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Our crew consists of a Coast Guard licensed captain, a professional cook, a trained deck hand and an expert naturalist. This team brings knowledge gained from years exploring the coast, training in marine biology, education, ornithology, fisheries biology, native arts and culture.
Meet us — The Snowgoose Crew
Dan Liden
Skipper – Owner
A graduate of Environmental Education, Dan has interpreted the environment as a naturalist in Baja, Maine, Puget Sound, and Alaska for 14 years. With his teaching endorsement, he has brought his experiences into the public schools as a math and science teacher. He continues his love of the outdoors by working part time on the Snow Goose as a marine science educator in the fall and spring and as a captain in the summer in Alaska.
Paul Brown
Skipper
Paul began working on boats in Alaska as a teenager, and has been exploring Alaska's waters ever since. Paul is a Coast Guard licensed Captain, and during the busy summer season he navigates the Alaska expeditions with his knowledge and enthusiasm for the landscape. During the winter months, Paul explores the waters in and around Puget Sound, runs the Snow Goose for the Marine Science program, and helps care for the Snow Goose's maintenance needs. An Oregon native, a Washington resident, and an Alaskan Captain - Paul has an eye for adventure and a love of the outdoors.
Mikkel Hong
Cook
Mikkel Hong-loves to cook and loves Alaska! Whether he is whipping up pizzas from scratch and finishing them on the grill or leading a hike to a hot springs, Mikkel is a cheerful, enthusiastic, and helpful presence on the boat. He never ceased to be amazed at the plentiful salmon, halibut, and crab that SE Alaska has to offer. In his winter life, he is studying to become a middle-school social studies teacher.
Kimbrough Mauney
Naturalist
Kimbrough, who grew up in the warmth of southeastern USA, quickly grew to love the long summers and icy winters of Alaska. She is thrilled to use her Master's degree of Environmental Education (WWU) with her B.S. in Earth & Ocean Sciences (Duke U) aboard the boat. Kimbrough enjoys sharing her knowledge and passion with all ages and has worked in various settings, including a Montessori school, a French elementary school, an outdoor school, the Snowgoose, and a university office of sustainability.
Kate Poss
Cook
Kate Poss really began to enjoy cooking in 1990 when her husband Bill and then year-old daughter Gillian camped along the Russian River in a trailer named La Strada in west Sonoma County north of San Francisco. Eating fresh local food from farmer's markets and reading cookbooks by Alice Waters changed her view of cooking forever. The Poss family continues to stay in Sonoma County each summer, house-sitting for friends with chickens and roosters. Kate was a newspaper reporter in Los Angeles for 16 years and lived in a canyon near Malibu, where Bill and Kate lived with Gillian and son Raymo until 2000 when they moved to Langley on Whidbey Island. She runs the front office of the Whidbey Island Waldorf School and does free-lance editing. With teenagers now 18 and 15 Kate and Bill stay busy. Entertaining and hosting 'salons,' where folks come together and enjoy bonhomie is a favorite past-time of Kate's, along with hiking and reading.
Sarah Hardee
Naturalist
Sarah is currently working towards her MS in Marine and Estuarine Science from Western Washington University. She has found it rewarding to bridge the gap between science and education and spent a year in a middle school classroom as a visiting guest scientist. She has always loved the outdoors and has made a career out of studying nature and getting other people excited about the natural world around them. After graduating from Whitman, Sarah worked in southern California as a science instructor at a non-profit marine institute teaching kids and adults. She has spent several summers working as a naturalist and a kayak guide in the San Juan Islands and now recently has begun exploring the exciting ecosystems of southeast Alaska.
RJ Rex
Deckhand
RJ grew up in Minnesota. There he earned a degree in classical guitar while working part time as a naturalist for local park. He moved west to Washington in1998 for the Cascade mountains and endless marine coastline. It has been home ever since.
His first experience in Alaska was as a deckhand in Glacier Bay. The pristine grandeur touched his heart deeply, encouraging further explorations both inland and coastal.
He has a science teaching endorsement and works for a variety of outdoor education programs including the Snow Goose Marine educational program. He knows all the details of the Snow Goose that make her operate smoothly and is always ready for an adventure.
Hans Bruning
Naturalist
I have been enamored with the state of Alaska since my first visit in '91. Having spent at least some of most of the summers working as a guide/naturalist/captain since then, my love and appreciation for the beauty and pristine nature of Alaska has blossomed over the years. I am constantly in awe of the interactions of the Southeast Alaska ecosystems. It's definitely a case of my appreciation growing along with my comprehension of the intricate relationships of this amazingly rich and complex environment.
Living on the coast in Santa Cruz, CA, I am currently working as a mate on the R/V Fulmar, the research vessel for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Cordell Bank N.M.S. and the Farallon Islands N.M.S. When not working I can be found surfing, kayaking, mountain-biking, hiking, snorkeling and birding somewhere on the planet.
Jennifer Cloutier
Naturalist
Jenny Cloutier grew up in the mountains and on the lakes of northwest Montana. Following a spell as a Montessori Directress she headed into a career of teaching in the outdoors. For the past ten years she has worked throughout the northwest as a naturalist, ski instructor and backcountry guide. This spring she earned her master’s in Environmental Education from Western Washington University, and a Certificate in Non-profit Leadership and Administration from the North Cascades Institute. Currently she is incredibly excited to continue teaching and exploring the post-graduate “real” world. Other interests include skiing, deciphering geological clues in the landscape, absorbing information about native plants, hiking, backpacking and a little more skiing.
Andrew Clarke
Cook
Born and raised in Seattle, Andrew earned a BA in English Literature from Western Washington University in Bellingham some years ago. Through a logical assessment of career options, he has been a chef ever since. When he’s not cooking professionally, Andrew can be found traveling the world (he recently returned from 6 months in South America), banging on the drums with his band, and exploring the profound natural beauty of his native Northwest. Andrew’s deep love of well-prepared food is matched only by his love of sharing that food with others. With the abundance of great seafood at hand from the waters of Alaska, there will be ample opportunities to share aboard the Snow Goose. When not exploring the more remote corners of the world, Andrew and his girlfriend Morgan reside in beautiful Bellingham, Washington.
Jared Phelps
Deckhand
Jared grew up in Western Massachusetts and enjoyed skiing, biking, and climbing throughout New England. After high school the allure of big mountains brought him to Anchorage to study Environmental Science and Outdoor Studies at Alaska Pacific University. Jared enjoyed teaching so much that he decided to move to Juneau where he received a Masters of Arts in Teaching. Since Juneau Jared has lived on and off in Alaska including the last five summers commercial fishing for sockeye salmon on Bristol Bay. He mostly enjoys environmental education and teaching in alternative settings. This passion is what ultimately lead him to the Snowgoose where he taught as a marine educator for public school groups during fall 2007. Jared is looking forward to spending this summer as a deckhand on the Snowgoose because he feels “There are few places as magnificent as the islands and passages of Southeast Alaska.