Arctic Chairs

Dr. Sarah M Aarons joined the Ted Stevens Center on November 4, 2024. Prior to coming to the Ted Stevens Center, she was an Assistant Professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Her research specializes on the interplay between climate and Earth surface conditions with a focus on high latitude regions.

She holds a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from the University of Michigan (2016), a Master of Science in Earth and Environmental Science from the University of Michigan (2012), and a Bachelor of Science in Geological and Environmental Sciences from Stanford University (2009). Dr. Aarons works to make science more accessible and relevant to society through the development of new courses and lectures addressing the impacts of climate change on Arctic Indigenous people, and through serving as a co-author on the 5th National Climate Assessment (Chapter 2: Climate Trends).

Dr. Cody J. Dees joined the professorial ranks of the Ted Stevens Center on December 3, 2023. Prior to coming to the Ted Stevens Center, Dr. Dees served as an active-duty Air Force 1A8 (Airborne Linguistic Cryptologist), where he acted as a modern day “Wind Talker,” performing real-time encryption, decryption, and translation of target communications, personally ensuring the safety and success of joint force engagements within his target theatre. Following his discharge and pursuit of his academic career, Dr. Dees proceeded to establish himself within the field of educational program administration, most recently holding the position of ‘Chief of General English Curriculum’ for the Defense Language Institute English Language Center, Joint Base San Antonio, Lackland, where he reestablished the institute’s foundational design frameworks, recreated the flagship English Language Training pipeline, and re-drafted internal policies which reduced development costs while improving process continuity and productivity.

Dr. Dees holds an interdisciplinary Ph.D. based in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching, which has been tailored to focus on the unique sociological aspects of educational culture and in applied language contexts. Having pioneered research in Values Theory, Dr. Dees’ research has created a new awareness of the intrinsic links between values systems and the immersion and transmission of culture, particularly within cross-cultural educational settings.

When asked about his broad range of personal, academic, and professional interests, he stated that they all stem from the desire to better understand “how people people, and why.”

Dr. Christine L. Duprow is the Curriculum Developer for the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies. As the lead curriculum developer within the team serving the center, Christine develops, plans, and executes Arctic security related course materials. Dr. Duprow is also a key part of the TSC’s work using human center design practices and facilitation. She recently completed her Doctorate in Education with an E-Learning specialization from National University. Prior to supporting the Ted Stevens Center Dr. Duprow was an Anchorage School District Department Chair and lead educator. Dr. Duprow is a transplant to Alaska via the U.S. Airforce and served for 23 years as a signals specialist and classified courier.

Douglas M. Hulsey joined the Ted Stevens Center in April 8, 2024. Prior to coming to the Ted Stevens Center, he worked at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, leading the USAFE-AFAF Bomber Task Force for Europe and Africa.

Following his time at University of Arkansas, Hulsey commissioned into the United States Air Force where we flew the mighty B-52H Stratofortress as an Instructor Weapons Systems Officer from 2008-2020. Leaving active duty in 2015, Maj. Hulsey continued his service full time with the Air Force Reserves with his last position as the Bomber Task Force Branch Chief for USAFE-AFAF. He remains active with the USAF Reserves as an IMA at the 603d AOC, Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

As proud father and husband to his family, he is also an avid hunter and fisherman and has hunted across Europe and United States. Bringing his family to work and live in Alaska, as well as the opportunity to bring other Arctic Security professionals together in his position as Alumni Program coordinator are key reasons, he has decided to call the TSC home.

Dr. Matthew A. Rhodes joined the Ted Stevens Center in January 2024. Prior to coming to the Ted Stevens Center, he served on the faculty of the George C. Marshall Center in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany and the U.S. Air War College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama.

He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

He is the author of numerous articles, book chapters, and policy papers dealing with U.S. foreign policy, transatlantic relations, and European security.

Dr. Haliehana Stepetin joined the Ted Stevens Center on August 14, 2023. Prior to coming to the Ted Stevens Center, she was an Assistant Professor of Alaska Native Studies at the University of Alaska Anchorage on Dena’ina lands. She has served in numerous roles over the past ten years at her regional Alaska Native organizations through internships and positions at the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Development Association, the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, and the Akutan Corporation and Akutan Qigiiĝun Tribe. She has contracted as a dance, art, and Unangam Tunuu [Unangax̂ Language] instructor at culture camps in the Unangax̂ region since 2013. She has a background in museums that began at the Alaska Native Heritage Center in 2013 and continued at the Bill Holm Center for Northwest Coast Native Art at the Burke Museum in Seattle until 2018. Dr. Stepetin served as a Fire Controlman 2nd Class Petty Officer (E-5/ESWS) onboard the USS Chosin CG 65 stationed at Pearl Harbor, HI (2008-2012).

She holds a PhD in Native American Studies with a Designated Emphasis in Studies in Performance and Practice from the University of California Davis (2023), a Master of Arts in Cultural Studies from the University of Washington Bothell (2018), and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies – Russia Track with minors in Russian and Anthropology from the University of Alaska Anchorage (2016). Her dissertation titled, “Unangam Qaqamiiĝuu [Unangax̂ Subsistence] Cosmologies: Protocols of Sustainability, or Ways of Being Unangax̂,” connects environmental justice, Indigenous food sovereignty, and climate change research with, by, and for Unangax̂ and Circumpolar Arctic communities. Dr. Stepetin’s work tends to social justice and equity in research by uplifting Indigenous Knowledge and the keepers of it as valid and valued experts and scientists. She weaves together her transdisciplinary experience deeply shaped by the Unangax̂ subsistence cosmology she was raised within as an artist and scholar.