2012 ADMA International Sled Dog Symposium: Speaker Biographies
Jodi Bailey
Jodi Bailey grew up on Marthas Vineyard, and attended Emory University, but never felt at home till she came to Alaska in 1989. She is now right at home with her
husband, Dan Kaduce, at Dew Claw Kennel in Chatanika, Alaska. Jodi began racing mid-distance in 2007, and in 2011 she became the first rookie to run the Yukon
Quest and Iditarod back to back. In addition to mushing and the daily work of caring for her kennel, Jodi enjoys yoga, running (well jogging really, but it's OK she is
distance not sprint), and cooking.
Dawn Brown, DVM
Dr. Dawn Brown started racing sled dogs as a 3 dog junior in the Mid Atlantic Sled Dog Racing Association in 1982. Since then she has traveled and raced all across the
US and Canada, with a primary focus of fielding a top 8 dog sprint team. She is a multiple ISDRA medalist in the 8 and 6 dog classes, and 2011 LNAC and Tok Race of
Champions 8 dog winner. She graduated from Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 1995, practiced small animal medicine and surgery in upstate NY
for 17 years, and now works as an emergency and relief veterinarian in Interior Alaska.
Kriya Dunlap, PhD
I grew up in upstate NY in a kennel of 150 sled dogs. I decided at a very young age, as many children of mushers do, that there was no way I was ever going to run
dogs. But, I have a gift; I am a super-duper-pooper-scooper, and to deny this God-given talent would be unfair to all the pooches who’s dirty areas depend on me. So
I moved to Alaska with my ONE sled dog and a shovel. And now I am a biochemistry professor at the University of Alaska and I study sled dogs as a model for
nutritional and physiological adaptation in the circumpolar north, BUT I still only have 5 sled dogs.
Donna L. Gigliotti, DC
Dr. Donna L. Gigliotti is a chiropractor and AVCA (American Veterinary Chiropractic Association) Certified Animal Chiropractor. She received her Doctor of Chiropractic
in 1992 from the Pennsylvania College of Chiropractic and her Animal Chiropractic certification in 1996. For the past 16 years she has been working with animals to
improve their biomechanics and efficiency of movement, and enhance their quality of life. She teaches and lectures for the AVCA and various dog clubs, veterinarians
and chiropractors on a wide range of topics including pain, stress, anatomy, neurology, chiropractic techniques and palpation. She educates individuals on how to
detect subtle changes in a dog's movement, stance and behavior/attitude. Dr. G's passion is to help others to understand more deeply how the structure of an
animal's body can affect their function. Her ultimate goal is to improve a dog's quality of life, performance, and overall health while enriching the dog-owner
relationship.
Eric Jayne, DVM
Dr. Eric Jayne was a rural Alaskan veterinarian who travelled and worked throughout rural and remote Alaska for ten years. He currently is involved with several
humane societies in the lower 48. He also operates a sled dog freighting business in Denali National Park . Dr. Jayne has proposed healthy changes to the veterinary
regulations of Alaska that will help solve the problems of cost, availability, and true quality of veterinary care.
David Klumb
David Klumb has been building dog sleds in Fairbanks since 1980. He and his wife, Joanne, operate Laughing Husky Enterprises, building sleds and parts year-round
when they’re not mushing or boating. Known as the “Sled Doctor,” Dave writes a regular feature in Mushing Magazine on sled-building techniques, maintenance and
repair.
Stephanie Little Wolf
Stephanie Little Wolf works for the Alaskan Native Education Department at Fairbanks North Star Borough School District as the Family Advocate. She does cultural
presentations in the schools. Her dog presentation is her most popular presentation. Stephanie is also providing Adam Boyko of Cornell University with DNA samples
from Alaskan Huskies for his Village Dog Genetic Diversity Project. Also a writer and researcher, Stephanie has studied and written about Native dogs in North
America, and has a kennel of her families Alaskan Huskies that is devoted entirely to outreach and youth at risk.
Helen Lundberg
My life as a dog musher started out in Sweden, when I bought my first Siberian husky in 1984. Two more huskies followed quickly and I had a small dog team. Since
then my heart and my life has been dedicated to sled dogs and the sled dog sport. For 28 years I have spent every day and night with my dogs, taking care of puppies,
training and racing. In 1991 I met my husband, Egil Ellis, and together we have worked hard to become one of the top racing kennels in the world. Together we have
lived both in Sweden, Norway and raced all over Scandinavia and Europe. In 1998 we traveled for the first time to Alaska and did so for another 3 years before we
decided to relocate and move all the dogs to Alaska. Since September 2001, Willow Alaska is our home. I have been racing sled dogs for 25 years in the 4, 6, 8, 10,
and open class. Through the years I have been involved and worked with local sled dog clubs, National federations and International federations. I was one of the
persons who started Gafsele sled Dog Club (Sweden) back in the early 90s. For over 10 years I edited the magazine Svensk Sladhundsport (Swedish Sled Dog Sport)
1991 to 2001. I have been involved with the International Federation of Sled Dog Sports (IFSS) as Director at Large 1997-1999, President 1999-2002, editor for
Gazette (IFSS Newsletter) starting with issue #14 1999 - #23 2001, and Vice President Sport 2012 – present. I have been the International Sled Dog Racing
Association (ISDRA) Regional Director Region 1 Alaska since 2005 and editor for Dog & Driver Magazine starting out in August 2006. Locally I have been a Board
Member for Montana Creek Dog Mushers Assoc. since 2003, and President since 2008.
Continued on other side…
Mike McCowan
Lived in Delta Junction, AK for most of the time since 1952. Race Marshaled for several different sled dog organizations since 1977. Races he has been responsible for
include those produced by Tok Dog Mushers Association, Delta Dog Mushers Association, Yukon Quest, IFSS, and Alaska Dog Mushers Association. Results of this long
term and varied involvement in sled dog racing would indicate that he isn't real smart, has wasted a good part of his life, is fairly consistent, and all in all isn't a very
nice person. As in the case with dogs he considers himself to be an opportunistic predator and will eat just about anything excluding any type of liver or cooked
Brussels sprouts.
Allen Moore
Allen got involved with sled dogs 20 years ago because his daughters wanted to have huskies. So the family was involved in Alaska Junior mushing activities as well as
Arctic Winter Games. He began soon sprint mushing and then started distance mushing when the girls were no longer involved with sled dogs. Allen has been a middistance racer for almost 10 years and has won Copper Basin three times. He started racing 1,000 miles races 5 years ago and has competed in both the Yukon Quest
and Iditarod. He came in 2nd place in the YQ this year. He was awarded the Sportsmanship Award in the Yukon Quest and Iditarod in the same year.
Aliy Zirkle and Allen work together - year long - at their home and kennel in Two Rivers, Alaska.
Arleigh Reynolds, DVM, PhD, DACVN
Dr. Arleigh Reynolds is a veterinarian and a canine exercise physiologist and nutritionist who also competes in open-class sprint races. He received both of his doctoral
degrees from Cornell University. He says racing started as his doctoral project, but has become his job and life’s passion (second to wife and kids). Arleigh has studied
the relationship between diet and performance in sled dogs for more than 25 years in his laboratory and on the Alaskan sled dog trails. He has worked as a
veterinarian on the Iditarod, the Open North American Championship, the IFSS World Championships, and the ALPO series in New York. Arleigh has many open class
sprint titles and has finished as high as 2nd place in both the Fur Rendezvous and Open North American.
Christine Richardson
Christine Richardson owns Seal Cove Journeys in Canaan, New Hampshire. She started with two huskies 20 years ago and dog sledding has been her passion ever
since. She is a molecular and cell biologist but has recently committed to working with and for her dogs full time giving tours and teaching winter programs. She
currently cares for a kennel of 30 Alaskan huskies and fields a professional mid-distance racing team in races such as the UP200 and CanAm250. Her additional
background as a registered Maine Guide, winter camping instructor, ACA moving water instructor and sea kayak guide has prepared her well for teaching cold
weather survival and safety skills and giving dog sled tours. Christine understands the value of learning new skills in a supportive and safe environment. She also owns
the philosophy that dogs are here to help us and teach us while our mission should be to provide the best care and nutrition possible. She strives to strengthen that
connection to her animals every day and is excited to be back in Alaska representing a first class dog food and assisting Dr. Gigliotti.
Tamara Rose, DVM
Dr. Tamara Rose is a veterinarian and has a mobile, mixed animal practice in Fairbanks. She received her veterinary degree at the University of California at Davis in
2002 and moved to Alaska in 2004. She has worked as a trail veterinarian in local races and the Iditarod. She began mushing in 2006 and has since completed several
mid-distance races, the 2010 Iditarod and the 2011 Yukon Quest. Her other interests include trail running, cycling and small-scale farming.
Greg Sellentin
Greg Sellentin is the publisher of Mushing Magazine. He competes in open-class and limited-class sprint racing from his home kennel based in Willow, Alaska. He and
his dogs also work in the tourism industry during the summer months in Skagway, Alaska. Greg became interested in sled dogs in 1990 while living and working in
New York City, and moved to Alaska full time in 2007.
Lisa Strecker, MA
Lisa Strecker discovered her passion for mushing early on in Kamchatka (Russian Far East). For the last ten years and while studying anthropology in Germany she
traveled frequently to Kamchatka and carried out ethnobotanical fieldwork among the indigenous people. There she continuously learned about native sled dog
keeping: mushing as a traditional way of life and as an inherent part of an ancient culture. In 2011 and 2012 she took part in the traditional and long trail sled dog
race on Kamchatka: the Beringia race. She became the first foreign participant of the Beringia race in its longer version of 1100 km. Lisa recently moved to Fairbanks
and is now enrolled as a PhD student of anthropology at UAF. Her studies in ethnobiology include native sled dog keeping in Kamchatka, too.
Erin Trochim
Erin Trochim started out as a cross-country skier in the Yukon. She moved to Alaska for grad school and found dogs that taught her the team sport of skijoring. She
likes to find creative solutions to make things more efficient, including building pulks and organizing data.
Aliy Zirkle
Professional dog musher Aliy Zirkle’s life revolves around her dogs. She came to Alaska in 1990 to work for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a biologist and in 1992
moved to the small town of Bettles, which lies about 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The dogs and the people captivated her. After spending years trekking across
the Arctic, Aliy entered a Christmas race in the Athabascan village of Allakaket and got hooked. She began to build a strong team of dogs and started racing in middistance and long-distance dog races. Aliy became the first woman to win the grueling 1000-Mile Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race in 2000. She has started
and finished the Iditarod 12 times with her highest finish being 2nd place this year and has won the coveted Humanitarian Award twice as well as dog care awards in
the Copper Basin and Tustemena. Her kennel is family-run and is dedicated to excellent dog care and nutrition, and training and raising happy, healthy dogs. Many of
the dogs she races today are related to the original dogs from 20 years ago.
Aliy and Allen Moore work together - year long - at their home and kennel in Two Rivers, Alaska.