Rich Kleinleder has lived in Homer for many years, raising a family and building a home in our Cosmic Hamlet by the sea. He loves to work in his garden, catch fish, hunt moose, pick berries, and eat well. Four grandchildren bring joy and hope. He is drawn to activities that bring people together to have fun and celebrate the joys of living in this beautiful place: sports, birding, contra dancing, the arts, and recreational trails and parks. He is a wildlife biologist by training with degrees from Indiana University and the University of Alaska Fairbanks and has worked all over the state studying nature. He has had a number of different jobs since moving to Homer in 1988. A temporary job as a handyman at the Pratt Museum turned into 10 years as the Building Manager. Then he built remote controlled video transmission systems for SeeMore Wildlife, bringing sea lions, seabirds, and brown bears at McNeil to people’s living rooms. Then he worked for a multi-national corporation writing environmental impact statements for 15 years. Tired of working on the computer all day he decided to change careers again and became a Physical Therapist Assistant, going back to school at UA Anchorage. He is currently employed at South Peninsula Hospital and enjoys helping people heal and regain their functional abilities. He was on the Board of Hospice for six years, including several years as President, before taking a break for school. His new profession has given him a much deeper appreciation for how vital Hospice services are in our community.

Ivy Stuart is a Registered Nurse. After graduating from SUNY Ulster in the summer of 2005 with an associate’s degree in Nursing, Ivy moved back to her home town of Homer, Alaska. Ivy has been the Home Health Director for South Peninsula Hospital since 2014. Recently she created, implemented, and now oversees the COVID-19 vaccine administration plan for giving vaccines in the home setting to homebound community members, expanding access and allowing eligible community members to receive the vaccine that would have difficulty getting the vaccine in a community setting. She has been working as the Home Health Manager/Director since 2014. Prior to 2014 Ivy held a variety of nursing positions from emergency room, ICU, Home Health, Med Surgery, endoscopy, LTC, infection control and employee health. She has been an employee of South Peninsula Hospital since 2009. Ivy was born and raised in Homer graduating from Homer High School in 1997. Ivy has been an ELNEC (End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium) trainer since February 2018. She has also been on the board for the Alaska Association of Home Care and Hospice since the beginning of 2018.

Bio forthcoming

Fred has lived with his wife Margaret in Homer since 1997. He received his Bachelor and Master of Education degrees from Western Washington University with majors in teaching, administration, and biology. He has additional post graduate courses in education administration and assisted living management from the University of Alaska and the American Association of Homes for the Aging. Fred first came to Alaska in 1966 as a high school biology teacher in Juneau. From 1971 to 1994 he served as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent in Teller, Shishmaref, Adak, Kotzebue, and Nenana Alaska. In 1994 he became the Director of the Alaska Vocational Technical Post-Secondary School in Seward and in 1997 the Director of Homer Senior Citizens Inc. where he served until he retired in 2011. Fred has served as a member of the Nenana City Council, Mayor of Nenana, Commissioner on the Alaska Professional Teachers Practices Commission, a Board member of the Alaska Older Persons Action Group and South Peninsula Hospital Service Area, and as a member and President of the South Peninsula Hospital Operating Board. During his retirement he has primarily been involved in fishing, traveling, restoring classic cars, and enjoying watching his two grandsons grow up. Fred has a great appreciation for work done by Hospice organizations in relation to his mother, father-in-law and mother-in-law.

A resident of Homer for 18+ years, Michael Haines has over 40 years experience in business, industry, economic development, consulting, and education. He has served in executive management and senior corporate positions in the USA, Canada, and Europe. These executive management positions include President/COO, Managing Director, and Senior Vice President positions for large and small technology corporations and economic development agencies. In addition, he has been an integral part of economic development programs focused on developing entrepreneurial start-ups, and how the two fit into small, rural economies like those found in Alaska. He has established innovative economic development entrepreneurial programs, which resulted in international recognition for the creative programs developed. For the past 12+ years, he has been an adjunct professor at Kenai Peninsula College/University of Alaska Anchorage where he teaches business related courses. He has served on the Boards of a number of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations in Alaska and the lower-48. He writes extensively, and has published articles on entrepreneurship, economic development, and small business development. He has developed a number of workshops related to economic development, entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship. His non-business interests include soccer, walking/hiking, cosmology, anthropology, and “around-the-house” construction projects. Born and educated in London, the United Kingdom, he has a Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of Surrey.

Catherine settled in the Homer area in 2023 after a few years of moving around Alaska. She currently is the Clinic Manager of the Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic and is set to graduate in the new year from Eastern University with an MBA. Katie is passionate about community health care and is honored to help support the mission of Hospice of Homer. 

Ragina Lancaster is a family physician at Homer Medical Center who moved to Homer in 2023 from Washington state. She grew up living on the islands of Guam and Whidbey Island, WA as the child of dual Navy parents. Her undergraduate studies were completed at the University of Washington, Seattle and medical school at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Pennsylvania where her focus was on rural practice in upstate New York. She completed her family medicine residency in Yakima, WA and later joined the community clinic to train incoming resident physicians and caring for patients across health care spaces including hospital, clinic, skilled nursing facilities, and assisted living facilities. In medicine, geriatric care and care across transitions are deeply rewarding.

She moved to Homer with her husband and two small children, seeking the water and mountains that bring her joy outside of the clinic. She loves hiking and poking in the tide pools with her kids and hopes to see more kayaking and camping in the future. Joining the board of Hospice of Homer was a way for her to support an organization that is profoundly impactful to community and the patients she sees in clinic.

If you’ve been looking for a way to step up and help the community, we hope you’ll consider joining the Hospice of Homer Board of Directors. The commitment averages only two hours a month, but the impact can ripple out into our community for years to come. Interested in helping shape the future of Hospice of Homer? Please contact Rich Kleinleder at rkleinleder@gmail.com or Holly Dramis at director@hospiceofhomer.org, or call the office at 235-6899 to talk to Holly.