About Us

Dr. Kamey Kapp

President/Treasurer

Born and raised in Montana, Dr. Kapp studied biology and business management at Carroll College in Helena, MT. She graduated from Pacific University College of Optometry in Forest Grove, OR in 2008, and completed a student rotation at YKHC in Bethel. As a new graduate, she moved to Nome and has since been serving the people of the Norton Sound region as an optometrist. She enjoys taking care of patients of all ages and is especially passionate about treating ocular disease. One of her favorite parts about working and living in the Norton Sound region is traveling to villages and getting to know her patients and their culture.

In her spare time, Dr. Kapp enjoys dog mushing, fishing, hunting, spending time at camp, and traveling.

Elsa Hobbs

Vice President

Elsa Hobbs has lived in Nome in 2013 and considers it home. Since graduating from high school in 2019 she’s volunteered in Thailand teaching English to elementary kids and assisting in an after-school program, made excellent coffee at Bering Tea & Coffee, and mentored youth at the Boys & Girls Club in Nome. Elsa loves to travel, spend time with family and friends, paint, read, and enjoys music in many forms.

Jonathan Polayes

Director of Grants Management

Growing up in New York City, Jon graduated from the University of Connecticut with a bachelor’s degree in economics, history, and English.Jon was also a member of the University wrestling team and coached wrestling at the junior high school and high school level. He has two master’s degrees one in teaching and another focusing on informational and educational technology. Jon worked in New York City, as a buyer for some of the largest retail establishments in the City. Finding a passion for teaching and helping others, Jon worked for the New York City school system as a high school teacher for 25 years. He was successful in securing millions of dollars in grants for various educational programs. After retiring from teaching, Jon started selling houses to help young families obtain their goal of homeownership.

In his spare time, he enjoys sun-filled beach days with his wife of 44 years and cooking. Now a grandfather, he also enjoys passing on life skills to the next generation.

Dr. Krystle Penaflor

Secretary

Born in Canada but raised in rural Northeastern Nevada, Dr. Peñaflor graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a major in Biochemistry and a minor in Business Administration. She then spent four years at Pacific University College of Optometry in Oregon. As a student, she participated in vision mission trips to Indonesia, the Philippines, and Peru. These trips sparked her interest in rural health care and inspired her to spend three months in Bethel, Alaska during clinical rotations. After graduating in 2010, she moved to the west coast of Alaska and has worked as an optometrist for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation in Bethel ever since. She has found her work serving the Alaska Native population of the YK Delta to be rewarding, and also enjoys teaching fourth year Optometry externs as a clinical preceptor.

In her free time, Dr. Peñaflor likes dabbling in design, running, traveling, and taking in all that Alaska has to offer. You will usually find her in the middle of a DIY project or packing her bags for another adventure with her husband and their miniature pinscher, Henle.

Maggie Lyon

Member-at-Large

Maggie was born in Anchorage, AK, graduated from Mt. Edgecumbe in 2021 and has been living in Nome on and off since 2017.

She looks forward to bringing her previous experience from working from the Boys & Girls Club in Nome to working with the patients in the community.

In her spare time Maggie enjoys fiction writing, riding her Honda, and enjoying rainy days.

Stephen Lezak

Member-at-Large

Stephen Lezak, PhD, came to Nome in 2022 as a researcher, reporter, and writer. He teaches and studies climate change and Alaska Native government, and has partnered with the University of Alaska, the Nome Nugget, and several villages in Norton Sound.
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He traveled with THI as a volunteer assistant for many months in 2022-23 and became an expert at finding students in a dozen Norton Sound schools. Today, he is working on Alaska-related policy issues at Oxford and writing a book about climate change in the region. He returns to Nome at least once per year, and in 2024 he made his dog mushing race debut with the Nome Kennel Club.