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Michael Livingston works as a cultural heritage specialist at Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, and serves as affiliate faculty at Alaska Pacific University and the University of Alaska Anchorage and principal investigator with the National Science Foundation.  Mike has worked as a police officer and continues to serve with the State of Alaska's Cops-on-Call program, and is a captain with the Alaska State Defense Force.  He was raised in Cold Bay on the Alaska Peninsula.  His father, Sgt. Robert Livingston, served in WWII.  His mother, Annabelle, served as a nurse's assistant at the Cordova Hospital in Prince William Sound.  Mike graduated from Bristol Bay High School and holds two master's degrees in psychology and archaeology and a Ph.D. in education. Mike enjoys World War II history and honoring those who served and sacrificed.

Mike's email address - mikel@apiai.org

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/s/jbckz03i6ykm2b6/finally_honoring_private_george_fox.pdf?dl=0

Cathy Giessel was an Alaska State Senator from 2011 to 2021 and served as President of the Senate. For the past year, she has co-chaired the bi-partisan group Defend Our Constitution. She was born in the Territory of Alaska, in Fairbanks, where she was raised and graduated from Lathrop High School before moving south to Anchorage in 1974. Cathy is a Nurse Practitioner in Family Practice. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan and her Master of Science degree from the University of Alaska Anchorage, both in Nursing. She is actively engaged in community service with a behavioral health board, a school-based clinic, children's programs at her church, and a foster care and health fair volunteer. She received the Anchorage Republican Woman of the Year award in 2007 and was named an exceptional leader by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing in 2010. She and her husband of 48 years, Richard, raised three kids in the home Rich built for them in 1979.

Donna Goldsmith is a retired attorney who litigated child protection, domestic violence, and federal Indian law cases throughout the United States.   Donna also served as a special assistant attorney general to Attorney General Bruce Botelho and as a tribal judge.  She chaired and served on several committees for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges for 13 years, conducted training for state and tribal judges throughout the length of her career, chaired the Federal Bar Association Indian Law Section, where she received awards for her work, created and ran a cross-jurisdictional Judicial Forum for federal, state and tribal judges, and ran the Federal Bar Association Indian Law Conference for more than a decade. Donna also consulted on developing tribal courts in Canada and the United States.  She is a former president of the ACLU of Alaska and is currently the president and co-chair of Alaskans for Fair Courts.  Donna is an artist and a cook when she is not engaging in advocacy on behalf of her community. 

Retired Judge Elaine Andrews served as a trial judge for over 20 years in Anchorage.  She served as Presiding Judge of the Third Judicial District from 1996-2002.  Before assuming the bench in 1981, she was an attorney in both the public and private sectors, practicing criminal and civil law.   She co-chairs Alaskans for Fair Courts and is the past chair of the Committee for Fair and Impartial Courts for the Alaska Bar Association.  She was the 2017 Recipient of the Jay Rabinowitz Award for Public Service.  She has a grown family of five and enjoys her retreat in the Wrangell-St. Elias area with her husband of 42 years.

Cathy's slides - https://www.dropbox.com/s/tzodhc49qu6z9ch/NoOn1.pdf?dl=0

Mr. Whitekeys moved to Alaska during the Gold Rush of 1898 and immediately began playing piano in sleazy bars. He has described his chosen profession as “mouthing off and making snotty comments,” and his writings have appeared in an Anchorage Daily News column, Alaska Bizarre—a comedy print version of The Whale Fat Follies, humorous contributions to The Alaska Almanac, a monthly column in Alaska Magazine, and weekly satirical newscast commentary on Anchorage’s KTUU-TV. Mr. Whitekeys’ Fly By Night Club was a mecca for “Spam, Booze, Rhythm and Blues” for 25 years, and The Whale Fat Follies remains the pinnacle of Alaskan vaudeville and satire. His DVD, Alaska, The First 10,000 Years, is a farcical romp through Alaska’s history, and despite its absurdity, it has been used instructionally by misguided history teachers throughout the state. In his spare time, Whitekeys is addicted to coral reef marine biology and is currently the Commander-in-Chief of the Anchorage Audubon Society, where he will continue to embarrass the entire environmental community until someone else agrees to take the job.

Mr. Whitekeys website: http://www.flybynightclub.com

Codie Costello came to Alaska in 2005 as Director of Development for the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts. Her arts and management career has spanned more than 25 years, including positions with San Jose Repertory Theatre and Red Ladder Theatre Company in California, The Pearl Theatre Company in NYC, Spawn Ideas, Alaska Dance Theatre, and Alaska Center for the Performing Arts in Anchorage. She is currently the President & COO of the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts and the General Manager of Broadway Alaska, the PAC’s new program in partnership with the Nederlander Organization. Codie also serves on the Board of Life Alaska Donor Services. She holds an MFA in Directing from the Actors Studio at New School University in NYC, a BA in Theatre Arts from San Jose State University, and is a lifetime member of the Actors Studio in New York. She lives in the Chugach Mountains in Eagle River with her family, husband Brendan, and two kids, Adelaide and Walker.

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/s/tmh8ksn8f16gw05/PAC_Updates_and_BAK_Announcement.pdf?dl=0

Dr. Ray Macfarlane is AUUF’s new Director of Learning and Exploration.  Before coming to Alaska, Ray taught and conducted research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where they earned a Ph.D. in Sociology. While pursuing their Ph.D., Ray connected with UU congregations in Ogden, Chicago, and Las Vegas and found opportunities that inspired them and made a difference in people’s lives, including creating a support group for queer youth in rural Utah, teaching in youth programs, and working with The Night Ministry to build community and bring resources to people experiencing homelessness.  Ray has worked in advocacy and education for the past 20 years: anti-violence work in domestic violence and LGBTQIA+ services, economic justice supporting access to careers, education, leadership opportunities, and housing for underrepresented populations, and evaluating mental health and addiction services. Ray grew up in Southern Utah, hiking barefoot in the red rock and rolling down the pink dunes. They look forward to exploring their new home in Alaska with their partners, Joe and Martin, and their children, Sagan and Rhonan.

Paul Brown has more than forty-five years of experience in management, fund-raising, marketing, and organizational development. He was a founder and producing director of Alaska Repertory Theatre, the first professional theatre in Alaska. He later transitioned from producing theatre to producing films, including documentaries about former Governor Wally Hickel and Senator Ted Stevens (research and pre-production). He chaired the commission for the design, development, and funding of the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, helped establish Alaska’s Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and plan the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Alaska statehood. Paul has been deeply involved in national and international efforts to assist victims of depleted uranium, including American military veterans and indigenous and other local populations in combat zones. He is a member of Bridge Builders and Backbone and a board member of “You Gotta Believe,” a Brooklyn-based organization whose mission is to find permanent homes for foster children over ten. He is a parent with thirteen- and eight-year-old grandchildren.

Dr. Steven Haycox is a distinguished professor of history emeritus, a respected author of numerous books and essays, and a columnist for the Anchorage Daily News. In 2003, he was named the Alaska Historical Society's Historian of the Year and received the Alaska Governor's Humanities Award. Before his retirement, Prof. Haycox taught history for over 40 years at the University of Alaska, where he was named a distinguished professor and was awarded the Edith R. Bullock Prize for Excellence. Steve earned his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon in 1970. His books include Frigid Embrace: Politics, Economics and Environment in Alaska, Battleground Alaska: Fighting Federal Power in America's Last Wilderness, and the recently revised Alaska: An American Colony, which has been called “by far the finest history of Alaska yet produced.” He was born in the Upper
Midwest and went to high school in a suburb of New York. He was a musician in the Navy and served in the Pacific.

Documents -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ycadopvia84miiu/FourthAveTheatreTimeline_from_Stephen%20Hayco_20220717.pdf?dl=0

and

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2x0qv93b3wls5zi/Proposal%20to%20the%20Alaska%20Historical%20Commission%20to%20save%20%20the%20%204th%20Ave%20Theatre%E2%80%94Grant%20Callow%2C%20March%2017%202017.pdf?dl=0

Heidi Lieb-Williams is Chair of the Governors Council on Disabilities and Special Education. She serves as a member of the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities Leadership Circle and was the 2020 NACDD Betty Williams Champion of Equality Award recipient. She is the 2022 Global Women's Peace Network HerStory Award recipient and the 2022 Elite Ms. National Heart of America and has received numerous other awards and recognitions. She is a passionate and constant advocate, in Alaska and nationally, for those with disabilities, including a speech on the Capitol steps and, this month, a keynote address at the White House. Her business, Puzzled with Purpose Autistically-Inspired Creations, helps other Autistic individuals working on crafting, sewing, job, entrepreneurial, communication, social, and advocacy skills, and she founded the Shining Abilities Craft Fair featuring only artists with disabilities. She has also developed special needs and drama ministries within churches and is currently writing a children's book and producing a short film.

The slides used in today's presentation are available here as a PDF. - https://www.dropbox.com/s/k4mvioxktlcmhq9/Living%26LearningWithAutism.pdf?dl=0

Heidi's web page - https://www.puzzledwithpurpose.net