PAMELA KAUVEIYAKUL | 39

Chief Partnerships Officer

Launch Alaska

“Trust is earned in the smallest of moments. It is earned not through heroic deeds, or even highly visible actions, but through paying attention, listening and gestures of genuine care and connection.”

– Brené Brown

Current City: Anchorage

Education: Bachelor of Arts, double major in communications/public relations and sociology, Loyola University, New Orleans; Master of Business, Loyola University, New Orleans Community Work: I am honored to serve on the board for Anchorage Community Land Trust. I’ve been a fan and supporter of their work for years. They have an amazing team dedicated to community development, and I’m excited to support their work. I’m also a huge fan of SheJumps, and I love supporting this organization as my working mom schedule allows.

Family: Andy is my hunky husband and my adventure and travel partner for life. He knows when to support me and when to challenge me and, more importantly, he knows when I need both at the same time. I love him and our life together Sawyer is our daughter. She is such a bright light in our lives, and we love her infinitely. She’s playful, determined, loving and resilient, and she has a great sense of humor.

What is your favorite place in Alaska and why?: An epic backcountry ski spot in the Alaska Range: I was in my second trimester of pregnancy, and Andy flew us out to meet some friends. It was perfect spring skiing - a bluebird and warm day with so much fresh powder, and Moose's Tooth was the prize view at the top of the mountain. I had never toured and skied so many backcountry runs! I was with friends I love spending time with, I met new people, there was no one else besides our ski party and the views couldn't have been better. This experience encapsulates so many elements of why I love living in Alaska, and that's why it's my favorite place.

What is your favorite pastime or hobby away from work?: Woodworking.

What was your first job?: Camp Counselor at Loyola University New Orleans Summer Camp.

What has been your most rewarding community service?:

In your professional life, what has been a project or achievement you have found to be the most fulfilling?: Creating Alaska’s first and only climate tech deployment accelerator with the Launch Alaska team. Launch Alaska’s cornerstone program, Tech Deployment Track recruits climate-focused energy technology to help Alaska’s communities and businesses to transition to a clean energy economy. When we developed this program, there wasn’t really a blueprint for how it would work or what it needed to be. But we knew it needed to provide a way for Launch Alaska to address the energy transition in Alaska with tangible, positive impact, unlocking economic opportunities for both the state and also for the companies we recruit. At the same time, we were looking for ways to meaningfully engage our partners throughout Alaska. Leading this program was especially fulfilling because I was at a point in my career where I had so many key skills from each prior work experience, and I utilized all of them at once to make this program successful. I’ve loved seeing how our community comes together in different ways and with diverse needs to support a single goal in vetting these technologies for Alaska. Since I've moved into a new role at Launch Alaska, it's been a pleasure watching my colleagues continue to lead Tech Deployment Track to new heights, and it's exciting to me to find new ways to support this work and expand its impact. I enjoy meeting each new cohort of Tech Deployment Track companies and sharing the vast opportunities and unique challenges in Alaska, and connecting them with volunteer “panelists” - subject matter experts representing dozens of Alaska businesses and institutions - to collectively catalyze economic growth for Alaska.

And, I can’t say it enough: I LOVE working with the Launch Alaska team. Based on your own experiences, what advice would you give on maintaining a good worklife balance?: Work-life balance means different things to different people. My advice would be to understand what work-life balance means to you first, because if you don't know your own expectations, it makes it harder for you to communicate and maintain them. If your work-life balance expectations are reasonable within your workplace culture, communicate them to your team early and often, and practice maintaining them as best you can. If you don't, your team won't. All of that being said, some seasons of your work cycle will be busier than others, so give yourself and your team some grace.