Mike Safley  of Northwest Alpacas Ranch, has owned alpacas since 1984. Mike was past president of the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (AOBA), Alpaca Registry Inc., and was founding editor of "Alpacas" magazine. He has written several informative brochures and articles on alpacas, both on his own and on behalf of AOBA. He has produced a video, "Alpacas, the World's Finest Livestock Investment" and an infomercial, "Alpacas, the Ultimate Investment." Mike created Alpaca Fest in 1992 with Don Julio Barreda as the guest of honor. Mike has presented alpaca investment seminars nationally. He has dedicated much of his life and time to the alpaca industry.

Julie Safley  In 1991, Julie Safley opened Northwest Alpacas Country Store, the first retail store in North America devoted exclusively to alpaca end products. Prior to this she spent over twenty years in the fashion industry. Her roots in the textile industry date back to her great grandfather who owned one of the largest fiber producing sheep ranches in Oregon. In 1993, she initiated the first commercial spinning of alpaca fiber in North America and started Sharing Sources, an alpaca fiber arts newsletter. She worked as a volunteer for the next five years until she founded the Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of North America, Inc. She feels that promoting high quality alpaca end products to be the best way to market alpacas as a livestock investment. She has coordinated and produced over a dozen fashion shows which exclusively showcased high fashion alpaca apparel. In addition, Julie consults new alpaca owners interested in starting a retail store featuring alpaca end products.

Steve Johnson  joined Northwest Alpacas team as the Office Manager and Registry Coordinator in October 2003. Steve retired with over 20 years of active service with the US Marine Corps as a Supply and Logistics supervisor. Steve's background includes supply chain, procurement and financial management along with database systems and network administration. After developing the NWA database for herd management he was promoted to Ranch Manager. Along with responsibilities in the office, he maintains the alpacas.com website and also supervises the farm operations staff assigned with the duties of herd management, husbandry, pasture and irrigation and the Studmaster™ Breeding program. Steve often fields questions regarding the breeding program, basic herd health, transporting of alpacas and the Alpaca Registry.

Fred Kraft  joined Northwest Alpacas as Director of Marketing and is now an instructor and the administrator of the Alpaca Institute @ Northwest Alpacas. He comes to Northwest Alpacas with over ten years of computer and technology sales experience with a strong track record within the local market place. Fred has over thirty years in sales and will be available to assist new and old clients with marketing and website development. Since joining Northwest Alpacas, Fred has been working on personalized business plans, sales, marketing and customer development. Fred has also become a quick study in the alpaca business and has been mentored by some of the most knowledgeable people in the alpaca business from both the U.S. and Australia. He can help with any questions you may have regarding the animals or the business in general.

Bill McAlister  is the most recent member of the Northwest Alpacas team. His background includes of two decades of high-tech marketing and product management in electronics and software. He has also been associated with the forest products industry in a number of roles including optimization & project management. Bill has published several articles and is a frequent speaker at technical conferences and industry association meetings. He is currently responsible for the Ideal Alpaca Community website and interfacing with IAC members to help promote IAC values and goals. Bill holds a BS degree from Humboldt State University and MS & MBA degrees form the University of California at Berkeley.