Who we are

Alan is a retired research chemist with wide interests in science, nature, and the fine arts.  He holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Utah and 39 US patents.  Alan and his wife Vickie are the heart of the Dark Skies Field Team, a small group of friends that has been involved in aiding the applications of at least eight different national parks and monuments as Dark Sky Places.  Alan and Vickie were jointly awarded the Dark Sky Defenders recognition at the 2019 IDA National Meeting. 

Paul Ricketts is the observatory director of the University of Utah. He is active in astronomy outreach across the region, organizing the University’s outreach programs, giving talks, and setting up telescopes big and small for the public. He grew up in small town Utah with the night sky above his head, which lead him to where he is today. He’s been involved with dark skies since 2007 and has helped over a dozen parks and cities obtain dark sky status. He’s an avid photographer of both the day and night. 

Anil Seth is a Professor or Physics & Astronomy at the University of Utah whose research focuses on nearby galaxies and their central massive black holes. He is one of the founders and instructors in the University of Utah’s Dark Sky Studies Minor program, and runs astronomy and dark sky outreach internships at Bryce Canyon National Park and in Torrey / Capitol Reef National Park.

Heidi Hoven is a wetland and avian ecologist. She is the senior manager of National Audubon Society’s Gillmor Sanctuary where she learned first-hand of an alarming and growing threat to migrating birds – light pollution. Now she leads a community science program that monitors light pollution across Salt Lake Valley with partners from Utah Valley University and Great Salt Lake Audubon to document location-based changes in light pollution to help support improvement in outdoor lighting policy for people, birds and other wildlife.

Richard Tenney is currently the president of the Utah Valley Astronomy Club, and member of the lighting ordinance committee.  He has been actively involved throughout most of his life to bringing public awareness to the beauty and wonder of the night sky.

Karen Miller is a retired physician deeply concerned about the negative health impacts of light pollution on all living beings. She is currently working with DarkSky Utah to finalize and implement procedures for the new Dark Sky Utah license plate, which has been approved by the Utah State Legislature. Karen hopes to increase awareness among healthcare leadership about the dangers of artificial light at night for patients and staff. Educational efforts in her neighborhood are paying off, with noticeably better outdoor lighting. 

 Duke Johnson is the Director of the Clark Planetarium where he works to provide inspirational experiences for a wide audience. He holds a master’s degree in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota. Growing up in North Dakota, he enjoyed truly dark night skies and amazing views of the Milky Way. The advent of digital photography allowed him to focus on place-based astrophotography throughout Utah and surrounding states. Through his adventures in photography, he has seen firsthand how our clear dark skies have disappeared over the last 20 years.