Christi Heun is the Senior Representative for the Alaska field office, having joined Defenders in June 2022. She focuses her work on Arctic issues and Tongass National Forest restoration efforts. She works with Tribal partners and state and federal biologists to serve as a terrestrial mammal specialist supporting efforts to protect species like caribou from large oil and gas developments in the Arctic.

Christi received her Master of Science in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Management from Colorado State University. After college, Christi spent 2.5 years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, West Africa, working on habitat improvements and agroforestry restoration. She comes with many years of experience conducting wildlife and restoration field work and research, including in Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and Wisconsin. Most recently she worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game as a research biologist where she was engaged in caribou, moose and grizzly bear field research. She has also collaborated closely with hunting conservation organizations to further wildlife conservation in Alaska and Wisconsin.