Home Office Team

Rebecca Cuniberti: Reservations & Office Assistant
Rebecca was born in Connecticut and didn't stray far for college, attending Boston University. After graduating she embarked on an epic roadtrip across the US, hiking in national parks, visiting friends and just seeing the country. Working in a mosaic studio, a pottery studio and dabbling in bartending, she saved enough money to make the move to Alaska. After a first winter of working as a snowboarding instructor in Girdwood, Rebecca moved to the small fishing community of Homer, where she worked at a bakery and lived in a little cabin with a wood stove and an outhouse. Rebecca loves to cook, bake, knit, read, ski/snowboard (lifts and backcountry), bike, mosaic, take photos, hike and backpack. Major trips include traveling through Southeast Asia as well as exploring all across Alaska. While she enjoys seeing new places around the world, Rebecca also loves visiting friends and family back home on the east coast- especially her new nephew! Now she happily finds herself back in Girdwood, loving the seasons and her new job with Alaska Wildland Adventure with "wonderful people!" We think she's lovely too. Her favorite Alaska moments include sunny days in the backcountry with friends; knowing that no matter how long a drive may take, it will be breathtakingly beautiful the entire way; and continually meeting folks that are amazingly friendly and always a bit quirky all over this great state.

Glenda Denny: Lead Reservations Specialist
Born in Anchorage, Alaska and raised in the small mountain town of Granby, Colorado, Glenda Denny now calls Alaska home. She has worked in a number of travel-related jobs throughout the Last Frontier, first as a seasonal while still in college, and now as our full-time Lead Reservations Specialist. With a degree in Restaurant Resort Management, Glenda has mastered the art of managing the details of our many trips. When not calculating meal and room numbers, Glenda enjoys talking with our guests and helping to plan once-in-a-lifetime Alaska vacations. Outside the office, she spends her time hiking and knitting, camping, fishing, sewing, and pressing flowers. Her peak Alaska experiences include dipping her toes in the Arctic Ocean, visiting Kodiak Island, exploring Prince William Sound, and flightseeing above majestic Mt. McKinley (Denali).

Heather Dudick: Marketing Director
An Alaskan for the last eleven years, Heather joined the AWA office eight seasons ago, swiftly becoming an invaluable member of the team. Born in Ohio and living many years in Montana, no place captures her so much as Alaska. With a relentless positive attitude and exceptional attention to detail, Heather keeps AWA's marketing plan on track and on time as well as managing this wonderful website you're perusing right now. Hiking, skiing, her family, including her overgrown 97-pound lap dog, Mookie, keep her busy and happy. She spends time under Alaska's summer Midnight Sun hiking, fishing, swimming (yep, some of us still find swimming holes up here!), berry picking, and always seeking out fun, new road trips. Oh! Can't forget watching her kiddo whoop it up on the little league baseball field too! During winter, you'll find her on the local slopes at Alyeska trying to keep up with her son, Sage, skijoring with Mookie, and dancing to Alaska's local beats. One of Heather's favorite Alaska experiences is kayaking on glassy waters in Prince William Sound with her friend, Bridget: "it was a sweet bluebird day on the water, paddling among the ridges of the Chugach."

Kirk Hoessle: Company President
Kirk Hoessle is the President of Alaska Wildland Adventures, Inc. He led the company's first trip for five years before growing into a management position. He has been the principal shareholder and leader of Alaska Wildland Adventures since 1987. Kirk currently serves on the board of the Alaska Travel Industry Association. He also serves as Advisor to the Board of the Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association (AWRTA), an organization for which he served as a founding Board Member as well as President for two terms. AWRTA is the voice for Ecotourism in Alaska and has been very influential in guiding statewide tourism policy. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Kirk came to Alaska for a summer job as a crew leader with the Bureau of Land Management's Youth Conservation Corps program in 1976. He has traveled and guided adventure travel trips throughout Alaska. His fondest travel memories involve backpacking and rafting in Alaska's Brooks Range prior to the establishment of the National Parks, which now encompass much of the area. Kirk holds a degree in Environmental Education and Outdoor Recreation from George Williams College of Aurora University of Aurora, Illinois. Before embarking upon a career in Alaska adventure travel, his focus was environmental education. In his seven years in this field, he served as an instructor, outdoor school director, curriculum writer, and program designer. And then, the spell of the Alaska wilderness got the best of him. Kirk is deeply connected to his company, and balances work with family time, rafting, natural history interpretation, cross country and telemark skiing, wilderness exploration, competitive volleyball, and world travel.

Kyle Kelley: General Manager
Yes Alaska Surfing! Kyle has gone surfing out of Seward to Montague Island and explored other areas in Resurrection Bay and other Alaska waters: "Water's not cold when you're wearing the right wet suit!" Born in Oakland, CA, but raised primarily in Tacoma, WA, Kyle has lived in Alaska for 17 years, and has been working with Alaska Wildland Adventures for the last 11. Kyle is responsible for seeing that our company runs smoothly and that every guest and employee has an enjoyable and safe time. When not overseeing AWA's operations, Kyle stays busy skiing, snowboarding, surfing, mountain biking, hiking, running, fishing, river running and enjoying life with his lovely wife, Stacy.

Ross Silkman: Sales Manager
Raised in Maine, Ross grew up amongst the mountains of the northern Appalachians and along the banks of the Atlantic Ocean. He migrated south to the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, Virginia. During college breaks, Ross answered the call of the rivers of Maine and Massachusetts and spent his summers as a river guide. Following college, he served two terms with AmeriCorps, building hiking trails throughout Massachusetts and Florida, before he landed himself on the shores of Juneau in 2001. He spent the next few years guiding and managing a river rafting, sea kayaking, and native style canoe outfit out of Juneau. In love with Alaska's outdoors and ready to explore more of Alaska, Ross joined our AWA family fall 2005 & we are very happy he did! He, his wife, five-year-old daughter, and golden retriever are all very excited about their move to Girdwood. You'll find the Silkman family out and about gathering berries for pie or dandelions for wine during early summer, but come September there will only be only one thing on their minds - their beloved Red Sox and the quest for another championship. Oh, and, of course, plenty of fun times playing in the snow!

Rebecca Downey Thomas: Staff Accountant
Rebecca, aka "Beck" here in the office, previously worked for Alaska Wildland Adventures as the Sales and Office Manager for the Denali properties. Following a 4-year hiatus, and working with two environmental non-profit organizations in Anchorage, she found her nitch with AWA and is now Staff Accountant. Beck is glad to be back and we are ecstatic to have her and appreciate her witty disposition! When Beck's not in the office "counting beans," she and hubby, Scott, enjoy spending time introducing the wonders of Alaska to their new daughter, Jillian. Incidentally, Beck and Scott met through AWA. Scott worked for AWA for 13-years before "retiring" to start his own business. Some of her most memorable Alaskan experiences thus far have been backpacking in Denali National Park, kayaking in the waters of Southeast Alaska, and birding around the state with her husband.

Amy Uhde: Director of Program Development
Amy was enchanted by the wilds of Alaska from a young age, when her older brother would share slideshows, pictures and stories of the abundant wildlife and wilderness witnessed inside Denali National Park. After a visit to Alaska at age 16, Amy vowed to return to the 49th state and did so after completing a BA in Journalism and Communications at Michigan State University. Before finding her home at Alaska Wildland Adventures, Amy ran ground operations for an Alaskan air taxi (during which time she "earned her wings" of a private pilot's license) and also managed logistics for a heli-ski outfit in Thompson Pass, AK. At AWA, Amy focuses energies toward creating unique and culturally enriching Alaska itineraries for special travel groups, educational institutions and affinity associations. Using various personal Alaska travel experiences as reference, she relishes the opportunity to match the perfect AWA trip to individual travelers and travel groups. Aside from work pursuits, Amy enjoys spending time with her husband and her bulldog, Leroy; cheering on Detroit Pistons (especially Rasheed Wallace); battling for points on the ping pong table; and talking and laughing with friends around the world.