Mat Brunton: Founder, Director, Forecaster, Educator
- Master of Science Outdoor & Environmental Education
- Professional Member American Avalanche Association
- Level 3 Advanced Avalanche Education
- Alaska Mountain Weather Forecasting
- Wilderness First Responder
Mat has a deep and abiding love for The Greatland, and that is why this program exists. He has made Anchorage his home since 2005, and knows that the wonderfully diverse city’s enormous public backyard of Chugach State Park is a world-class backcountry playground. He is a committed advocate of the invaluable resource Chugach State Park provides the greater Anchorage area community in terms of wellness by way of outdoor recreation and the wilderness experience. Mat has spent more than a thousand days traveling through the snow-covered mountains of Alaska, Yukon Territory, British Columbia, Alberta, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and California on skis. He has spent at least a thousand more days climbing, packrafting, trekking, biking, hunting, and fishing in the mountains of Alaska, Canada, and the Lower 48. He’s studied backcountry travel, avalanche forecasting, and mountain weather extensively. Mat’s work to provide an organized avalanche information and education program for Chugach State Park was presented at the 2014 International Snow Science Workshop (ISSW) in Banff. He has extensive and varied professional experience working in educational and behavioral health settings, as well as in the nonprofit sector.
Contact Mat: mat@anchorageavalanchecenter.org
Jess Tran: Director, Observer
Whether it’s helping staff classes and events, managing logistics, or providing program assessment and evaluation; Jess has been an essential part of making this outdoor and environmental education project and an avalanche information program for the Western Chugach possible since its inception. She is a public school teacher at Denali Montessori with a classroom of first through third graders. Jess has climbed and skied throughout Alaska, Canada, California, and Utah.
Contact Jess: jess@anchorageavalanchecenter.org
Contact the AAC: info@anchorageavalanchecenter.org