Tanya S. Hickok earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Marquette University in 2000 and became a licensed professional engineer in Alaska in 2005. For the past three years, she has served with the Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department (APR) as a civil engineer, senior park planner, and project manager, leading a wide range of park improvement projects. Hickok has expertly guided these initiatives through every phase, from planning to construction.

As a mother of three autistic children, Hickok is passionate about fostering inclusive play. She combines her love for her family with her dedication to creating accessible play spaces, ensuring that people with special needs have opportunities to thrive. Hickok champions APR’s Play for All program, promoting inclusivity in recreational spaces. For more than ten years, Hickok has focused on park and trail design. She has worked on various planning, engineering, and construction projects throughout Anchorage, including major developments like the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center and Tikahtnu Commons, as well as significant park and trail upgrades such as the Campbell Creek Trail rehabilitation, South Anchorage Sports Park, and Elderberry Park.

Before joining APR, Hickok spent twenty-one years as a consultant in the architecture and engineering industry. She specialized in project management, site development, land use planning, and permitting. Hickok is also committed to giving back to her community through volunteer and mentoring roles. She has contributed to organizations such as Smart Girls Rock, Engineers Week Classroom Speaking, Anchorage Park Foundation’s Community Challenge Grants, MATHCOUNTS Foundation, Zoning Board of Examiners and Appeals, Institute of Transportation Engineers, and Society of Women Engineers.

Manabu Nozaki is a completions engineer at ConocoPhillips Alaska. He has held various positions in Alaska, Norway, and at the Houston Global Technical Function, where he supported projects globally (Algeria, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Indonesia, Norway, Senegal, United Kingdom, and United States) as a subject matter expert on analysis/interpretation of various completion types, post-stimulation analysis, formation failure analysis for completion design, reservoir compaction/subsidence analysis, and tubular stability analysis.

In Alaska, he has been responsible for planning one of ConocoPhillips’ major projects and is currently supporting its execution. He has also evaluated and tested new technologies for the well design and stimulation improvements across the entire business unit.

Nozaki holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental and resource engineering from Waseda University in Tokyo, and he earned his master’s degree and PhD in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University. He has enjoyed living in Alaska since moving here in March 2021—hiking in summer and skiing in winter with his family.

Nozaki devotes his time to professional services: Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) conference/workshop program committee (2019 European Stimulation Workshop and 2025-2027 Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition) and a technical editor (SPE Outstanding Technical Editor Awards in 2014 and 2023) for several SPE journals. He has authored many SPE papers on completions and geomechanics.

Danny Rauchenstein has more than twenty years of experience as a mechanical and fire protection engineer with a significant focus on energy-related designs. He loves collaborating with intelligent, creative people while creating unique, complex solutions for engineering challenges. Rauchenstein is a vice president at RESPEC and manages the business unit. He also leads business development and contract management for facility projects in Alaska and the Lower 48.

Rauchenstein was born and raised in Alaska, which enables him to combine proven knowledge with day-to-day, real-life experience in cold climates. His expansive HVAC design experience includes ventilation, heating, plumbing, controls, fire protection, fuel systems, utilidors, and plant design. He also has broad experience in the energy field, including waste heat recovery, oil and gas development, and energy studies. Rauchenstein uses the industry’s newest tools, including 3D CAD, flow modeling, building energy modeling, and economic analysis software.

His unique résumé took him as far as Antarctica to redesign the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station’s ventilation system. If he can find solutions for a place with temperatures as low as -100°F, elevations at 11,000 feet, and severe winds, he can design facilities anywhere.

Anna Bosin, a UC Santa Barbara graduate with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, has been with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities since 2008. Becoming a registered civil engineer in 2009, she’s worked across Highway Design, Construction, Traffic, and Safety sections of the agency before joining the Statewide Research, Development, and Technology Transfer (RD&T2) section in 2014. There, Bosin managed diverse research projects, including moose crash analysis, passing lane utilization, and high-friction surface treatments.

In 2016, Bosin was promoted to Technical Engineer II, adding Tribal Relations Liaison to her role. She advocated for rural safety and data-driven initiatives, supporting partnerships like the $2 million federal grant awarded in 2022 for deploying unmanned aerial vehicles in remote communities. In 2018, Bosin spent a year in Washington, DC, as a Department of Transportation Fellow with American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, advancing transportation policy, authoring research needs, and advocating for rural and tribal transportation funding.

Returning to Alaska in 2019 to resume her RD&T2 and Tribal Liaison roles, Bosin began managing RD&T2’s $3.1 million annual program, including training and technology transfer under direction. There she pushed for research projects to implement change, including her most recent project: Anchorage Pilot Protected Bike Lane Project, initiated in 2023. Beyond her professional work, she actively volunteers with the Alaska Black Caucus, hosts community conversations, and serves on her local community council. Bosin resides in Anchorage and enjoys taking transit with her 7-year-old daughter, Rae Evora.

Mark Ayers, a lifelong Alaskan, has spent his entire career in the telecommunications industry and is currently employed as a telecommunications consultant offering engineering, technology, and business strategy services. His career working in Alaska’s urban and rural telecommunications markets has encompassed all aspects of telecommunications technology and operations. These include the design, implementation, and operation of satellite, microwave, and fiber optic networks; the management of field, engineering, and operations staff; and the development of strategic business plans for corporate stakeholders. Past roles range from individual engineering contributor to holding the position of chief technology officer prior to starting his consulting business.

Ayers holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from UAA and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from UAF. In addition to his professional engineering experience, Ayers has worked as an adjunct professor of engineering and computer science at the University of Alaska. He taught courses ranging from Network Concepts to Operating Systems and Machine Learning. In 2012 Ayers published the textbook Telecommunications System Reliability Engineering, Theory and Practice as the sole author with Wiley Press, and he is an expert in the field of reliability engineering as it relates to telecommunications systems and operations. Ayers holds a professional engineering license within the State of Alaska and is a senior member with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

In his free time, Ayers enjoys volunteering at Grace Christian School fundraising efforts and is an assistant coach on his children’s youth basketball teams.

Steven Halcomb is principal geotechnical engineer with Devise Engineering, an Anchorage-based structural and geotechnical engineering firm. Hailing from a military family, Halcomb spent his childhood between the United States and Europe. His family settled in Anchorage when he started high school, and he attended UAA for most of his higher education. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering, a master’s degree in arctic engineering, and a graduate certificate in earthquake engineering from UAA, and he has completed numerous graduate engineering courses from Kansas State University and Missouri University of Science and Technology. Halcomb balances his free time between Alaska life, his family, and a good book.

Halcomb works primarily as a licensed and board-certified geotechnical engineer, supporting civil, structural, marine, and construction engineering projects. He has provided geotechnical and arctic engineering for almost twenty years throughout Alaska, Canada, and the Lower 48 and enjoys helping individuals and communities large or small, urban or rural, with any challenge they are facing.

Halcomb has actively served in the American Society of Civil Engineers for the last five years as an officer in the Anchorage Branch. He continues his American Society of Civil Engineers service as the vice chair of the Environmental and Public Health Engineering Committee. More locally, he serves as the vice chair of Anchorage’s Geotechnical Advisory Commission while also volunteering in church and schools. He particularly enjoys career days at the elementary and middle schools, where he showcases the fascinating field of geotechnical engineering to eager young minds.