Dean Cost has worked in the UAF SOE Secondary program since 2017, and chaired it for the last six years. He worked in public schools as ELA teacher, drama program director, baseball coach and literacy and leadership coach.

Dr. Cost received a B.A. in English and poetry from the University of Southern California (1995), an M.A. in education policy and leadership studies from California State University Northridge (2005), and an M.F.A. (2010) in poetry and a Ph.D. in cross-cultural education, community resilience, and futures studies through the UAF interdisciplinary Ph.D. program (2017).