Meetings in the District
Hello! I want to thank the constituents, friends, and supporters who came to my Town Hall Meetings on Saturday to express their concerns. I felt lucky to speak with Bob Doehl, Crystal Berwick, Leroy Williams, Janet Frazier, and Tim Green. I will hold more meetings in the future to learn more from you and tell you what I am doing in the Alaska Legislature.
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Crystal Berwick told me at the meeting at the Subway on Government Hill that she really hopes that the Legislature could provide decent compensation to public employees like her, including a Defined Benefit pension system like the State of Alaska used to offer. I agree.
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Retired Air Force Colonel Bob Doehl spoke with me about how increasing funding for K-12 education by raising the Base Student Allocation (BSA) would strengthen schools on JBER and around the state and thereby help improve the lives of military members in Alaska, who frequently have children in school.
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Meetings in the Capitol
I had a good discussion with Norm Regis and Christy Terry about the importance of ports and harbors in improving the economy and quality of life for Alaskans. Cindy Gilder, Shannon Savage, and Melissa Merrick of the Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center (ANHC) spoke with me about providing primary health care services.
Brenda Noe and Amy Eakin of the Northwest Arctic Borough School District came to talk about how high the costs were to provide education in rural Alaska particularly and how high the teacher turnover was there.
Boards and Commissions:
- Are you interested in serving on a board or commission of the State of Alaska? There are dozens of seats that come open from time to time. Let me know if you are interested in serving, and I will contact Jordan Shilling, Director of Boards and Commissions.
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Norm Regis, Harbormaster for the City of Seward, and Christy Terry, External Affairs Director for the Alaska Railroad
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Cindy Gilder, Board Member of Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center (ANHC); Shannon Savage, Chief Communications & Development Officer at ANHC; and Melissa Merrick, Executive Vice President of Primary Care Services for Southcentral Foundation
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Brenda Noe, Principal Teacher at Deering School, and Amy Eakin, Director Of Technology at Northwest Arctic Borough School District
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Dr. Jessica Parker, Principal at the Family Partnership Charter School for ASD, spoke with me about funding for correspondence students with special needs.
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Meeting with Non-Profit Organizations and Corporations
Earlier this week, I got to talk with Students of University of Alaska--Sean Morgan, Elizabeth Rozeboom, Justina Hamlin, Calvin Zeulow, Kaia Richardson--about University funding and some substandard living conditions at University housing. I had the pleasure of talking with Caren Robinson, Beth Farnstrum, and Donna Phillips of the Alaska Nurses Association. It was great talking with Deni Monkelien, Michael Christian, and Jenifer Galvan of the Statewide Independent Living Council about the great work their organization does.
I got to talk with Luann McVay, Odette Edgar, Pamela Horne Watts, and Rochelle Parker, volunteers for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, about their efforts to improve public safety. I had the pleasure of speaking with Emily Cohn, Director of Communications & Development for the Anchorage Community Land Trust, about supporting business creation and local job growth. I also got to talk with Suzi Pearson of AWAIC (Abused Women's Aid in Crisis (AWAIC) and Keeley Olson of STAR (Sexual Trauma Prevention & Response) on the importance of responding to the needs of survivors of sexual assault while integrating prevention and education programs.
I appreciated the opportunity to meet with Kristopher Burk, Shannon Maika, Michael Dunbar, Thomas Norris, and Don Habeger with Alaska Reentry Partnership to discuss how to help justice-involved Alaskans succeed. I also got to talk with Ethan Tyler, Senior Director of Corporate Affairs at Cook Inlet Region Inc. (CIRI) about the activities of the largest landowner in Southcentral Alaska. I also got to speak with Kim Reitmeier, President of the ANCSA Regional Association, about the importance of Native corporations to our economy. Lastly, I spoke with Jessie Lavoie and Megan Cacciola of the Alaska Community Foundation about that organization's mission to connect people, organizations, and causes to strengthen Alaska's communities.
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Sean Morgan, Elizabeth Rozeboom, Justina Hamlin, Calvin Zeulow, and Kaia Richardson, students at the University of Alaska
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Caren Robinson, Beth Farnstrum, Donna Phillips
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Deni Monkelien, Michael Christian, Jenifer Galvan
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Luann McVay, Odette Edgar, Pamela Horne Watts, and Rochelle Parker, Volunteers for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense
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Emily Cohn of the Anchorage Community Land Trust
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Suzi Pearson, Executive Director of Abused Woman Aid in Crisis (AWAIC), and Keeley Olson, Executive Director for Standing Together Against Rap (STAR),
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Kristopher Burk, Shannon Maika, Michael Dunbar, Thomas Norris, and Don Habeger,of the Alaska Reentry Partnership
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Ethan Tyler, Senior Director of Corporate Affairs at Cook Inlet Region Inc. (CIRI)
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Kim Reitmeier, President of the ANCSA Regional Association
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Jessie Lavoie, Director of Programs and Grants for Alaska Community Foundation (ACF), and Megan Cacciola, Vice President of Programs and Grants for ACF
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