Allison Gillum

Allison (Allie) Gillum, 39, of Juneau, Alaska, died peacefully Nov 2, 2023, in Anchorage, with her sister by her side. Doctors believe Allison suffered an extremely rare, catastrophic medical condition called amniotic fluid embolism during labor. Baby Emma was safely delivered Oct 13, 2023 by emergency C section, but tragically, Allie never regained consciousness. Allison was born in Princeton, NJ and grew up in Pennington, NJ. At Skidmore College, she was co-captain of the Swim Team, majored in psychology and environmental studies, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 2006. She attended the Weitzman School of Design at University of Pennsylvania, receiving her Master of City Planning in 2010, with a concentration in Land Use and Environmental Planning, the Gaia Award (for excellence in environmental planning), and the Ann Louise Strong Leadership Award. Allison was a passionate advocate for conservation of land, nature, and wildlife. After serving in AmeriCorps in Massachusetts, she worked for land trusts in New Hampshire and Alaska, becoming Executive Director in 2015 of the Southeast Alaska Land Trust, in Juneau, AK. Her tenure left the SEAL Trust with stewardship of many more properties, enhancements to lands already held, and a strong vision for the future. In 2021, Allie left SEAL Trust to join the U.S. Forest Service, where she was a part of Team Alaska as a realty specialist, and most recently the Alaska Lands Team leader. With a career working for land conservation from many different angles, she recently shared that she had really found a home with the Forest Service. Allie was an athlete, who enjoyed long walks with her dog, Juniper, running in the annual Klondike Road Relay, swimming, SCUBA diving, and competitive trap shooting. Her highest priority, Allison was a tireless, dedicated mother, bringing her considerable humor, patience, love, and experience as a strong, spirited child to her care for her hilarious, impossibly bright daughter. She was president of the board of her daughter’s Montessori School, where she was a beloved mentor and helped institute innovative changes to improve the school’s sustainability. Allison was a true force of nature, who burned brightly for her thirty nine years. The light and warmth she radiated attracted many friends, who gravitated to her kindness, thoughtfulness, enthusiasm, and loving spirit. Allison is survived by her parents, Amanda and Bill Gillum, her sister, Jessalyn Gillum, her two young daughters, Jessalyn and Emma Miller-Gillum, and their father, Abner Atlee Miller. She also leaves behind loving extended family/cousins, lifelong friends, and loyal communities she helped create wherever she went. The family requests that donations in Allison’s memory go to the “Jessa & Emma Fund” at (https://www.gofundme.com/f/allison-gillum), to help support and educate her two daughters, or to the Southeast Alaska Land Trust (www.southeastalaskalandtrust.org), to continue her work preserving the beautiful, vital lands she loved across the region. Celebrations of Allison’s Life in Juneau and Princeton are being planned for the spring.