Fairbanks Tall Timbers: Jane Atkinson & Doug Tolle

The Fairbanks Tall Timber Series was created to honor those who have served the Fairbanks community well. Join accomplished journalist Tom Hewitt either in person or via Zoom as he interviews these stalwart members of our community.

Of course, Fairbanks’ version of a power couple would be entrepreneurs who offer reindeer yoga. Jane Atkinson and Doug Toelle are the cofounders of Running Reindeer Ranch, a popular destination for Interior Alaska visitors and locals alike. Jane is a naturalist and lifelong Alaskan who found her way to Fairbanks decades ago; she has been running the reindeer ranch in the Goldstream Valley with Doug for 20 years now. Doug was born in Portland, but moved to Fairbanks in 1978 and had a varied career before reindeer herding became part of his life. Doug worked for many years in the tech sector and founded Fairbanks’ first internet service provider, Polarnet. He also helped cofound the Fairbanks-based public policy and management consulting firm Information Insights and served as the advocacy director for the senior- and disability-focused nonprofit Access Alaska for more than a decade.