The people behind Fireweed.

Lee Leschper brings more than 50 years of experience in publishing, advertising, marketing, and media strategy. His career has been defined by building communications platforms that actually work. For the past 22 years, he has focused exclusively on Alaska, developing specialized publications and media programs that serve industries and communities largely overlooked by mainstream outlets.

In 2016, he founded Fireweed Strategies LLC on a straightforward conviction: that well-told stories, delivered to the right audiences, create real impact. Under his leadership, Fireweed has grown into a trusted publishing partner for Alaska's resource, business, and civic communities — producing magazines, digital platforms, and strategic communications that connect, educate, and influence.

Before founding Fireweed, Lee led editorial, sales, and support teams for national and regional magazines, newspapers, and digital outlets covering Alaska business, culture, travel, and people. He has a long record of launching publications that changed the landscape of their markets throughout the United States.

Lee is an award-winning writer, editor, and photographer, and an avid outdoorsman. When he isn't working, you'll likely find him hunting or fishing, or planning his next hunting or fishing adventure.

Lee's commitment to Alaska extends beyond publishing. He has served on the boards of the Great Alaska Boy Scout Council, Commonwealth North, the Alaska Sport Fishing Association, and the Anchorage Rotary Club.

Will's career in publishing began at 15 — contributing to the Amarillo Globe-News while editing his high school paper — and hasn't slowed down since. What followed is a rare arc that spans daily newsrooms, digital strategy, higher education, health care communications, and the outdoor sporting press, with editorial craftsmanship running through every chapter.

As Managing Editor at Fireweed Strategies, Will brings that full range of experience to Alaska's resource and industry publishing community. He's held nearly every role a newsroom can offer — reporter, photographer, copy editor, page designer, online editor, breaking news editor, outdoor columnist — giving him an instinctive understanding of how great publications come together from every angle.

He spent nearly 15 years at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, one of Texas's storied regional dailies, before moving into marketing and communications leadership roles in health care and higher education at Driscoll Children's Hospital and CHRISTUS Spohn Health System, as well as at Texas A&M University's College of Pharmacy.

Throughout it all, Will has maintained a parallel career as one of Texas's most recognized outdoor writers and photographers. He founded The Texas Outdoor Digest in 2005, a sporting journal dedicated exclusively to Texas hunting, fishing, and conservation, and has served as Field Editor and columnist for the Texas Trophy Hunters Association's flagship publication since 2015. His bylined work has appeared in newspapers from the Panhandle to the Gulf Coast, and he has earned multiple first-place Excellence in Craft awards from both the Outdoor Writers Association of America and the Texas Outdoor Writers Association.

Will's background in storytelling, design, and audience-focused communications makes him a natural fit for Fireweed's mission — and his love of the outdoors gives him a genuine kinship with the industries and communities we serve.

Mary Schaper brings 15 years of experience in strategic communications, digital strategy, and advocacy campaigns — built across some of the most demanding and complex environments in Washington, D.C. and beyond. Her career spans Capitol Hill, national trade associations, and nonprofit organizations, where she has helped institutions find clarity in complexity.

Her career began on Capitol Hill, where she managed digital communications and constituent outreach for Senator Lisa Murkowski, translating complex energy and policy issues into clear, compelling narratives for Alaskan audiences and beyond. That work planted early roots in both Alaska and the energy sector.

From there, Mary spent nearly a decade at the American Petroleum Institute, where she directed multi-channel digital strategy for one of the nation's most prominent trade associations. Through her consulting practice, she has advised nonprofits, associations, and mission-driven organizations on communications infrastructure, audience development, and strategic alignment.

At Fireweed, Mary leads revenue operations and growth strategy across a multi-publication portfolio serving Alaska's resource, business, and civic communities. She oversees advertiser and sponsorship partnerships, editorial calendars, and the operational systems that keep it all running — bringing the discipline of a national communications career to Alaska's most important industry stories.