Meet Our Team
Admin
Jay Stilwell
Executive Director
Jay has worked in both for-profit and non-profit organizations holding leadership positions. He was the founder of a publishing-technology company in Seattle where he led the company from a startup to a sustainable organization. When he moved to Sitka, he joined the Sitka Sound Science Center and was instrumental in directing the 2021 Sitka Whalefest. Jay is active in the Sitka community as a member of the Rotary and can be seen volunteering at local events. As a member of the Fortress of the Bear Team, he brings tourism, marketing, and organizational development experience from his work with organizations in a variety of industries. He enjoys being outdoors on his bike, boat, or kayak. You can often see him on the water or hiking one of the local trails.
Mary Turcott
Finance & Development Manager
As Finance & Development Manager, Mary’s responsibilities include the organization’s financial operations and development program, including bookkeeping, financial reporting, compliance, donor relations, grant management, and fundraising campaigns. She brings a background in nonprofit accounting to her role, having handled Fortress of the Bear’s bookkeeping for nearly two years before joining the staff full-time in March 2026. She holds a BA in Humanities and Social Sciences from Washington State University and studied Strategic Communication in graduate school. In her role, she works closely with FOB’s Executive Director and Board to support the sanctuary’s financial and fundraising goals.
Mary was born and largely raised in Sitka, with a childhood shaped by life across Southeast Alaska. Her family spent summers aboard the Mayflower, her father’s 50-foot commercial trolling boat, from the time school let out each spring until it resumed in the fall, fishing much of that time around Tebenkof Bay and selling their catch to the fish buying scow NEFCO XI in Gedney Harbor on Kuiu Island, where black bears were a constant presence on the beaches. Over the course of her childhood, she also lived a total of about six years in Port Alexander, a remote fishing community on the southern tip of Baranof Island reachable only by boat or floatplane and connected internally by boardwalk rather than roads. In sixth grade, she spent a year in Angoon while her mother taught school, before returning to Port Alexander for seventh and eighth grade. That upbringing gave her a firsthand understanding of life in Southeast Alaska’s small, close-knit communities, a foundation she draws on in her role supporting FOB’s mission.
Bear Care
Claire Turner
Curator & Bear Behaviorist
Claire has been an integral part of our bear care team since she first volunteered with us during the summer of 2012, collecting bear intelligence data for her BSc in Animal Behavior. She now manages our entire bear care team, overseeing and assisting keeper staff with seasonal nutrition, veterinary training, enrichment and educational programming to reduce human-bear conflict. Claire also founded our formal intern program in 2015, creating opportunities for others to learn and gain experience as they begin their animal care careers.
In her spare time, Claire is an artist and graphic designer; she provides many of Fortress of the Bear’s t-shirt and merchandise designs, which you can find in our online store! She also plays a key role in our social media management!
Syd Kuhlman
Bear Keeper
Syd is from Puyallup, Washington and has spent her entire life around animals big and small. Growing up on a ranch, Syd rode horses with her family and taught kids to ride. She completed her master’s degree in Global Biodiversity Conservation from the University of Sussex in 2024 after graduating with her BS in Biology from the University of Washington. Fortress of the Bear has provided Syd with the ability to follow her passions for conservation work and animal care, and she prides herself in the dedicated work and novel ideas she brings to the nonprofit. In her free time, Syd enjoys baking, watching Formula 1, and spoiling her cat Ender.
Danielle DeFeo
Bear Keeper
Danielle joined us in 2025 as an intern, and returned in 2026 to join us year-round. Danielle is from outside of Chicago and has a bachelors degree in Human-Animal Studies and Parks and Recreation from Aurora University. She has experience working with a variety of animals at a few different zoos. Danielle has a passion for making fun new enrichment for the bears and taking countless pictures of them.
Visitor Experience
Barb Self
Operations Manager
Barb Self is our Operation Manager and she is responsible for making sure all aspects of Fortress of the Bear run smoothly. Barb has been a part of Fortress since the beginning in 2002. Her Father is Fortress founder Les Kinnear. She was raised in Sitka and is a graduate of Sitka High. After high school, she had an opportunity to live 3 years in Europe while her husband was in the army. After Europe, Barb lived in the Western Alaska in the villages for 6 years and then homestead in the Alaskan Wilderness for 3 years. She enjoys learning from other cultures and discovering how she can incorporate other cultures into her lifestyle.
Barb has been married to her sweetheart since 1985 and has 5 kids, and 12 grandkids. She is an important team member, who works hard to keep Fortress moving forward.
Sadie Treest
Visitor Experience Co-ordinator
Sadie is originally from central Illinois and moved to Alaska for a job opportunity with a family friend in December 2022. Soon after moving to Sitka they were able to visit Fortress and felt a connection with the staff, bears, and mission. After a couple years working different jobs around town, they stepped into tour guiding for a couple of seasons where they made more connections with the staff at Fortress and ended up applying to work here full time. In their role as Visitor Experience Coordinator, Sadie might very well be the first face you see when you arrive at the sanctuary! They keep all of our tour time slots organized and ensure everything runs smoothly, so you have the best possible bear visit!
They bring a bubbly personality and strives to spread smiles, fun, and a light hearted vibe to as many people as possible. You can often find them dancing with strangers in the gift shop between tour groups or trying to make bummed out kids smile with a bag full of fidget toys that they keep in their pocket.
Retail & Purchasing
Gerri Guthrie
Retail & Purchasing Manager
Gerri has worked in our production department since November 2021. She grew up in Sitka and has lived here off and on, spending the last 30 years in Utah. Gerri comes from a very creative background! She is a photographer, decorator, crafter and loves making items to sell in Fortress of the Bear’s gift shop. If you’ve purchased an item of clothing in our store or online, Gerri probably made it for you! She loves collaborating with the other staff to create new products. She is very passionate about the bears here at Fortress and is so excited to be part of the growth that is taking place. She loves to chase sunsets and walk around Sitka. She is always taking pictures to share her view of the world - you can see lots of her photos by following G&H Photography! She has been married for 25 years this year to Jesse Guthrie and they have three boys, Jan, Jacob, and J.R. Family is very important to her. She also is excited to spend time with her Sitka family.
Heather Merrill
Inventory Specialist
Heather started as a volunteer in 2022, following her first visit to Sitka the prior year; enjoying helping in production and the gift shop. In 2023 she joined the Fortress of the Bear team, continuing in production and inventory. Heather joins us from Utah. She loves to watch the bears and help create the merchandise and apparel that help to support them, while providing our visitors a special keepsake to remember their visit. In her spare time you can find Heather taking pictures, hanging out with family, watching NASCAR races, or sitting by a fire relaxing.
Volunteers
Debi Terry
"I began volunteering at Fortress of the Bear in the Spring of 2009 right after moving to Sitka. My favorite bear is Lucky. He is laid back, can easily entertain himself for hours and loves spending time in the water. He also overcame a very serious injury as a young bear and is thriving now. I have had various responsibilities since I began volunteering from cleaning to helping with food prep and enrichment. My favorite things to do are picking wild foods for the bears and telling guests about these remarkable creatures. The most memorable moment I have had was just looking into the eyes of one of the bears and feeling that he was engaged in looking back at me. I hope I can volunteer another 10 years!"
Here's Debi, who also runs a local tour company, Specialized Tours of Sitka.
Kathy Ingallinera
"I started volunteering on Sundays in the summer of 2015. Killisnoo is my favorite bear because he is the "Underdog" and I like to root for him and encourage him, especially when he stands up for himself. He is sweet and just goes about his bear business, which I like. I help in the gift shop, with food prep, cleaning, recycling and telling the visitors about the bears."
Here's Kathy, pictured with her lovely rescue malamute, Bristol!
Board of Directors
Chair - Lee Bennett
Vice-Chair - Shauna Thornton
Treasurer - Hugh Bevan
Secretary - Laurie Booyse
Director - Debi Terry
Director - Tyler Eddy
Honorary Board Member - Beverly Caldwell