Who We Are

Bill Overington

Bill, or more commonly, "Buckwheat" is the owner/operator of the Denali Outdoor Center, the premier, all-inclusive outdoor outfitter in all of Alaska, of which the Denali Kayak School is a part. Bill started his work on the Nenana River with the Denali Paddling Center in 1993. In 1995, he joined his wife Louise, a fellow raft and kayak guide, Joanna Cockman, and a few other river guides to start the Denali Outdoor Center. In addition to having created Alaska's foremost kayak school, Buckwheat has helped DOC become one of the state's busiest raft companies, a leader in mountain bike tours and rentals, and most recently, one of the most beautiful campground and cabin rental facilities anywhere. Tireless, Buckwheat's energy and enthusiasm for teaching people how to kayak and enjoy the natural beauty of this amazing land is an inspiration to all of those that have had the pleasure of joining him on the water.

Juliette Boselli

Julie has been the owner operator of Too-loo-uk River Guides in Alaska since 1987. She has been a professional river guide for 15 years, most of which have been in Alaska. She has also guided on the Bio-Bio River in Chile and rows the Grand Canyon. Too-loo-uk's office, a mile north of the entrance to Denali National Park, is also the site of Julie's outfitting store, Denali Mountain Works, specializing in outdoor gear and clothing, including a full line of "Patagonia" active wear.

Ben Johnson

Hailing from the Wasatch Mts. of Utah, Ben Johnson has long been an avid clilmber, skier and outdoorsman. Ben Ben's river career began in 1995 when he first journeyed to Alaska. 12 years later his passion for Alaska's wilderness and remote rivers is evident in his contagious enthusiam for guiding. Ben works for both Denali Outdoor Center and Too-loo-uk River Guides primarily as a raft guide, but he's also an amazing kayak instructor. He divides his time between Alaska's rivers in the summer and his land near Denali in the winter. He has a great knack for spotting critters and makes a mean cup of cowboy coffee.

Jeff Shelton

Jeff has been working with Denali Outdoor Center for 3 years, officially becoming an American Canoe Association Jeff certified kayak guide/instructor in the summer of 2007; although he helped run our Kids Water Safety program for quite some time prior to that. A native of Denali, Jeffhas been paddling for 5 years on the Nenana, and during his senior year of high school he had the privilege of joining The Academy of Huge Experiences for a semester of paddling on the Ottowa River in Canada, the world famous Green River in Asheville, North Carolina, and best of all a month of paddling in Costa Rica. Jeff combine's youthful vigor with great boating and teaching skills and most importantly a homegrown love of Denali and the Nenana River.

Dayton MacCallum

"DMac" joined us at the Denali Kayak School in the summer of 2007, where he became certified to guide and instruct by former Team USA Head Coach Bob Campbell and former Gold Medalist Joe Jacobi, as part of their Gold Medal Camp. A native of Fairbanks, Dayton learned how to kayak in the heart of Dayton Uganda, Africa on the Nile River of all places, under professional tutelage from Kayak the Nile instructors. He returned with the big water experience necessary to teach on the high volume Nenana. Soft spoken, and incredibly patient, Dayton has a wonderful time with students, and his passion for the sport comes out in every lesson.

Allan Warren

Allan has taught as an American Canoe Association certified instructor with Denali Outdoor Center since the summer of 2006. After first learning how to kayak on the Nenana during the summer of 2004, he traveled to Oregon, where he began teaching with Alder Creek Canoe and Kayak. Then it was on to New Zealand for some training with Mick Hopkinson and The New Zealand Kayak School and a little bit of work at Bliss Stick Kayak Designs, before journeying to Uganda to paddle the Nile with Kayak the Nile. In 2007, Allan became the lead guide of the Denali Kayak School and established the first Kayak Camp for Teenagers. He also works as a journalist and has an article on Alaska on Kayak Session Magazine's website, and is an editor for www.allaboutrivers.com an online nation-wide whitewater guidebook. He looks forward to beginning work with Too-loo-uk River Guides in the summer of 2008 to begin offering the first ever raft assisted kayak expedition trips in his homestate of Alaska.