SEACC Staff

Maggie Rabb, Interim Executive Director

Maggie Rabb, Interim Executive Director

Juneau | maggie@seacc.org

Maggie was born in Juneau but grew up in rural Northern Vermont where she developed a deep appreciation of nature. She jumped at the opportunity to travel to Alaska after high school working as a trolling deckhand out of Sitka for six summers. Maggie found her passion for Southeast during her summers on that troller delivering salmon to communities throughout the region. During that time, she met, and later married, a commercial fisherman and continued to spend time each year in Southeast.

She graduated with a bachelor’s in Sociology and Environmental Studies from St. Lawrence University in upstate New York where she focused on social movement organizations. Maggie spent time pursuing graduate studies in Sociology at Michigan State University and later spent a year as an international marine policy fellow at the State Department’s Office of Marine Conservation in Washington, D.C.

In 2013 Maggie followed her dream of relocating to Southeast Alaska by moving to Juneau, where she worked at Perseverance Theatre as their Development Director for three years. She is now using her fundraising and nonprofit management experience in furtherance of her passion for environmental conservation. Originally hired as SEACC’s Director of Development and Operations, Maggie serves as SEACC’s Deputy Director and, presently, its interim Executive Director.

Melissa Griffiths, Communications Director

Melissa Griffiths, Communications Director

Douglas | melissa@seacc.org

Melissa joined SEACC as Communications Director in 2023, following six years serving in the same role with another non-profit and several more years’ experience in communications, journalism and campaign work. She earned a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.

Melissa was born on Ohlone land in California and raised there and on the lands of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs in Oregon. She moved to Lingít Aaní in 2007 “for a summer” and never found a reason to leave. Today, she lives in Sayéik (Douglas) with her husband and dog.

She’s an artist, baker, trail traipser, mushroom forager and enthusiastic community member who believes in taking care of what you love.

Nathan Newcomer, Federal Campaigns Manager

Nathan Newcomer, Federal Campaigns Manager

Douglas | nathan@seacc.org

With more than 20 years of experience working on federal public lands campaigns in New Mexico and across the United States, Nathan is no newcomer to the conservation movement and has a proven track record of building sustainable coalitions and relationships with members, supporters, volunteers, indigenous peoples and political leaders to get things done. He has been professionally involved in or directly responsible for facilitating and organizing successful Wilderness campaigns through Congress, multiple National Monument designations, and Wild and Scenic Rivers legislation. Additionally, he has extensive experience analyzing NEPA documents and is excited to take on SEACC’s Federal Campaigns Manager position with a focus on the Tongass National Forest Land Management Plan. Since starting out in 2002, leading the charge for upholding the Roadless Rule in New Mexico and coordinating with national organizations, he has been enamored with the Tongass and Alaska. He first visited Alaska in the summer of 2018 on a month-long canoe trip in Gates of the Arctic Wilderness and Noatak Preserve; his desire to work to preserve the wild landscapes of Southeast was profoundly solidified by this experience.

When not spending time dedicated to public lands protection and community, Nathan enjoys spending time with his two little boys, his wife, Egle, and backpacking, kayaking, and painting.

Aaron Brakel, Clean Water Campaigns Manager

Aaron Brakel, Clean Water Campaigns Manager

Douglas | aaron@seacc.org

It was no surprise when Aaron Brakel was brought on at SEACC to officially work for water protection. In fact, most of his friends were probably wondering what took him so long. 

Aaron has been a SEACC volunteer since the 1980s. His involvement with mining and water quality work started in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. He’s worked on the Alaska-Juneau and Kensington mines permitting processes, and on turning out public support for forest issues, extensively as a volunteer.

Aaron’s passion for protecting Southeast Alaska is a family affair. His stepfather, noted naturalist Greg Streveler, was a long-time SEACC board member. And his mother, Judy Brakel, was a renowned wilderness guide who also served as the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission’s representative to the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

“Growing up in Southeast Alaska, I’ve seen things that I want to be able to pass on to the coming generations, things like clean water, healthy habitat, and robust wilderness that support the cultures and economy of this amazing place for the longterm,” Aaron says.

Aaron considers himself very fortunate to have grown up on Auk Kwaan land in downtown Juneau. Aaron and his mother were adopted into the Kiks.adi clan’s Clay House by Matushka Emily Williams in the 1990s at the memorial ku.eex for his brother Kaaxaachgook, Robert Williams.

“To me,” Aaron says, “Upholding the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples, and the cultural values and languages that are part of this place, will always pay off in the long run.”

As the Inside Passage Waters Program Manager, Aaron hopes to play a useful role in protecting the waters and the habitat of this amazing place we call home. In his off time, Aaron is on the soccer field, reading, or spending time with family.

Raylynn Lawless, Office Manager

Raylynn Lawless, Office Manager

Juneau | raylynn@seacc.org

Though she was born down south in Oregon, Raylynn fell in love with Juneau and the Tongass National Forest when she would visit family for the summer and winter holidays. When she was 15 she decided to relocate from the high deserts of Oregon to the lush temperate rainforest of Southeast Alaska, where the love of nature and adventure runs deep.

Raylynn graduated from Juneau Douglas High School in 2008 and immediately began traveling between Oregon, Sweden, and New Zealand until she returned to Alaska and began pursuing her passion for gardening. In addition to managing an office full of SEACC team members, Raylynn is currently attending the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine to become an herbalist and Medicinal Herb Farmer. She is also a novice beekeeper, who has been keeping healthy happy bees in our temperate climate.

When Raylynn is not playing in the garden, harvesting medicinal herbs, or loving on her bees, she can be found fishing, camping, and adventuring with her two amazing dogs and wonderful husband.

Cheffy Thomas, Digital Media Specialist

Cheffy Thomas, Digital Media Specialist

Juneau | cheffy@seacc.org

After graduating in 2014 from Ithaca College, Cheffy didn’t know where he was going to end up, but the degree in Film and Photography he’d just received meant starting in one of two places: Los Angeles or New York. Heading west, he pursued a career in the film industry for the first few years after college, working in many aspects of the industry, from being an assistant in talent management to Director of Photography for film.

Living in the city had its merits but he often found himself driving hours to be anywhere in nature. In 2017, he travelled to visit Juneau and his heart never left.

Like many transplants to Juneau, Cheffy came to Southeast Alaska for what was meant to be “just one season.” But, in the last six years he has worked with several guiding companies, and continued his freelance videography and photography work, simultaneously giving him a crash course in all things adventure while continuing to create and capture the beautiful moments life has in store for all of us.

After several life changing trips through Xúnaa Ḵáawu (Glacier Bay), and many other wild locations, Cheffy seeks to combine his love for nature with his passion for narrative to help give a voice to the things in life that cannot speak for themselves. With a rekindled love of all things wild, he seeks new adventures as often as he can. His current adventure: pursuing a Master’s in Communication from University of Alaska Fairbanks.