Meet the Staff

The summer field season is run by a dedicated crew of 10-15 staff. For two and half months, these all-stars bear the brunt of the trip leading, camp managing, blister treating, grocery shopping, helicopter (un)loading, and snow machine driving. We would truly be lost without them.

During the winter, we scale back to our skeleton crew of year-round staff. These folks (plus the pets) are busily putting all the plans in place for our next field season.

Annie Boucher Krumdieck

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

  • Annie first came to JIRP as a student in 2012, and she hasn’t missed a season since. She’s filled every role from junior field staff to Assistant Operations Manager and as teaching faculty when the current science communication curriculum was in its infancy. Annie’s previous adventures have included working as a middle school science teacher, a field assistant on a research ship, and a trip leader in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. She earned a B.A. in Geology from Carleton College in 2011.

    Annie couldn't imagine a better place to work than JIRP. She loves working with such a motivated group of scientists and educators and firmly believes in JIRP as a positive force bringing up the next generation of Earth scientists.

    When she's not keeping JIRP running, Annie spends most of her time in the woods, running, hiking, and skiing with her daughter.

    Annie on JIRP: "When I landed in Juneau as a JIRP student, it took me about 20 minutes to figure out I had found my new friends. Every day with JIRP since then has affirmed that this is where I want to be: on the ground, figuring out how the natural world works, and pushing forward in science research and science education."

Ali Dibble

PROGRAM MANAGER

  • Ali was a student on JIRP in 2022, and in 2023 joined the programmatic and logistics side of the organization as the Program Manager. JIRP represents the nexus of Ali’s interests: nonprofit work meets science education meets having fun with your friends in the snow. She assists Annie with pre-season planning, communications, and other organizational development projects. During the field season, she is the principal town logistics person who masterminds Costco runs and helicopter schedules alike.

    Ali earned a B.S. in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Utah. She first moved to Alaska to be a sea kayaking guide in Sitka, and she quickly fell head-over-heels for the mountains, big trees, and excellent people of Southeast Alaska. Before joining JIRP, Ali worked for several years as a program manager for a nonprofit in Anchorage where she helped budding entrepreneurs launch their businesses and earned the nickname “Data Queen” because of her beautiful spreadsheets.

    For most of the year, Ali resides on Duwamish lands (Seattle, Washington). You can find her skiing, sewing, playing frisbee, or learning to sing while playing the violin.

Newt Krumdieck

RESEARCH OPERATIONS MANAGER

  • First a JIRP student in 2008, Newt immediately felt a deep and unquestioning connection to the people and places that JIRP brought together. Since then he has been returning as a member of the field staff most years since 2010, playing roles ranging from Safety Staff to Carpenter to Operations Manager. Newt graduated from Colby College with a degree in Geology. He worked for several years in the sciences, first doing research and field work for the NY State Geological Survey, and later teaching earth science to middle schoolers. Currently Newt works as a carpenter/woodworker, and spends as much time as he can in the outdoors hiking, biking, skiing, motorcycling, and travelling.

    Newt on JIRP: "JIRP to me is about the ultimate combination of learning, the environment, and most importantly the community. Getting a chance to share these aspects with folks each summer is a privilege I do not take lightly, and I continue to enjoy immensely."

Dr. Ibai Rico

SAFETY MANAGER

  • Ibai has been the Safety Manager at JIRP since 2015. He's been climbing and skiing since he was young, and has explored several new ice climbing routes in Patagonia and the Himalayas. When not at JIRP Ibai works as a mountain guide in the Pyrenees, Alps, Norway and the Greater Caucasus. He also teaches courses in snow/avalanche safety, expedition logistics and risk management. In his free time Ibai combines mountain guiding with carrying out glaciology research on the glaciers of the Pyrenees and Tierra del Fuego, addressing questions related to Glacier Change, Glacial Geomorphology, Permafrost, and Geo-Hazards; he also teaches Geography and has a Ph.D. from the University of the Basque Country.  His last expedition to the Chilean Patagonia was focused on exploring the Cloue Icefield, understanding glacier change and ascending previously un-climbed summits in an expedition sponsored by the National Geographic Society.

    Ibai on  JIRP: "Guiding JIRP has been one of the most fulfilling experiences; the combination of Nature, Books and Action makes it a completely unique and unforgettable experience for every person in the program and I feel privileged to be part of it." 

Riley Wall

FIELD OPERATIONS MANAGER

  • Coming soon!

Tahi Wiggins

PROGRAM MANAGER

  • Tahi joined JIRP as Program Manager (PM) in spring 2026 and will overlap with Ali during the summer field season. She was a JIRP student in 2021 and began the expedition without having ever touched a ski or climbing rope! Tahi returned to the Icefield in 2024 as Research/Teaching Faculty and is thrilled to now contribute to the operations side of JIRP as PM. 

    Prior to this role, Tahi taught science in Juneau, worked as the facilitator of a youth resilience program, and conducted her graduate research on the Icefield. She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Global Studies and Environmental Science from the University of Virginia and a Master’s degree in Earth and Climate Science from the University of Maine. 

    Tahi was born in Australia and raised near saltwater, including the Pacific Ocean and Chesapeake Bay. She is grateful to the oceans, marshes, and forests that informed her upbringing, and to the rock, ice, and water that shape her job today. She enjoys running, writing, snowboarding, and coffee-experimenting, though not all at the same time. 

Gregory Kopache

FIELD OPERATIONS MANAGER

  • Coming soon!

Honorary Staff

Leonard “Leo” Skynyrd Cohen

MANAGER OF FLUFFY TAILS

  • Leo is a six-year-old husky/golden retriever mix. He loves belly rubs, porcupines, swimming in Atlin Lake, playing any running around game with anyone he can find to play with, and when everyone claps for him during Morning Announcements. Leo spends his summers in town hanging out with the Town Staff and supervising helicopter logistics.

    When Leo isn’t hanging around Juneau, he spends most of his time trying to get Dixie to wrestle with him, skiing in the Adirondack Mountains, and avoiding the heat of the woodstove.

Dixie Dog

MANAGER OF SOFT EARS

  • Dixie Dog, a seven-year-old mutt, loves skiing, hiking, porcupines, and getting her ears scratched. She spends most of the summers on the east coast, but loved her stint at Camp 17 in 2018. She doesn’t know what kind of dog she is, except that she’s black and white, about 60 pounds, and has very soft ears. If she remembers what she did before landing at the shelter in Maine, she’s never told us.

    When Dixie isn’t keeping spirits up at JIRP, she hangs out in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. Her work mostly involves swimming in the AuSable River, chasing squirrels, skiing, minding the woodstove, and lifting spirits in the office year-round.

Squash The Cat

EXECUTIVE SE”CAT”ARY

  • Squash is an orange tabby who enjoys bird watching, chewing on pens, and stepping on keyboards while his human tries to work. He calls it “helping.”

    Squash is excited to join the Town Logistics team and feels his experience in being a silly kitten will make the team a more balanced, joyful place. We couldn’t agree more.