Meg Burgett

After getting a BS in Forest Management from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, Meg began her career in Alaska in 1986 as an Integrated Pest Management Technician for the University of Alaska Cooperative Extension Service, where she spent the next 30+ years. Her time with Cooperative Extension Service included a variety of experiences and titles, along with the opportunity to travel and work with both youth and adult audiences in rural communities across Alaska.

After retiring from the University, Meg began a second career where she continued to advocate for the education of Alaska’s youth about the natural world as the Apprenticeship and Training Director for Alaska Forum. There Meg directed workforce development programs that provide pathways to jobs and a career in natural resource management related fields in Alaska for residents of rural and underserved communities. Always a forester at heart, Meg has stayed active in Alaska’s forestry industry and since 2017 has been working seasonally with Chugachmiut as part of their forest carbon capture project team. She is also a member of the Alaska Community Forest Council and the Alaska Forest Stewardship Council. Meg has a long association with Alaska’s Soil and Water Conservation Districts, serving as the Chair of the Wasilla SWCD from 1989 to 2000 and 2019 to present. Under her leadership, the Wasilla SWCD was one of the first citizen-science water quality monitoring groups in the Mat Su Valley and is now the home of Project Learning Tree in Alaska. Meg is a long-term member of the Alaska Natural Resources and Outdoor Education Association, serving as Chair for several terms over the last 30 years.

Now semi-retired, Meg continues her work with the councils and SWCD and has joined the Zender team part-time bringing with her over 35 years of Alaska experience in successful program development, management and evaluation, grant writing, outreach and education. In her spare time, Meg and her husband continue to enjoy all that Alaska has to offer and can most often be found in the woods or on the tundra with their Brittany hunting dogs.