Meet The AWA Leadership Team
The Alaska Woodturners Association is lead by a team of dedicated individuals who work hard in the background to help things run smoothly, plan classes and events, strategize to help the organization grow, and much more.
Tom Dooley
President
Tom is a life-long Alaskan who returned to turning in 2011. He holds three Door & Hardware Institute Certifications as an Architectural Hardware Consultant, Certified Door Consultant and is a Fire and Egress Door Assembly Inspector. He enjoys all types of turning from bottle stoppers and pens to bowls and platters. Turning has taken him to the Portland AAW convention, the Utah Symposium and classes at Craft Supply and the with Glenn Lucas in Ireland
Bill Poole
Vice President
Bill is a full-time professional woodworker running a business of refinishing and building furniture. He has been a participant in every advanced master class since the first one and is known for his fine turned pieces. Bill has been turning for many years.
Brian Seitz
Secretary
Brian has lived in Alaska for almost 50 years and in late 2015, retired after a 30-year career as a Petroleum Engineer. He had never touched a lathe until he took Bob Congdon’s beginning class through the Alaska Woodturners Association in 2013. He enjoys most anything outdoors, spending time with family, traveling, working on home projects, volunteering for non-profits, and of course, turning wood.
Mark Figura
Treasurer
I’ve made a lot of tables and benches over the years. After I retired, I decided to try something new. So I got a lathe, asked for help from friendly woodturners and the AWA, and started turning. Now I’m filling my house with bowls, whenever I’m not hanging around with my family and grandchildren.
Heather Ashley
Director
While I have been fascinated with woodworking since I was young, I started woodturning in 2004. I am a “born and raised” Alaska Woodturner having taken the beginning classes and attended all of the symposiums and most of the master classes since that date. While I enjoy many types of woodturning, my favorite is making bowls, turned green and left to warp. Woodturning is my go-to stress reliever from my job as a nurse in the newborn ICU. Other hobbies include never ending home remodeling and cabinet making, camping, dipnetting, and berry picking.
Jess Doherty
Director
I have lived in Alaska for most of my life; I first encountered turning at the Alaska State Fair in the mid-2000s, began taking classes in 2008 at AWA with my dad, Ed, and have not stopped turning since. I recently started playing with small hollow forms and square-to-round pieces, and I am looking forward to future turning adventures. My full legal name is Jessie Doherty, but I prefer Jess.
Arnie Geiger
Director
Arnie graduated form the University of Wisconsin State with a degree in Industrial Education. He moved to Alaska in 1965 and taught industrial arts for the Anchorage School District. Upon retiring 22 years later he initiated a custom wood working business often times turning architectural pieces for contractors. He has been turning for 40-50 years.
Lars Johnson
Director
I grew up in California before moving away to attend undergrad and law school. In 2009, I moved up to Alaska for a one-year clerkship so that I could explore the state‘s mountains and trails. I haven’t finished exploring, so I haven’t left yet. I am currently a trial unit supervisor for the Alaska Public Defender Agency. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, hiking/backpacking, climbing, woodworking and turning, and trying to make progress on an endless list of house projects.
Chris Remick
Director
Chris is a transplant from Northern Minnesota via Colorado. He discovered woodturning after retiring from the Mat Su School District in 2015. "I love creating useful items using scraps of wood that most folks would discard or burn." Other hobbies are fishing, camping, and Ham Radio.
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