Joe moved to Alaska in 1992 after visiting for the summer and falling in love with the ocean and the mountains. He has worked for the Alaska Department of Natural Resources for 26 years, starting out as a volunteer in Kachemak Bay State Park.Joe also worked as a park ranger in Anchor Point and on the Kenai River. He was hired as the Education Coordinator for the Alaska Boating Safety Program in 2002. In June he was promoted to Boating Law Administrator. 

Joe loves teaching and is a nationally certified boating safety instructor, NSBC boat control instructor trainer, Alaska Police Standards Council instructor and an American Canoe Association instructor.

Joe was the recipient of the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators’ (NASBLA) Boating Safety Award in 2006 and NASBLA’s Educator of the Year Award in 2012. He graduated with a B.A. Degree from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA. Joe lives in Anchorage with his wife and daughter.

Mike Folkerts was appointed to his current position on the Seventeenth Coast Guard District staff in June of 2001.Mike coordinates the Coast Guards’ recreational and subsistence boating and water safety programs in Alaska and is responsible for policy planning and both education and enforcement outreach related to federal boating laws and best water/ice safety practices.Mike also works as the 17th District’s primary liaison to the State of Alaska’s Office of Boating Safety, the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and other public boating safety organizations and the boating-related media.He has been a contributor to several publications including Boating Life, Boating Magazine, Alaska Boating and Soundings.Mike is a Team Coordination Training facilitator (Coast Guard’s Risk Management program) and has taught numerous train-the-trainer classes around the country including classes at the Coast Guard Training Center in Petaluma, CA.

Mike has been a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary since 1996 and has held many offices including 17th District Commodore.He is a U.S. Army veteran and enjoys both his personal and professional time on the waters of Alaska since 1975.