Resumé

Charles Wohlforth
updated 9/29/2005

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Born May 24, 1963; Alaska resident since 1966; married Barbara 1985; son Robert born 1991, daughter Julia 1994; son Joseph 1999; daughter Rebecca 2001.

Books Published and Under Contract

The Whale and the Supercomputer. North Point Press (an imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux), New York, April 2004. Paperback edition April 2005. Indigenous and scientific perceptions of Arctic climate change.
Frommer’s Alaska 2005. Wiley, New York, 2005. Eighth edition of travel guidebook originally published in 1996, covering all of Alaska. Ninth edition to be publish January, 2006.
Alaska For Dummies, second edition. Wiley, New York, 2005. Second edition of travel guidebook covering Alaska.
Frommer’s Family Vacations in the National Parks, third edition. Wiley, New York, 2004. Guidebook covering travel, natural history and culture in 15 national parks and seashores.
Crisis in the Commons, The Alaska Solution. Institute for Contemporary Studies, Oakland, 2002. Assisted former Alaska governor and Secretary of the Interior Walter Hickel in writing philosophical memoir.
Spectacular Alaska. Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, Inc., 1998. Text for coffee table photography book.

Work Included in Books or Anthologies

The Alaska Reader: Voices from the North. (Fulcrum, 2005)
National Geographic National Parks: Atlas and Travel Planner.  Publication cancelled.
Outside Magazine’s Guide to Family Vacations. 1997.
Frommer’s National Parks of the American West, two editions. 1998 and 2000.
Frommer's USA, two editions. 
Best Newspaper Writing 1990 (Poynter Institue).
Season of Dead Water.  (Anthology on the Exxon Valdez oil spill.) 1990.
Alaska Review. 1990.

Magazine and On-Line Work
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Alaska Airlines Magazine, Alaska Geographic, Alaska Magazine, Capital Eye, Columbia Journalism Review, Expedia Magazine On Line, FAME, Frommer's.com, inAlaska.com, National Wildlife, The New Republic, Newsday, OnEarth, Orion, Outside, Pacific Northwest, Panoscope International, Sunset, We Alaskans, World Traveler.

Awards
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Received more than 25 awards and citations since 1986, from organizations including: Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Kiriyama Prize, Overseas Press Club Whitman Bassow Award, Alaska Library Association, American Society of Newspaper Editors, C.B. Blethen Award Foundation, Anchorage Assembly, Anchorage School District, Alaska Press Club, Society of Professional Journalists, Government Hill Community Council and Princeton University

Education

Graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, with B.A. degree in English, 1986.

Employment

1989-present: Freelance writer and author. See above. 
2003-present: Freelance consultant and speech writer, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.
1993-1999: Member, Anchorage Municipal Assembly. Elected to two three-year terms to represent the downtown area of the city-borough government. Chair of the Budget Committee for five years, handling an operating budget of over $200 million as well as capital and utility budgets. Chair of the ATU Committee, responsible for the successful sale of the city's $295 million telephone company.
1992-1997: Editor, POL: A Journal of Policy and Politics. Founded and edited a monthly journal.
1992-1993: Research Director, Alaska Research Associates. Managed research projects, political campaigns and polling for a political consultancy firm.
1988-1992: Reporter, Anchorage Daily News. Lead field reporter on the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Covered investigative projects, including one that led to the arrest of the subject.
1986-1988: Reporter, Homer News. General assignment reporter for a small town weekly.
1982-1986: Student, Princeton University. Majored in English with an emphasis in creative writing.
1981-1982: Reporter and production assistant, KSKA public radio.

Memberships and Volunteerism

American Society of Journalists and Authors,  member 1998-2002.
Anchorage Assembly, member and committee chair 1993-1999.
School Bonds YES!, chaired campaign successful in passage of $264 million in bonds, 2002-2003.
Chugach Optional School Assembly Executive Board, officer 2000-2005, president 2005-2006.
Cook Inlet Historical Society, board member 1999-2000.
Government Hill Community Council, president 1992.
Hillcrest Children's Center Executive Committee, officer 1995-2000.