaska Marine Safety Education Association, taught at UAS Sitka as an English as Second Language Instructor, on a Title III Grant and as an adjunct, among other work. Retired now, she spends her days collecting and growing edibles and dye stuff, working with fibers, walking in the woods, being on the water, reading, and baking. She especially enjoys visits with family in Seattle, New Mexico and returning “home” to Maine. Marian has been a board member since 2006, and became Board Secretary in 2021.
Keith Nyitray, Treasurer, grew up east of NYC and has a degree in Environmental Resources Management. He came to Alaska in 1979 to climb Denali and stayed. After many years of adventuring around the state he finally settled in Sitka in 1998. His interest in protecting the environment was instilled in him at an early age as he grew up with the then fledgling Environmental Defense Fund fighting to ban DDT nationwide. In his teens, Keith went “out west” through the Student Conservation Association and discovered his love for the wilderness. Over the years he has lobbied in DC and given presentations across the country on the need to protect both the Tongass National Forest and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He now looks forward working with everyone at SCS to protect the land and the way of life he loves so much.
Steve Fish left the San Francisco Bay area and rode the Alaskan ferry Malaspina to Petersburg in 1974 at the age of 19. Somehow, he ended up buying a plywood, gas powered boat the following year and soon after caught his first halibut despite knowing nothing about halibut fishing, and little enough about anything else. Well, life should be an adventure. The greatest adventure for Steve has been trying to be a good husband, father, and person. Steve met Kari Johnson in Petersburg. They then moved to Port Alexander and, finally, to Sitka in 1991. They have three children: Lexi (pictured with him above), Eva and Erikson. Steve served on the board of the Alaska Marine Conservation Council including two years as Chair. He is currently president of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association. He has been on the SCS board since 2010.
Jasmine Shaw grew up in Long Beach, CA, and currently works for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service. She first arrived in Sitka in 2010 and immediately fell in love with the community and the surrounding environment. Within the first few weeks of her arrival, she sought out volunteer opportunities with Sitka Conservation Society. Jasmine has been a board member since 2013.
Mariah Leeseberg, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2005 and majored in Wildlife Ecology. Following graduation she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Madagascar for two years. She has since worked with the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a technician and biologist, with the US Geological Survey, and with Alaska Department of Fish and Game. She currently works at Sitka National Historical Park with the National Park Service. Mariah loves spending time with her family, especially on the water, or roaming the Tongass National Forest.
