Staff Biographies
David van den Berg, Executive Director
David van den Berg came to Alaska in 1989 to help clean up oil spilled from the Exxon Valdez. He moved to Fairbanks later that year. Before joining the Downtown Association of Fairbanks as its Executive Director in July of 2008, he was the Executive Director of the Northern Alaska Environmental Center. Before that, he was president of Arctic Wild, a wilderness guiding company operating throughout Alaska’s Arctic. An avid dog musher, he once traversed the North Slope by dog team from Wiseman via Anaktuvuk Pass to Umiat, onward to Nuiqsut, then by an easterly misadventure through the Prudhoe Bay oilfields to the Dalton Highway. Perhaps surprisingly, he loves being downtown. David is married to Amy Cook; they have two children, Eleanor and Henri.
Kara Nash, Events & Marketing Director
Kara Nash graduated from the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Art History. Expanding on her interest in events and marketing from Student Class Council, Kappa Delta Sorority and the University of Rochester Swim and Dive team she became the lead Student Marketing Representative for Zipcar, a car sharing company, at the Rochester Institute of Technology. After what was planned to be a summer vacation in Fairbanks, Alaska she became the Events and Marketing Coordinator for the Downtown Association of Fairbanks in Fall of 2008. When you do not find her living and working DOWNTOWN, you can find her in the pool coaching Springboard Diving for all the local High Schools and for her new club team Northbound Diving.
Amy Nordrum, Communications Coordinator
Amy studied journalism and environmental issues at Ohio University, graduating with a degree in journalism and internships on an organic berry farm and in Yellowstone National Park. She practiced public outreach and event planning in four years of work with the Office of Sustainability at Ohio University and recently joined the Fairbanks community after completing a cross-country bicycle tour focused on sustainable food issues. Amy is excited to support area businesses as a continuation of her previous work with the Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation, and looks forward to feeding her love of interesting characters, unique public spaces, and rich conversation in her new capacity as Communications Coordinator with the Downtown Association.
