Bridging to the Future

Bill Popp served as President & CEO of the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation for 16 years until 2023. Before joining AEDC, after a job change took him to the Kenia Peninsula, Popp and his family spent 25 years becoming engrained in that community.  He served as special assistant in the Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor's office from 2002-2007, focusing on oil & gas and mining policy under mayors of both parties. He served on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly from 1996-2002, and as Assembly President in 2000. Popp also worked for 25 years in the private sector as a business owner, and for small, regional and national corporations. Popp came to Anchorage when his family moved to Elmendorf Air Force Base in 1968, and he graduated from East High School. He and his wife, Nicole, have been married for 44 years and have a son, Daniel, and a daughter, Rachael. Popp has served on boards and committees too numerous to mention; a list of nearly three dozen can be found on his website.

Website: https://poppforanchorage.com

Chris Tuck served seven terms as a member of the Alaska House of Representatives from 2008 to 2023. He was twice elected Majority Leader of the House, leading a bipartisan House coalition for four years between 2017 and 2023. He previously served on the Anchorage School Board. Tuck is a product of Anchorage public schools. After graduating from Dimond High in 1984, he went on to an apprenticeship with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and became a journeyman electrician. He also attended Arizona State University. He is a board member of the Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship School, where he was an instructor for over 20 years. He served for over 20 years as Business Representative for the IBEW Local 1547 and recently started his company, Tuck Electrical Services. He is a member of Change Point Community Church and Anchorage Youth Court. In 1999, he won the Yukon River Championship Sled Dog Race, and he continues to enjoy outdoor activities, coaching youth soccer, racquetball, and music.

 tuckformayor.com

Paper titled "The homelessness plan for a better Anchorage" that Chris Tuck had available at AUUF - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/f1rra6tn2xvp9wywb1lzm/HomelessnessHandout_Tuck.PDF?rlkey=cpbm5q11aljhyiwxa24gt7tqh&dl=0

Dr. Lawrence Matsuda was born during World War II in the Internment Camp at Minidoka, Idaho, where his family was incarcerated after forced removal from the West Coast.  He grew up to attend the University of Washington, earning his Ph. D. while serving in the Army Reserves.  He devoted 27 years to education as a junior high school language arts teacher and Seattle School District principal and administrator, creating the first Asian American history course in Washington state. An award-winning poet and writer, he memorialized the Japanese Internment experience in many of his works, including the poems in A Cold Wind from Idaho.  He co-edited the textbook, Community and Difference: Teaching, Pluralism and Social Justice, which won the 2006 National Association of Multicultural Education Phillip Chinn Award.  His passion for social justice extends beyond his writing to his work in securing the apology and reparations for World War II incarceration and his involvement with the Asian Coalition for Equality and the Japanese American Citizens League.

AP article about Lava Ridge wind farm - https://apnews.com/article/minidoka-idaho-pilgrimage-japanese-americans-incarcerated-wind-505960bd4f634633ef373e1bde447570

The video used by Dr, Matsuda in his presentation  can be found here - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ckdtjfj616mq6za/Minidoka%202%281080p%29.mp4?dl=0

Dr.Cal Williams is a community activist and historian. Born in Monroe, Louisiana, he graduated college, served in the United States Air Force during the early 1960s, participated in the historic March on Washington, and was affiliated with the Congress of Racial Equality. In 1965, he moved to Alaska, seeking job opportunities, racial integration, and a better life. He has served as President of the Alaska Chapter of the NAACP, was a delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and ran for the Alaska House of Representatives. Cal served as the Filipino choir director at St. Anthonys, Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus at St. Patrick's, and American Legion Post 34 chaplain. He helped exhibit the late George Harper collection, documenting the history of African Americans in Alaska. Cal collaborated with UAA associate professor of history Ian Hartman, Ph.D., in writing Black Lives in Alaska: A History of African Americans in the Far Northwest and on many related presentations and events. For his invaluable contributions, UAA awarded Williams an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in fall 2022.

Suzanne LaFrance represented South Anchorage on the Anchorage Assembly from 2017 to 2023. She served as Assembly Chair from 2021 to 2023, and was Chair of the Assembly’s Budget and Finance Committee and Co-Chair of its Health Policy Committee. She also served on the board of the Alaska Municipal League. In 2020, she narrowly lost the race for a seat in the Alaska House of Representatives. She has 24 years of experience in financial analysis, capital budgets, management, project management, marketing, and telecommunications, including working as an area manager for AT&T. LaFrance is a lifelong Alaskan. After graduating from Palmer High School, she earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Portland and her master’s from Purdue University. LaFrance has also been active with Great Alaska Schools Anchorage, the Rabbit Creek Elementary PTA, and the Boy Scouts. She and her husband, David Hemstreet, have three children, all students in the Anchorage School District. They enjoy outdoor activities and sports.

www.votesuzanne.com

Terrence Kelly, is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Alaska Anchorage, a member of the Alaska Ethics Center, and author of Professional Ethics: A Trust Based Approach.  He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy at St. Louis University. He has published and presented on various professional ethics and social justice topics and teaches biomedical and professional ethics courses. He conducts ethics training sessions for professional organizations as well as governmental entities and is a long-serving member of the Anchorage Municipal Board of Ethics.  Terry lives with his wife, son, and three dogs in Anchorage, Alaska. 

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/s58do6k2feaok15vyee04/TrustworthyProfessional.pdf?rlkey=5xeobbkuuw9afnkvdphcnkh36&dl=0

Indra Arriaga is the Strategic and Operational Director for the Alaska Institute for Justice. She works across AIJ's different programs and on multiple grant development and operations aspects. Prior to joining AIJ, Indra served as the Language Assistance Compliance Manager for Alaska’s Division of Elections, and under her direction the program expanded to language access in 14 languages and dialects.  Indra has spent more than two decades working directly with rural and remote communities in Alaska in various capacities, including elections, community development, and demographic and social research projects. Indra holds a BA and MA in Political Science from St. Mary’s University in Texas. She has worked in finance, management consulting, research, and analysis and sustains an artistic practice. As an immigrant, a woman, a person of color, and an LGBTQ person, ensuring that all voices are heard equally is a priority for her personal and professional life.

Note that there is a 3-second period of "noise" at about 1 minute 25 seconds that replaces several minutes of "technical confusion."

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/cxghmw90prz1vd6ujm515/AIJ-2023-highlights.pdf?rlkey=5u4gbx7qpsb0ct95gwfgdw53k&dl=0

Tim Troll is the Executive Director of the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust, a non-profit he helped start in Dillingham in 2000. In 2022 he completed a journey, many years in the making, to sail a restored 1936 Bristol Bay commercial fishing sailboat from Homer back to its historic home in Naknek. That same year, with help from partners, foundations, and many donors, the Land Trust raised 20 million dollars to protect 44,000 acres of critical salmon habitat on Lake Illiamna. The land trust now owns or holds conservation easements on 58,400 acres in Bristol Bay and has facilitated the protection of another 21,320 acres in the Wood-Tikchik State Park.

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/y5lxc3bvr9jtt83t9yo7x/Sail-Back-UU-Presentation.pdf?rlkey=1vigq68cxkw8oi0uice4n4wxz&dl=0

Movie (PDF page 100) - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/vv1izxb2agdvj5c6opsdd/Sailboat_Naknek_7_31_22_1080p.mp4.mov?rlkey=k60oa8vtcc1cdzo6ykcfavhdm&dl=0

We Alaskans - When sailboats ruled Bristol Bay by Tim Troll
Updated: December 2, 2017 - Published: May 21, 2017 - https://www.adn.com/alaska-life/we-alaskans/2017/05/21/when-sailboats-ruled-bristol-bay/#

Howard Weaver, a boy from Muldoon, was probably the most important figure in Alaska journalism. He led the Anchorage Daily News to two Pulitzer prizes—the Gold Medal for Distinguished and Meritorious Public Service, both times. ADN recently went on to win this award for a third time. Only three other newspapers in the 100+ year history of the Pulitzer prizes have earned that honor more often, and the paper’s continuing great work is, in part, a significant reflection of his lasting impact on journalists throughout Alaska today—whether they ever knew him or have even heard of him.  At today’s Forum, we heard from dozens of Howard’s colleagues and friends from Alaska and around the country—many of the best journalists Alaska has known.  They shared their personal and professional memories of Howard with one another. They gave the rest of us insights into a remarkable man engaged in public service journalism as a writer, editor, leader, role model, and inspiration, as well as us a window into some of the most exciting and vital times in journalism.  After leaving Alaska, Howard shared all he had to offer to editors and writers across America as Vice President for News of one of the country’s leading news organizations. 

You can find more about Howard in his memoir, “Write Hard, Die Free” (Epicenter Press, 2012), or in the definitive profile of him published upon his death by author and journalist Tom Kizzia: 
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2023/12/15/howard-weaver-editor-who-led-anchorage-daily-news-through-transformative-years-dies-at-73/

You can also listen to a podcast of Howard’s June 17, 2018, presentation to the AUUF Forum entitled “Living in a Post-Truth World” here:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1965762/episodes/10577494

A reformatted PDF of the Zoom Meeting chat can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/zxg857o31ddr1wtrng80e/20231217_0900_RecordingChat.pdf?rlkey=zgxstk0zvzwdycl1ic4oumm1a&dl=0

Michael Jeffery served as the first full-time Alaska Superior Court judge in Utqiagvik, formerly Barrow, from 1982 until his retirement in 2014.  A California native, Judge Jeffery received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University in 1966 and his law degree from Yale Law School in 1969. After spending five years in India, much of it in an ashram under the tutelage of a guru, he moved to Barrow, where he has lived since 1977.  He organized the first Alaska Legal Services Corporation office there and served as its supervising attorney until his appointment to the bench. The special interest he developed in understanding fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and dealing with FASD issues in the justice system that informed his legal career remains a focus of his continuing public service on state and national governmental and nonprofit committees, councils, and boards. He is active in Rotary, a drummer in an Eskimo dance group, and in summer, he fishes a commercial set net site in Bristol Bay with his family. He and his wife Esther, who met singing in their church choir, have three adult children and two grandchildren.

2022 Quyaana performance of the dance group - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qkq2OgaJF0

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ffhzzmjn75ga6ior26gif/JusticeandCommunityUtqiagvik.pdf?rlkey=t9wdixbh09d15uhlvexhh8vua&dl=0