Biogaphies '97 Team

The 1998 Team

John Harrington John Harrington - Team Leader
John Harrington was born in 1942 in Toronto, Canada. A graduate of Ryerson Institute of Technology in Mechanical Engineering, John has also earned a degree in Mathematics from York University and a Masters of Education degree from the University of Toronto. John has a great love of the outdoors, as indicated by his pleasures in fly fishing, hiking and canoeing. He is an accomplished wildlife artist, who has 15 limited edition prints available; 5 editions are sold out! His passion for the Arctic and his particular interest in the Franklin expediton have consumed much of his interest and energy the for past five years.
John Harrington recently retired, after 27 years as a highschool teacher and administrator. He is now devoted full time to his art work and Arctic research. He is the driving force behind the Franklin Trail series of expeditions. John also enjoys presenting lectures on the Franklin saga.

John MacDonald John MacDonald - Archaeologist
John MacDonald was born in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, the closest hospital (within 600 miles) to where he next lived. He has lived in or travelled across much of Canada, studying or working at Archaeology for the past twenty years. During John's first Arctic archaeological trip, in 1984, to Devon Island, he discovered 30 prehistoric Inuit/Thule and Paleo-Eskimo sites. He was hooked. John's study of nature and a degree in Psychology have helped confirm that negative reinforcement will cause a polar bear to run away from you!
MacDonald has studied Archaeology at the University of Western Ontario, Simon Fraser, and McMaster. He has excavated and published articles on numerous prehistoric sites in southern Ontario. You may contact him directly here. Besides having an interest in Franklin, T.E. Lawrence is another fascination.

Ron Rust Ron Rust - Team Member
Ron Rust was born on a South Dakota farm in 1942. An engineer and lawyer, he is the president and CEO of The Rust Consulting Group, a national litigation support firm headquartered in the Washington, DC area. Ron's company computerizes relevant documents in complex cases.
Ron has had an interest in the Arctic since his grade school days when he first read of the doomed Franklin expedition. An active Arctic traveler, he has visited Iceland, Greenland (twice), the Russian Arctic and in 1995 he navigated the Northwest Passage in a Canadian vessel. During that trip he landed at Victory Point on the 149th anniversary of the date Franklin's ships were beset by ice and also visited the graves on Beechey Island. Ron and his wife Judy sell and collect rare polar books and have approximately 700 titles in their collection including books by Franklin, Back, John Ross, McClintock and Kane.

Doug Stern Doug Stern - Expedition Guide
Originally from Ontario, Doug has lived for a time in B.C., but felt a growing disappointment with the urban development he seemed to encounter everywhere. About 16 years ago he visited Cambridge Bay (after canoeing the Burnside River in nearby Bathurst Inlet ), to take an intensive three week Inuinnaqtun course - a local dialect of Inuktitut. He liked it so much he decided to move there. Doug spent the first few years living in Cambridge Bay and the Inuit outpost camps and settlement of Bay Chimo in Bathurst Inlet, living with people out on the land, staying in town as little as possible. Two winters were spent in Bay Chimo (Omingmaktok- the place of muskox) in a 9'x9' canvas tent banked up with snow with a l5' snow porch/tunnel entrance. He now lives in a renovated 'matchbox' house in Cambridge Bay. These matchboxes, originally l2'x24' with 2x4 walls, were the first houses people got from the gov't. He is a member of the Canadian Rangers, a volunteer group connected with the Armed Forces which has patrolled the Arctic for the past 50 years. He has also taught Wildlife Management classes at the High School in Cambridge Bay. This is Doug's second expedition with the team.

Karis Burkowski Karis Burkowski - Webmaster
While the team is exploring and adventuring in the Arctic, Karis maintains the website from sunny southern Ontario. She left the retail fashion "ratrace" a few years ago to work from home designing websites.
As a former schoolteacher, Karis is particularly interested in the educational aspects of the Franklintrail trips. The website is provided by her company, Netscapades Inc.

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	John Harrington - Team Leader John Harrington was born in 1942 in Toronto, Canada. A graduate of Ryerson Institute of Technology in Mechanical Engineering, John has also earned a degree in Mathematics from York University and a Masters of Education degree from the University of Toronto. John has a great love of the outdoors, as indicated by his pleasures in fly fishing, hiking and canoeing. He is an accomplished wildlife artist, who has 15 limited edition prints available; 5 editions are sold out! His passion for the Arctic and his particular interest in the Franklin expediton have consumed much of his interest and energy the for past five years. John Harrington recently retired, after 27 years as a highschool teacher and administrator. He is now devoted full time to his art work and Arctic research. He is the driving force behind the Franklin Trail series of expeditions. John also enjoys presenting lectures on the Franklin saga.
	John MacDonald - Archaeologist John MacDonald was born in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, the closest hospital (within 600 miles) to where he next lived. He has lived in or travelled across much of Canada, studying or working at Archaeology for the past twenty years. During John's first Arctic archaeological trip, in 1984, to Devon Island, he discovered 30 prehistoric Inuit/Thule and Paleo-Eskimo sites. He was hooked. John's study of nature and a degree in Psychology have helped confirm that negative reinforcement will cause a polar bear to run away from you! MacDonald has studied Archaeology at the University of Western Ontario, Simon Fraser, and McMaster. He has excavated and published articles on numerous prehistoric sites in southern Ontario. You may contact him directly here. Besides having an interest in Franklin, T.E. Lawrence is another fascination.

	Ron Rust - Team Member Ron Rust was born on a South Dakota farm in 1942. An engineer and lawyer, he is the president and CEO of The Rust Consulting Group, a national litigation support firm headquartered in the Washington, DC area. Ron's company computerizes relevant documents in complex cases. Ron has had an interest in the Arctic since his grade school days when he first read of the doomed Franklin expedition. An active Arctic traveler, he has visited Iceland, Greenland (twice), the Russian Arctic and in 1995 he navigated the Northwest Passage in a Canadian vessel. During that trip he landed at Victory Point on the 149th anniversary of the date Franklin's ships were beset by ice and also visited the graves on Beechey Island. Ron and his wife Judy sell and collect rare polar books and have approximately 700 titles in their collection including books by Franklin, Back, John Ross, McClintock and Kane.
	Doug Stern - Expedition Guide Originally from Ontario, Doug has lived for a time in B.C., but felt a growing disappointment with the urban development he seemed to encounter everywhere. About 16 years ago he visited Cambridge Bay (after canoeing the Burnside River in nearby Bathurst Inlet ), to take an intensive three week Inuinnaqtun course - a local dialect of Inuktitut. He liked it so much he decided to move there. Doug spent the first few years living in Cambridge Bay and the Inuit outpost camps and settlement of Bay Chimo in Bathurst Inlet, living with people out on the land, staying in town as little as possible. Two winters were spent in Bay Chimo (Omingmaktok- the place of muskox) in a 9'x9' canvas tent banked up with snow with a l5' snow porch/tunnel entrance. He now lives in a renovated 'matchbox' house in Cambridge Bay. These matchboxes, originally l2'x24' with 2x4 walls, were the first houses people got from the gov't. He is a member of the Canadian Rangers, a volunteer group connected with the Armed Forces which has patrolled the Arctic for the past 50 years. He has also taught Wildlife Management classes at the High School in Cambridge Bay. This is Doug's second expedition with the team.
	Karis Burkowski - Webmaster While the team is exploring and adventuring in the Arctic, Karis maintains the website from sunny southern Ontario. She left the retail fashion "ratrace" a few years ago to work from home designing websites. As a former schoolteacher, Karis is particularly interested in the educational aspects of the Franklintrail trips. The website is provided by her company, Netscapades Inc.