Tory Houser seems like she’s always on the move. Volunteering and wearing multiple hats to support the community she loves, like a handful of Wrangellites do. Their efforts get noticed on the local level, but recently Houser was recognized region-wide for her work with kids.
She juggles advocating for the Tongass National Forest as the district ranger, teaches ballet to kids and coaches swimming. She’s also a mom of two teenage sons and an elf during the holidays.
The background of that story is she drove across the country with the Forest Service to bring a Sitka Spruce tree to Washington D.C. It was the 2024 Capital Christmas Tree and she dressed as an elf throughout the tour.
Houser was not expecting to get a phone call in early January from the Alaska Children’s Trust, an organization that focuses on the prevention of child abuse.. They told her she was named the next Southeast Champion for Kids, an award that recognizes people who commit themselves to ensuring youth are supported in their communities.
She said, “I got this phone call from somebody who’s like, ‘Guess what? Congratulations, you’ve won an award.’ And I was like, ‘Great. Do you want my social security number, my mother’s maiden name?’ And it did take a little while to get through the initial. ‘Is this for real?’”
Houser said after that phone call, she was nervous that maybe they got the wrong person. She said she thought that because she didn’t think she did anything special.
“I always joke that I’m the queen of mediocrity, and so I excel at being average,” she said. “And then I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s the point’ — because it shows that anybody can be doing something for kids.”
Trevor Storrs, president of the Alaska Children’s Trust, said they know they chose the right person because usually they downplay themselves, like Houser did.
“This award is really the search in our community for those people who are behind the curtain, per se, who are just doing this work because they love it,” he said. “Most of them, when they get the call, the first thing they ask is, ‘Why me?’ That’s how humble they are.”
He said it was a small committee that reviewed the nominations, and Houser’s was an overwhelming yes.
Storrs said Houser stood out because of her enthusiasm and passion to connect youth with the environment and forestry. He said this ensures the longevity of the forest and vice versa, the natural habitat then takes care of kids.
“Her personality, which, of course, doesn’t come across on the paper, but when I met her, talked to her on the phone and then met her in person, it is infectious,” Storrs said. “Like wow.”
Houser’s work with kids includes high school students on a STEM project at Anan Wildlife Observatory.
The students were learning how to put in live stream cameras that would capture the popular bears feeding on salmon in the river. One part of the project was connecting the solar panels on a roof to the end of batteries with wire. Houser said she didn’t know how to do that and so she asked the student she was working with. He explained the system to her because he researched it.
“Having the ability to be vulnerable and be humble and say, ‘I don’t know how to do this,’ and allow a student to show me was a pretty great moment,” she said.
Her work with the STEM group, called T3 Teaching through Technology, inspired her to grasp the growth mindset in real life situations. This is the concept that people are always learning.
“It’s okay to mess up, it’s okay to fail, it’s okay to make a mistake, as long as we learn from it,” Houser said.
Houser found out her co-worker at the Forest Service, Jen Kardiak, nominated her for the award.
Kardiak said Houser is modest and often downplays her work with kids.
“She was like, ‘I’m gonna work really hard to live up to this award and deserve it,'” Kardiak said. “And I was like, ‘You already did. That was the whole point. You’ve done the work. You don’t have to live up to this.’”
Storrs with Alaska Children’s Trust said awardees are the unsung heroes who have a huge role in preventing child abuse. The prevention of child abuse means children, families and communities have the knowledge, skills, support and resources to thrive. He said when they’re thriving, there’s less child abuse and neglect.
Another Alaskan, Desiree’ Macz, received the award this year representing the Interior. One other Wrangellite received this award in 2024 – that was Kay Larson. And the Southeast awardee for 2025 was Jordan Nigro from Juneau.
