The Ultima Thule

Bios of our contributing adventurers, writers, photographers and artists

Jeff Fair

Jeff Fair

Independent author and freelance field biologist Jeff Fair has studied loons (and other wild spirits) across the North from Maine to Alaska for 33 years.  A wildlife biologist by formal training, he began his loon studies in NH in 1978, and directed the NH loon recovery program for 11 years.  He moved to Alaska in 1995; in 2005 he spent a month working with biologists on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in order to write his chapter in Arctic Wings: Birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Josh Ferris

Richard Kahn

Richard Kahn

An award-winning filmmaker and photographer, Richard documented a 70-day journey on the Utukok and Colville Rivers in northern Alaska during the summer of 2008. He returned to the region in the summer of 2009 and spent forty five days paddling on the western edge of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

While Richard has usually let his photos and films speak for themselves, the pressure of oil and coal development in one of this country’s last unspoiled frontiers has prompted him to tell the story of this remarkable land, its people and its challenge. Richard has spent the past ten summers north of the Arctic Circle and has developed a deep appreciation for this remote part of Alaska. Richard will combine still photographs, entries from his journal and a short film to illustrate how much is at risk in this wild and beautiful land.

Peter and Shannon Huffman Polson

Peter and Shannon Huffman Polson

Shannon is a native Alaskan and a writer, focusing on the manuscript of her first full-length book, a personal narrative about a trip through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She is also working on essays including the experiences of The Ultima Thule. She was a contributing writer to More Than 85 Broads, writes for Seattle Magazine, Alaska Magazine and Travel Off the Radar,  as well as other publications. Her website is www.aborderlife.com.

Shannon graduated with a B.A. from Duke University in English Literature, and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School at Dartmouth.  In summer 2010, Shannon will begin her M.F.A. at Seattle Pacific University.  She served eight years as an attack helicopter pilot in the Army and worked five years in corporate marketing before becoming a writer full time. Shannon is active with the Alaska Wilderness League and Seattle Pro Musica. In September 2009, Shannon was awarded the Trailblazer Woman of Valor award from Washington State Senator Maria Cantwell.

Peter grew up in Seattle, where he works in management and marketing at a technology company. He is heavily involved with education issues through trustee work at Lakeside School and previously a chapter of Inner City Outings he started at Franklin High School. An avid photographer, Peter has published his work through a number of publications since beginning his avocation many years ago. His photos were most recently published in Travel Off the Radar and Seattle Magazine. Peter won first and second place in the 2009 photography contest sponsored by the Campaign for America’s Wilderness. His work was featured alongside photographer Andy Moderow in the First Friday exhibit at Crush in Anchorage, Alaska in November and December 2009.

Peter received his B.S. in Environmental Studies from Middlebury, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude and including a semester studying wildlife management in Tanzania. He received his M.B.A. from the Tuck School at Dartmouth with High Honors as a Tuck Scholar. Peter worked in investment banking in New York City for two years and for two technology start-ups before co-founding Junxion, Inc. in 2003. He currently works for Sierra Wireless, the company that acquired Junxion in 2008.

Shannon and Peter live in Seattle with their son, Alaskan husky and two cats. They are avid backpackers, backcountry skiers and cyclists. Shannon sings with Seattle Pro Musica as a first alto, and also serves as board vice-president. Shannon and Peter are active at their church, Epiphany Parish in Seattle, and particularly involved with the Creation Care ministry.  They are co-founders of The Ultima Thule and share their material with the Alaska Wilderness League, the National Parks Conservation Association, Facing the Future, and Kids for Saving Earth, as well as through speaking engagements as speakers board members of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia’s Committee on the Environment.

Bill Sherwonit

Nature writer Bill Sherwonit was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, but has called Alaska  home since 1982. After switching from geology to journalism in the late 1970s, he worked a  dozen years at newspapers, including a decade at the Anchorage Times. A fulltime  freelancer since 1992, Sherwonit has in recent years become ever more interested in literary  journalism and creative non-fiction writing, especially the personal essay/narrative form.  He has contributed essays and articles to a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, journals,  and anthologies; his essay “In the Company of Bears” was selected for the Best American Science and Nature Writing 2007. Sherwonit is also the author of 12 books about Alaska; his most recent, excerpted here, is Changing Paths: Travels and Meditations in Alaska’s Arctic Wilderness. In his spare time, Bill teaches nature and adventure/travel writing. After 13 years on Anchorage’s Hillside, Sherwonit now lives in the city’s Turnagain area.  There he writes about the wildness to be found in Alaska’s urban center as well as in the state’s most remote wilderness areas. His website is www.billsherwonit.alaskawriters.com.