Matthia Breiter - Matthias Breiter is a renowned biologist and award-winning professional photographer/cinematographer, publisher and author. He has spent most of the past 30 years researching the daily lives and habits of bears, mostly focusing on grizzlies and polar bears.
He is deeply involved with conservation efforts involving the American and Canadian Arctic and Subarctic. Matthias is Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, Fellow of the legendary Explorer’s Club and founding member of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP). He also works as an expert on National Geographic Society Arctic expeditions.
Matthias believes in making a difference by exposing people to the beauties and wonders of nature through photography, print, presentations and cinematography so that they may work for the preservation of such gifts for future generations. Scientifically, he continues to be involved with various research projects about bears.
His articles and photography have been published in numerous major magazines including National Geographic, GEO, BBC Wildlife, Canadian Geographic, Animan, Terre Sauvage, Outdoor Photographer. Matthias has been a frequent lecturer at zoos and also the Smithsonian Institution about bear biology and bear conservation. He produced features and worked as a cinematographer for the National Geographic Society, Discovery Channel, Smithsonian Channel, BBC, ARTE, WDR, BR and many other TV stations around the globe. He has hosted TV shows for Angry Planet, BR, Smithsonian Channel and ZDF. His documentary “Polar Bear Summer” which he produced for Smithsonian Channel has won numerous international awards and is currently nominated for an Emmy.
Ray Troll
RAY TROLL is a world-renowned artist known for his scientifically accurate and often humorous artwork, inspired by field work and research in marine science, paleontology, geology, ecology, and evolutionary biology. Ray’s renditions of everything from modern day salmon and marine mammals to bizarre creatures of the prehistoric past have become iconic in fishing, scientific, and environmental activist communities around the world.
His work, distributed through his web store in Ketchikan, Alaska, can be found on posters, hoodies, and millions of t-shirts sported by fisher folks, the occasional celebrity and many others. Ray’s paintings and mixed-media drawings are in the collections of the Miami Museum of Science, the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Alaska Airlines, the Anchorage Museum, the Alaska State Museum, and the Ketchikan Museum. His books include Sharkabet: a Sea of Sharks from A to Z and Crusisn’ the Fossil Coastline and Cruisin the Fossil Freeway with Dr. Kirk Johnson, now director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, for which he and Kirk were awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. He has illustrated and authored more than a dozen popular books including Shocking Fish Tales, Planet Ocean, Raptors, Fossil, Fins and Fangs and Rapture of the Deep. His latest is a career overview called Spawn Till You Die, the Fin Art of Ray Troll published by Clover Press Books.
Ray’s recent ventures include co-hosting the popular Paleo Nerd Podcast, featuring informative and amusing interviews with leading paleontologists and scientists from around the world. He is the recipient of a gold medal for distinction in the natural history arts by the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, a Rasmuson Foundation Distinguished artist award and also received the Alaska Governor’s award for the arts.
Troll has a ratfish species named for him and an extinct genus of extinct round-bellied herring named for him. He also plays science themed rock n’ roll music with his band the Ratfish Wranglers.
T3 AND THE FRIENDS OF ANAN
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Brian Reggiani
Brian grew up in Cordova, Alaska and earned a bachelor’s degree in Geology and Earth Science from University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He has focused his career promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in rural Alaska to empower students to make a difference in their home communities. He currently serves as the Director of Student Engagement and Associate Director of Upward Bound at the University of Fairbanks, Alaska, a program aimed to improve graduation rates of high school students and their opportunities to continue with further education. For the past several years, he has been working closely with the Teaching Through Technology (T3) Program, supporting Wrangell students as they tackle hands-on community projects. He has spent the past two summers in Wrangell working alongside youth at the Anan Bear Observatory. Lastly, he has been instrumental in starting up a new nonprofit organization, Friends of Anan, whose mission is to support, educate, and advocate for the preservation and sustainable management of the Anan Wildlife Observatory and its surrounding ecosystem. Outside of work you can find him playing in the woods or on the water.
The Wrangell T3 students have partnered with the Forest Service on projects that blend innovation, environmental stewardship, and community service. Their work includes flying drones for mapping and monitoring, designing a solar-powered camera system for bear observation at Anan, and engineering custom watering systems for Christmas trees as needed. Their work reflects a growth mindset and a belief that with curiosity, collaboration, and persistence, young people can solve real problems and make a lasting impact.
2025 Bearfest Presentations