Meet Our Guides

David Doughty, Co-Owner / Guide

Dave has been leading trips most of his life backpacking, canoeing, mountain biking, climbing, and kayaking. He spent the first half of his working life as an acupuncturist / chiropractor, and intends to spend the second half outdoors. Having bought Kayak Adventures Worldwide in January 2003, he jumped into the endeavor with both feet and has worked to bring a new enthusiasm and spirit to an already incredible business. His desire to please the client brings a wonderful service-oriented approach to a business already specializing in customized trips and instruction. Dave has an amazing enthusiasm for the sport of kayaking, and even more so for using the sport to share the area with others. He holds a current Wilderness First Responder and is a Leave-No-Trace trainer. If he's not leading extended trips in the fjords, you'll find him working around the shop.

Wendy Doughty, Co-Owner / Guide

Although originally from CT, Wendy has spent many years traveling both within the States and internationally. She's enjoyed adventures that include reindeer herding near Antarctica, researching on Crete and Easter Island, sailing the Mediterranean, living in the Swiss Alps, and working for National Geographic. Now, as a co-owner and lead guide for Kayak Adventures, she has finally settled down a bit. She is passionate about the area and trip leading, and thrives on the wonderful interactions she has with visitors of both Kayak Adventures and Bear Paw Lodge. Her enthusiasm for the outdoors and the magic of Alaska are infectious - and now instead of planning her own trips, she'll happily help you plan yours! She holds a current Wilderness First Responder certification, and is also a Leave-No-Trace trainer. These days you'll most likely find her either working in the office, leading extended trips in the fjords, playing with her dogs, or learning to pick her mandolin.

Megan OSadnick, Logistics Coordinator

Growing up in Colorado, Megan has always been a mountain girl at heart. A desire to branch out drove her east to Wheaton College in Massachusetts, where she majored in Physics. While there Megan partook in the Juneau Icefield Research Program and became hooked on glaciers and all things Arctic. Since that time Megan has pursued the world of academia and travel. From 2009-2010 she lived in Tromsø, Norway working as a research assistant to a glaciologist at the Norwegian Polar Institute and participating in field work on the archipelago of Svalbard. Megan’s passion for the great white north correlates to her love of the environment as a whole. She strongly believes it is through fostering an understanding of the polar and sub-polar regions both in and out of the scientific community that we can begin to resolve many of the environmental issues facing our planet today. Megan spent one year at University of Colorado-Boulder working towards a Masters degree before deciding to take time off to pursue her interest in Outdoor Education. She spent a semester with NOLS traveling between WY, NV, and UT, backpacking, climbing, and skiing. Now refreshed, Megan hopes to continue with her graduate degree but not before a summer in Seward... working for KAW... helping with many tasks around the office, practicing her kayaking, and hiking in the surrounding mountains. Megan holds a current Wilderness First Responder and is a Leave-No-Trace Master Educator.

Stephanie Radlinski, Guide

Coming from an outdoorsy family in Michigan where hunting and fishing trips were what family vacations consisted of, Steph had little choice but to be in love with nature from a very young age. She grew up on the water, but really fell in love with the serenity paddling brings while on a wilderness trip through Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. After working with the Boy Scouts during a summer at college, she discovered youth made a very captive audience when teaching about the outdoors. Leaving Michigan to finish up a degree in Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services Administration, she moved to Hawaii for an internship at an Environmental Education Camp on Oahu. Though surfing is her favorite sport, she loves anything involving water, board sports, or adrenaline boosts (like a calving glacier). She spent the last winter shredding Colorado’s sweet powder and enjoying life at altitude. Steph is back for her third summer with KAW, and holds a current Wilderness First Responder certification.

Fran Haynes, Guide

Fran, born and raised in NY, left her East Coast roots behind long ago for the mountains of the West Coast. She became a resident of Alaska in 2009 after her first season guiding with KAW. This past fall, Fran made the move to leave her beloved Alaska for a few months to experience what it was like to live at the bottom of the world with Alaska’s polar sister, Antarctica. She is currently working at the McMurdo Station on Ross Island, Antarctica as a specialty vehicle operator, fulfilling her penchant for extreme climates and penguins. She is officially stoked to be having a year of “eternal sunshine,” literally. Fran has a B.S. in Adventure Recreation and has been working in the field of outdoor education for the last nine years as a wilderness educator for a wide range of outdoor education/conservation based companies across the United States. Fran is excited to return for her third summer with KAW and to share with you all the magic of the Kenai Fjords. She holds a current Wilderness First Responder certification and is a Master Educator for Leave-No-Trace.

Kim Mapp, Guide

Kim originally hales from Colorado where she grew up in the Rocky Mountains hiking, backpacking, skiing and fly-fishing. With a drive to move north she went to college at the University of Montana, where she got a B.S. in Resource Conservation and Wilderness Studies. During school she developed a passion for field journaling, and honed her naturalist skills.  Kim has worked in the outdoor industry for the past five years and has had the opportunity to teach a multitude of topics from kayaking and skiing to ecology and climate change. This is her second season with KAW and she's excited to be back in Seward and sharing the Alaska experience. She holds a WEMT.

Johnny Hughes, Guide / Office Staff

Johnny was born and raised in south central Pennsylvania. He spent the first part of his professional life owning and operating a small construction company there, in PA. After visiting friends and traveling through Alaska in 2009, Johnny and his wife Michelle decided to sell the business and re-locate to the Kenai Peninsula with their dog, Joey. This change in location will give him the much desired time to get back to his real love of being outdoors and on the water. Johnny has been camping and boating since he was young and looks forward to the opportunity to show you what he finds so great about Alaska. This is Johnny's second summer with KAW, and he holds a current Wilderness First Responder certification.

Zack Anderson, Guide / Office Staff

Zack was born and raised in a small farm town in northern Illinois to an adventurous family, who had him paddling a canoe before he was even in kindergarten. He spent most of his childhood summers playing in the mud of the Mississippi river or canoeing and fishing in the beautiful Boundary Waters Canoe Area. After high school he attended a local community college, receiving an associates degree, and moved on to Northern Illinois University to study anthropology. Heeding the call of the mountains, he packed his bags and moved west to Seattle, where he began immersing himself in mountain culture: learning how to climb rock faces and mountains, and skiing in the winters. Deciding he wanted a life in the outdoors he took a semester through NOLS where he got his first taste of sea kayaking off the west coast of Vancouver Island, B.C. He was hooked. This is Zack's second summer with KAW, working as both a guide and occasional office staff. He holds a current Wilderness First Responder certification.

Buddy Boren, Guide

Alaska is Buddy’s birthplace and Seward is his hometown. Being Athabascan he has a deep connection to The Great Land. Along with learning traditional ways of living off the land, he received his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, and carries with him a love of wisdom. Recently Buddy has taught outdoor education to international school groups in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and China. He is an enthusiastic snowboarder, surfer, skateboarder, chess player, adventurer, pacifist, and student of life. This is Buddy's first season working with KAW, and he's excited to show off his home—Resurrection Bay! He holds a current Wilderness First Responder certification.

Adam Krey, Guide

Having grown up in a small town in Southwest Wisconsin, Adam enjoys the memories of when his family packed into their station wagon for a summer vacation to explore the West, or travel to the Northern woods and lakes of his home state for a fishing trip. After spending a semester abroad in Scotland and summers in NY at a camp for homeless youth, he finished college and headed West again, this time on his own. With sharing a love for the outdoors and adventure in mind, he spent time as an instructor for a backpacking wilderness therapy program in Oregon, and then as an instructor for outdoor education in Southern California. Before landing in Oregon again, he took a group of teenagers on a trip backpacking and exploring in Fiji and Australia. Adam has spent the past few winters living on his skis; but also enjoys cycling, hiking, rock climbing, and being in and on the water. This is Adam's first summer with the KAW family in Alaska, and he's truly excited! He holds a current Wilderness First Responder certification.

Meg Fenton, Guide

Meg has been skipping around the world lately, this year leading adventure trips for children in India and Hong Kong. Her first foray into the outdoors was working at an all-girl summer camp in Colorado's Collegiate Peaks in 2006. Since then, she has discovered her love of kayaking, hiking, climbing, wake boarding, backpacking, surfing, and anything else that presents a challenge. Meg has degrees in anthropology, photojournalism, and the truly unrelated field of French. She has lived all over the world and cannot wait to be sitting in a kayak in the Kenai Fjords with you this summer! This is Meg's first season with KAW, and she holds a current Wilderness First Responder.

JAX

Jax has been a part of the Doughty family since 2003. She was found by a river in Montana, but she's believed to be a shepherd / chow mix of some sort. She now spends most of her time out at Bear Paw Lodge, welcoming guests and barking at bears and moose... but she still visits the kayak shop on occasion, and loves to say hello!

LOGAN

We've had Logan since 2004. She loves people so much, we actually think she believes she IS a person! She's a vizsla / yellow lab mix, and one of the most friendly and loving dogs you'll ever meet! She's mostly out at Bear Paw Lodge with Jax these days - holding down the fort and greeting guests... but she still visits the kayak shop from time to time and loves to say hello.