The People of MOI
“Providing the opportunity for people to face challenges and grow has been my mission since starting Exposure Alaska and MICA Guides over 20 years ago. Our family of companies is passionate about delivering high-quality adventure tourism experiences, but the importance of learning and community are at our core. Our Internship Program has proven to be a powerful learning experience and growth opportunity and our returning Senior Staff are continually challenged throughout their career with the company. The tourism business makes it all possible.
The Matanuska Outdoor Institute is a move towards giving our educational goals the priority they deserve. And enables us to broaden our reach to people who may not yet have a solid foundation of outdoor skills or who do not want to focus an entire season on an internship in adventure tourism.”
Don Wray, Founder, MICA Guides & Exposure Alaska
Our Mission
With Alaska as our classroom, we strive to build a community where a person can develop personal resilience, leadership skills, and outdoor competence that can apply to all of life’s challenges.
Who we are
Outdoor experts, professional educators, program directors and a group of advisors that share our vision for building capable humans.
In addition to our team of professional educators, MOI is backed, trained and operated under the guidance of the outdoor professionals of MICA Guides. For over 20 years, MICA Guides has helped thousands of visitors explore and challenge themselves with zero major injuries or incidents.
This highly professional edge sets MOI apart from the typical summer camp programs.
Alyssa Hartson, Executive Director & Director of Curriculum Development
Alyssa began her career in the outdoors in 2009 where she spent a summer as an intern at MICA Guides/Exposure Alaska. Since that summer, she has travelled and lived on 5 continents and worked in Norway, New Zealand and Antarctica. Navigating and traveling in the outdoors has helped her become a happier and more well rounded person, as well as given her the opportunity to face adversity, experience successes and learn from failure. Alyssa has been a high school science teacher since 2015 and believes in a student centered, project based, experiential approach to education. She also believes that education is more than what you might read out of a book and that one’s knowledge is not represented by a grade or marking on a test. All people have a right to high quality education and experiences in order to help shape who they will become.
Alyssa also is a certified yoga teacher, getting her initial 200 YTT from Breath for Change and then focusing her practice with certifications in Yoga For All, Secular Mindfulness Certification and a Trauma Informed Yoga.
In addition to being Executive Director and Director of Curriculum and Instruction at MOI, Alyssa also owns her own education consulting business, Wildhearts Education Consulting, where she focuses on bringing the Outdoors and Mindfulness into public education. Alyssa also co-owns the Yoga Cooperative MT, a purpose driven yoga studio in Butte, MT.
Alyssa currently lives in Butte, MT with her husband Matt, whom she met at MICA Guides in 2009, and their bunny Pika.
Jason Walsh, Program Director
Jason brings a lifetime of mountain experience to MOI. He got his start fishing and hunting the old school way by rambling on foot over hills, mountains, lakes and rivers learning from his elders how to be on the land. His work outside began with trails, building cabins, managing remote kayak camps and progressed through several years as a Park Ranger. After graduate school he went on to develop public land management practices for the State of Alaska that incorporated community and native voice into the decision making process. He has worked as an educator on public lands, the director of a state/federal land organization, an international instructor on eco-tourism, a community forum leader, a native village liaison, and a wilderness guide. While his work has been awesome it is his role primarily as a father of four and husband to one amazing woman that keeps him motivated and striving to do better everyday.
Alec Sica, Chief Financial Officer
Alec arrived in Alaska greener than alder after a soaking rain. Having never hiked anything over a few hundred feet, carried a backpack with more than a few books in it, or climbed anything other than out of bed, the summer of 2017 altered the course of his life forever. Working on the Logistics Team with MICA Guides, Alec was transformed under the weight of wet ropes and steep ice climbs. Once a 19 year old business student disillusioned with his uninspiring future in corporate America, Alec became an outdoor professional with abundant opportunity for adventure and an intimate community of friends to share and grow through life with.
Alec joins MOI with 5 years experience at and as the current General Manager of MICA Guides. He is most passionate about finding ways to provide others the kind of life-shattering opportunity he experienced at one of his most influential moments in his life.
When he’s not crunching the numbers or staring at schedules, you might find him taking some powdery turns in Colorado’s San Juans, writing a journal entry by a wood stove in Vermont, or rambling down a highway looking for that next great adventure.
Allie Hrabchak, Student Outreach Coordinator
Allie first discovered Alaska’s beauty through an instructor-led, month-long backpacking trip in the Alaska Range. She had the naive confidence of a fresh college graduate and was humbled by the rawness of the Alaskan wilderness. That month in the mountains planted a seed that would eventually draw her back to Alaska and the outdoor industry.
Allie is a problem solver and explorer at heart, graduating in 2019 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she studied Aerospace Engineering with a focus on spacecraft and space systems. This led her to the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory where she worked on multiple spaceflight projects including the Mars 2020 rover, Perseverance, as well as Europa Clipper, a spacecraft preparing to investigate one of Jupiter’s most intriguing moons, Europa.
Throughout her work at NASA, Alaska and the many lessons yet to be learned were always on her mind. The tug eventually led her to MICA Guides in 2022 where she fell in love with the Matanuska Valley and found home with the values MICA held. She believes strongly in the importance of life lessons learned through challenge and perseverance and wants to continue sharing the beauty and connection that nature provides with others.
In her off time, you can find Allie climbing rocks, searching for the next ski line, or simply reading a book outside.
Hira Shamsuddin MEd, Assistant Director of Curriculum Development
Hira is a professional teacher with a master’s in education. In the off-season, Hira works at South Eugene High School in Eugene, Oregon teaching The Integrated Outdoor Program. This unique program combines leadership, literature, and outdoor education into a year-long exploration-based education. Hira also teaches literature and ethnic studies.
Having a long history with the outdoors, Hira has worked for MICA Guides, Oregon Adaptive Sports, The American Alpine Club Craggin Classic Series and volunteered with the IOP for eight years before becoming a program teacher.
Hira specializes in leadership education and has written outdoor leadership curriculum for over two years. In her off time, Hira enjoys climbing, rafting, and hiking with her two dogs Remy and Moonpie.
Passionate about representation in the outdoors, Hira works within in community to provide spaces for women of color to enter the outdoor recreation field. Hira is excited to be working with the incredible and talented staff at MOI.
Don Wray, Senior Advisor, Founder of MICA Guides and Exposure Alaska
After some rather boring years growing up in NC, Don signed up for a rock-climbing course in college and was introduced to outdoor adventure. Joining an expedition to Peru after graduation sealed the deal and set him on his life’s path.
Following a brief detour as an engineer for the US Navy, working to make submarines quiet, Don got back on track and spent the next 10 years or so working and traveling in some of the most remote areas of the world. From South Pacific islands, to Outback Australia to deep field camps in Antarctica.
He settled in Alaska in 1999, built a homestead and started Exposure Alaska. Which led to MICA Guides, Glacier View Adventures, Matanuska Glacier Helicopters and the Matanuska Outdoor Institute.
Don’s drive is providing opportunity and challenge, for himself and others. He has climbed big mountains, traveled, organized trail crews, led expeditions, started companies and taught classes on 7 continents.
When he’s not in front of a computer or building something, you can find him skiing, biking or paragliding with his wife Mandy and their dog Mesa. (Well, not the paragliding part).