Meet Our Team
Stephanie Millane
Owner, Year 18
Stephanie grew up in the backwoods of Wisconsin, running through the forests and fishing the rivers. Skiing during the winter left her summers open for exploration. She began guiding in SE AK in 1998 and found her way to Sunny Cove in 2006.
Once here she soon became our Operations Manager and a full-time Alaska resident. She shares with us her nearly two decades of Alaskan experience and is a Wilderness First Responder, and a Certified Alaska Tour Guide Trainer.
In the fall of 2019, Stephanie purchased Sunny Cove and she’s looking forward to continuing Sunny Cove’s exploration of wild places.
Emma Campbell
Guide, Year 3
Emma was born in Key West and moved to Southern Indiana when she was about ten where her outdoor fun shifted from boats and reefs to woods and horses.
After high school, she went to Savannah to study animation at the College of Art and Design. After, she joined Savannah Canoe and Kayak for two years before deciding to broaden her horizons and head to Alaska.
Emma is looking forward to her time on the water and helping others to appreciate the wilderness.
Jen Schuler
Guide, Year 3
Jen spent the first 18 years of her life exploring Wisconsin’s rivers and lakes, camping, and traveling to find new adventures before heading off to Minnesota for college.
After studying recreation and tourism she has guided sea kayaking and canoeing on the North Shore of Lake Superior and the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness spent a winter in Maui kayaking with Humpback whales and is looking forward to her return for another season guiding adventurers in Alaska.
Taylor Cline
Guide, Year 3
Taylor grew up in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, spending the majority of his free time backpacking, climbing, and skiing. While attending Colorado Mountain College he obtained a degree in Outdoor Education as well as his W-EMT.
After graduating college he spent time as a rock climbing guide in Jackson, Wyoming, and Missoula, Montana. After a couple of years of that, he eventually found his way to Sunny Cove and discovered a love for the vast Kenai mountains and the abundant wildlife surrounding them. He’s looking forward to another summer in Alaska and hopes to continue sharing his love for the outdoors.
Laurie Millane
Guest Experience Coordinator, Year 12
Laurie is a native-born Sconnie, and when she's not in Alaska she calls Wisconsin home. Over the years she's hiked, camped, and paddled the multitude of waterways of home finding fun around every corner.
Her ties to Alaska began at three years old when her Native Alaskan sister came to live with her family. Since then she has always longed to visit The Last Frontier. The first time she visited Seward she fell in love with the area and has been returning every year since. Eventually, Laurie and her family purchased a business near Seward. Look for Laurie at the Adventure Center, or out adventuring around Seward!
Joshua Jackson
Owner/Captain
Seward Coastal Charters
Joshua moved to Seward and fell in love with working on the water and the community, more than 20 years ago.
He spent the winters working with whales in HI, helping with deliveries along the coast of Mexico, and as the first mate on yachts in the Caribbean. Now, Joshua enjoys winter traveling with his wife Audrey, and boys, River and Silas.
During the 20+ summer seasons working on boats, all Joshua could think was 'how amazing it would be to just pull up to the beach, walk off and explore, spawning the dream with ownership of Ascension. Joshua is excited to share the wonder of Kenai Fjords and Resurrection Bay.
Danny Meuninck
Lead Guide, Year 12
Danny has been in the Sunny Cove family for a dozen years. Once a full time guide and manager for the company, Danny has branched out to other endeavors recently including acquiring his captain's license and co-hosting Alaska's best podcast...The Last Frontier Podcast. His latest adventures from this past year include home ownership, becoming a first time dad and starting a new job working for the city of Seward.
But once you are family, you are always family so Danny will still be seen around the Sunny Cove campus helping run training and guiding from time to time on his weekends. He is bald, he is beautiful and as of this year, he can now claim to be Sunny Cove's senior most guide.
Russ White
Lead Guide, Year 8
Russ originally hails from MA and graduated from Nichols College. While in college he traveled through Africa, Asia, and S. America, eventually ending up in Asia teaching English. After his stint in Asia, he moved to Bar Harbor, ME to pursue kayak guiding.
Russ loves to share his joy of kayaking and the beauty of the ocean. He's a Wilderness First Responder, has his ACA Level 3 Assessment, and is a Registered Maine Guide.
Russ now works at the City of Seward in the Parks and Rec Department, and fills in as a guide when an extra hand is needed. Like Danny, once you’re family, you’re family.
Liz Rasmussen
Lead Guide, Year 5
Liz grew up on a dairy farm in NY, spending her time playing in the fields. A graduate of Colgate University, she majored in History, with a double minor in Educational Studies/Peace and Conflict Studies.
Liz enjoys exploring, and educating, and aspires to become an outdoor educator as a professional career. She is a Wilderness First Responder, and a NOLS Instructor, and is looking forward to sharing in the energy and experiences of another summer with Sunny Cove.
Margot Bickler
Guide, Year 2
Tasha Talvi
Guide, Year 1
Maggie Wagner
Guide, Year 1
Dani Scheuermann
Guide, Year 1
Bailey Webb
Guide, Year 1
Anika Anderson
Guide, Year 1
Kris Gogal
Guide, Year 1
Dominic Gjurasik
Guide, Year 1
Carter Heinemann
Guide, Year 1
Sarah Kaukol
Guide, Year 1
Margot is so excited to return to Sunny Cove for her second season! She is a WEMT with experience in backpack guiding, ski instructing, classroom teaching, and outdoor education.
Margot holds a degree in Biology, Anthropology, and Environmental Science from Macalester College.
This summer, Margot hopes to continue to encourage people of all backgrounds and experiences to enjoy the outdoors. And see some arctic terns!
Maggie grew up in central Ohio attending numerous camps at the area's extensive metro park system, taking annual ski trips, and camping with her brother's scout troop.
As an adult, she enjoys kayaking at sunset and taking an annual National Park trip with her dad and so far has visited 24 National Parks.
She looks forward to sharing the natural and historical points of interest in the Seward/Kenai Fjords National Park with guests to help them better connect to the area.
Bailey was born in Slidell, LA, just outside of New Orleans. As a Coast Guard kid, she moved from Louisiana, to Florida, to Alaska, to Kansas, and back and forth between AK and KS for years. In Alaska, during the first tour, she lived on a boat for about a year.
On the south end of Ketchikan, they caught salmon by hand, and watched bears, eagles, and incredible marine life. She has kayaked Ketchikan, the Gulf of Mexico, Pawleys Island, and Maine
Kris is originally from Virginia, but started seasonal work 3 years ago. She has worked as a kayak and snorkel guide in Alaska and Hawai’i, done a winter in the Rockies as a ski lifty, and backpacked from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail.
As a former science teacher she loves working in an outdoor office and guiding enables her to educate guests about the complexity of the ecosystems we explore. She enjoys bringing people together from all different backgrounds and walks of life to share an experience as a team in the exploration of a new environment.
Carter grew up in Denver, CO and attended college in Steamboat Springs, CO. Before leaving Colorado he successfully summited all the 14ers in one summer. This led to living in Jackson, WY over the past 5 year, where he worked as a ski instructor at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, as well as ski patrol at Snow King Mountain.
He has spent time in Grand Teton National Park summiting the many peaks, but the skiing is what he really loves. He also made a trip to Nepal, visiting Everest Base Camp and summiting Imja Tse. He loves to share the beauty and awe inspiring aspects of nature with those around him.
Born and raised in Alaska, Tasha spent summers at a remote lodge in Prince William Sound working, kayaking, hiking, and greeting visitors from around the world to her family's small wilderness lodge. In the winters, She went to school in the small town of Palmer, Alaska.
Living a seasonal lifestyle from a young age inspired her love of travel. For her senior year of high school, she went on a year-long exchange to Brazil, learning Portuguese. In college, she spent a semester abroad in Spain. In the six months she spent in Europe, she visited 14 countries.
Dani grew up at the foot of the Rockies, and was skiing before she could confidentially walk. She had baby skis and her parents used to hold her between their legs as they skied down the slopes. She absolutely loves hiking and backpacking, and rock climbing.
She has worked as a backpack guide in the Rockies for a summer camp taking high schoolers on four to five day long backpacking trips for the past two summers.
Anika was born in Russia and adopted at 9 months old, then moved to Gunnison, CO where she grew up. She was indoctrinated into the outdoors quite quickly, as both of her parents adore being outside.
She learned to ski at 3 years old, climb at 5, and her first river trip happened on her 4th birthday. She’s always had a taste for adventure and joined her university's Outdoor Program as a guide her senior year of college. She has led rock climbing, canoeing, hiking, and backcountry skiing trips all over the northeast and the Teton Wilderness.
Dom grew up in Washington state in a large family with 16 siblings. His family shared a sense adventure, hiking often and sleeping outside whenever possible. He now spends his time as a ski patroller at Mt Baker ski area in the North Cascades.
As a first year guide, he’s looking forward to learning more about the Kenai Fjords National Park and sharing that experience with guests from far and wide.
Sarah grew up in Southwest Colorado and moved to Alaska a few years ago. She has been a guide for 5 years in various sectors of the outdoor industry and is looking forward to working on the water! She spends most of my personal time backpacking alone or free diving in the ice cold waters of Coastal Alaska.
Sarah feels guiding has been a gift to her growth and her aspirations are to allow that growth to continue, in whichever direction it may lead her.
Ezekiel Churchill
Guide, Year 2
Ezekiel is a seasonal worker and world traveler, with three and a half years of humpback whale interpretive kayak guiding in Hawaii. He is an adamant adventurer and explorer who finished a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, in the summer of 2022.
As a guide, he is primarily motivated by a passion for wildlife, as well as adventure. He is committed to learning and retaining new knowledge, and is a great teacher. He aspires to open his own outdoor adventure company someday.
