Dr. Charles Jonkel has been a biologist and researcher for over 50 years. His work ranges from researching brown, black and polar bears to arctic ecology, teaching conservation-based field courses to the general public, university classes, and wildlife research techniques. Having founded the International Wildlife Film Festival, he has worked for ethics and accuracy in wildlife media. He now strives to teach people about the Arctic, its people, wildlife, and the current crises facing the region due to climate change. Dr. Jonkel is the Co-founder and Scientific Advisor of Great Bear Foundation. He is also a devoted grandfather, gardener, and community member.
Shannon Donahue is GBF's outreach and advocacy coordinator. She has worked as a bio tech and interpreter at the Anan Wildlife Observatory, a remote black and brown bear observatory in Southeast Alaska, and spent one season on the Russian River in Alaska documenting human-bear interactions and educating anglers about bear safety. She is a M.S. candidate in the University of Montana's Environmental Studies program, focusing on bear conservation, and is currently working on a documentary film on the life and work of Dr. Charles Jonkel. Her research interests focus on the effects of wildlife-related tourism on bears in North America.
Tucker Seitz is from Redmond, Washington and played collegiate baseball for two years at Spokane Falls Community College before transferring to the University of Montana to study Wildlife Biology with a minor in Climate Change Studies. He has been a volunteer for the Great Bear Foundation since 2008 and is heading up the Bears and Apples project. His interests are hunting, fishing, chopping wood, and living the dream.
Photo by SL Baer
Jenny
Rasche is a longtime friend and our former office manager, who continues to volunteer and work as a consultant for GBF. She has a B.S in Psychology from Virginia Tech and has gained knowledge of wildlife biology through courses at the University of Montana and field experience in Alaska. In the summers, she works on Alaska's Russian and Kenai Rivers educating anglers about bear safety and ethical angling.
Matt Anderson has worked as a media consultant and educator for the Great Bear Foundation since 2001. He is currently editing a one hour documentary about the cultural ties between First Nations people of northern British Columbia and the Spirit Bear, and collaborating on the Chuck Jonkel documentary. Prior to working with the Great Bear Foundation, Matt worked for a PBS affiliate in Boston, where he was an associate producer. He is now pursuing a degree in nursing, and he and his wife, Ange are expecting their first child.
Mary
Hawver is a dedicated bear enthusiast and educator, and has lead dozens of GBF Arctic Ecology field trips to the Churchill Northern Studies Center, in Manitoba, Canada. She is a photographer and recently retired from her position as the production manager of Bear News.
Greg
Price worked as the coordinator for the GBF Great Grizzly Search, a multi-year collaborative DNA study to determine the presence of grizzly bears in the Greater Salmon-Selway-Bitterroot Ecosystem in Montana and Idaho. Currently, Greg volunteers and is a major contributor to our Bear Honoring event held annually in May.
Brian
Huntington is part-time staff, and coordinates the Babine River Grizzly Project in northwestern British Columbia, examining the ecosystem level connectivity of bears in the wild landscape. His non-intrusive research methodology includes DNA hair sampling, den surveys, and study of seasonal migration patterns. He has a Bachelors of Science in Resource Conservation with a Wildlife Biology focus from the University of Montana.
