SHARITY SOMMER
FORMER PROGRAM OFFICER , RASMUSON FOUNDATION; CURRENT STUDENT AT UAA
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Education: Bachelor’s degree, International Studies, UAA
late grandpa Sidney Huntington as told to Jim Rearden
Community work: Board member, Facing Foster Care in Alaska
What has been your most rewarding community service, and what is your pitch when you are seeking others to get involved in a cause? Facing Foster Care in Alaska (FFCA) is a youth-led organization, which I currently serve on the governance board of. Amanda Metivier, co-founder and board member, is one of the most dynamic and charismatic individuals I know. Her and a group of youth formerly in foster care, and youth involved today, have built FFCA into a nationally known nonprofit. The youth continually inspire me. FFCA advocates on behalf of youth at the state and national levels, teaches leadership and life skills, and is a safety net for youth throughout the state. The pandemic has been particularly challenging for current and former youth in foster care. FFCA staff and supporters have provided critical support during this time.
Family: Michael Bourdukofsky, husband; Betty Huntington and the late Lee Sommer, parents; the late Sidney and Angela Huntington, grandparents Hometown: Fairbanks and Galena Current city: Anchorage What is your most memorable Alaska experience? As a little girl, at my grandparent’s fish camp, mostly with my cousin Missy exploring Dainty Island, where the camp sits in the middle of the Yukon River. Name the person you most respect and why. Of the many people I respect, one person I admire tremendously is my late grandma Angela. She still regularly inspires me. She became an orphan at a young age, learned English as a second language with Denaakk’e being her first, received formal schooling to the second grade, survived tuberculosis twice as a young mother alone in a sanatorium separated from her children, and unfortunately, lived longer than some of them. In Huslia, she learned midwifery and helped deliver a generation of babies. After moving to Galena, she became one of the first health aides, which at the time was unpaid, volunteer work. Throughout her life, she continued to love to smile, laugh, and have fun.
Favorite quote: “Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself and then stand up for somebody else.” – Maya Angelou What was your first job? Housekeeper, age 14 What is the book you most often recommend? “Shadows on the Koyukuk”, by my 40
During the past year, what has been your biggest pandemic-related challenge either personally or professionally and how have you worked to overcome it? This makes me feel quite millennial, but the pandemic gave me the motivation to further explore my passions, follow my heart, and ultimately decide to pursue a long-held goal of a graduate degree and a shift my career path to dietetics and nutrition with a focus in public health.
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What is your favorite pastime or hobby away from work? One of my favorite pastimes is arthouse Mondays at Bear Tooth. Documentaries and independent films are my favorite. As a hobby, I love to join local running and triathlon races, not because I’m competitive, but I love the joy of coming together as a community to complete a healthy challenge, often for a cause.
In your professional life, what has been a project or achievement you have found to be the most fulfilling? Becoming a program officer at Rasmuson Foundation provided an incredible opportunity to work with and learn from leaders, including my colleagues, across the state dedicated to their communities and causes. I loved visiting different parts of Alaska, especially rural areas. To highlight two wonderful projects, it was an honor to work with Suzi Pearson, executive director of Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis, and her staff and board, to expand the only domestic violence shelter in our state’s largest city as well as with Bill Oberly, executive director of the Alaska Innocence Project on two small grants, one to expand their work in rural Alaska. Oberly and the AKIP were instrumental in helping free the Fairbanks Four. I was a middle schooler in Fairbanks when the police arrested the four boys. Their wrongful conviction and imprisonment had a strong impact on me as an Alaska Native person. It meant a lot to play a tiny part in advocating for the Alaska Innocence Project to continue helping others whose freedoms have been taken away. Rasmuson Foundation awarded a $1 million grant to AWAIC for their latest expansion, which expanded capacity, including to all genders. Suzi is a humble leader with a tireless work ethic to decrease domestic violence in Alaska. It was a privilege to do the best I could to support AWAIC’s work.
