Alaska Business April 2023

Arctic Shred

Secure, on-site document destruction

When spouses

Steven and Johanna Rupp launched Arctic Shred last year, their goal was simple: to bring a much-needed document destruction option to the marketplace. Today, the Alaskan- and family-owned business is doing just that. Arctic Shred is Anchorage’s only locally owned entity that specializes in offering secure, on-site document shredding and destruction services.

FLEXIBLE, CUSTOMIZED SERVICES

Arctic Shred is leveraging the experience of its owners to deliver flexible, convenient, and time-saving services across Southcentral Alaska to businesses in all industries. It offers two core on-site services: bin service for scheduled recurring shredding and one-time purge service. For enhanced security, the company’s recurring-service bins have locks to prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing customers’ documents, and its Shred Truck is equipped with a screen that allows customers to witness the destruction of their documents. In addition, business and residential customers can take advantage of Arctic Shred’s newest service option—sealand-shred bags that can be purchased, filled with documents, and dropped off during walk-in/drop-off hours by appointment for final processing.

As a standard practice, Arctic Shred provides Certificates of

Destruction with all services rendered. It also complies with the National Association of Information Destruction (NAID) and industry regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) and Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FACTA).

In addition, Arctic Shred ensures customers receive transparent and reasonable pricing, customized services, and prompt scheduling— regardless of their size. “No matter how big or small they are, all customers are treated the same,” Steven says. “We can customize services—even for the smallest client. And if they call us, they will be scheduled immediately; there is no waiting time.”

CUSTOMER-FOCUSED APPROACH

Arctic Shred’s customercentered approach reflects its genuine commitment to meeting the needs of Alaska businesses—including smaller companies, which are frequently overlooked or dismissed. Therefore, the company works diligently to provide services that customers will be pleased with and appreciate. “If we can make their lives easier in some way, that’s what we’re here for,” Johanna says.

As a family operation, Arctic Shred focuses on demonstrating that it values

clients and their business. Hence, the company’s mantra: Treat customers like they are family, friends, and nextdoor neighbors. “We want our customers to know they matter to us like family, and we will do our very best to provide them with exceptional service,” Johanna says. “If customer service matters to you, you won’t go wrong by choosing our local, familyowned business.”

SHAPE YOUR TOMORROW

ABOUT THE COVER

While the Corporate 100 ranks and celebrates corporate employers, they would be the first to tell you that their success is all about their employees. The top five of the Corporate 100 represent the healthcare, seafood, retail, Alaska Native, and tourism industries, which share in common the reality that a company’s entire reputation can rest on the shoulders of a single cashier, tour guide, or nurse. While they have many employees working in concert to achieve their goals, it takes every worker buzzing through their tasks to keep the sweet rewards flowing year after year.

Cover Design by Monica Sterchi-Lowman

Aaron Unterreiner

FROM THE EDITOR

Bees have long set the gold standard for “good workers.” It’s helpful that, in addition to flitting endlessly from flower to flower, they buzz as they go, satisfying two of our senses that they’re the epitome of high energy and productivity. “Busy as a bee” is generally a positive simile, acknowledging that someone is putting in the work and setting the expectation for a sweet result.

But the comparison can run into issues in modern corporate workplaces. Prioritizing productivity over any other consideration is a great way to be profitable—until your workers burn out and abandon your hive in droves in search of more amenable workplaces. While bees are endlessly busy, anyone tracking one on a summer afternoon has seen it fly in endless circles or visit flowers long-since already harvested: just because someone looks busy doesn’t mean they’re actually producing anything. And of course, there’s little to no diversity among worker bees; they may have specialized tasks, but they are all born from the same queen and happily participate in the hive mind.

Maybe all that’s required is a shift in how bees inspire us. We could easily take a page from how they plan their day: various bees use body language, eye contact, vocal patterns, or odor to communicate about sources of food, signs of danger, or other hive business. Communication is constant, and no bee is an island. Bees are also a beautiful example of how a group working as a team can accomplish what would be impossible for one individual. According to research conducted at the University of Florida, a typical-size honey bee colony of approximately 20,000 bees collects about 57 kilograms of pollen per year. A single bee can carry a load that weighs approximately 35 percent of its weight, which comes out to about 0.00004 kilograms. Bees make many trips to feed the colony’s future—and together, they do.

Many factors—a pandemic, population changes, evolving workspaces—have converged and demanded that employers reconsider their approach to employment. For some, it may be as simple as finding new inspirations for their workplace culture.

“Communicative as a bee” and “invested in team goals as a bee” don’t have the same ring, perhaps, as the traditional simile, but they certainly convey goals that better align with contemporary expertise. You’ll find that expertise on how to build healthy, productive workplaces throughout this issue in abundance. So get busy!

VOLUME 39, #4

EDITORIAL

Managing Editor Tasha Anderson 907-257-2907 tanderson@akbizmag.com

Editor/Staff Writer Scott Rhode srhode@akbizmag.com

Editorial Assistant Emily Olsen emily@akbizmag.com

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Art Director Monica Sterchi-Lowman 907-257-2916 design@akbizmag.com

Design & Art Production Fulvia Caldei Lowe production@akbizmag.com

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SALES

VP Sales & Marketing Charles Bell 907-257-2909 cbell@akbizmag.com

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Senior Account Manager Christine Merki 907-257-2911 cmerki@akbizmag.com

Marketing Assistant

Tiffany Whited 907-257-2910 tiffany@akbizmag.com

BUSINESS

Tasha Anderson Managing Editor, Alaska Business

President Billie Martin VP & General Manager Jason Martin 907-257-2905 jason@akbizmag.com

Accounting Manager James Barnhill 907-257-2901 accounts@akbizmag.com

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Boosting Blue Economy Entrepreneurs

AFDF Startup Accelerator encourages ocean industry innovation

By Vanessa Orr

oming from a commercial fishing family in Bristol Bay, Sara Erickson believed that fisheries were throwing away a huge resource that could be making money. Namely, the skins left over from seafood processing.

Her solution was to create AlaSkins, a company in Kenai that uses the skins of commercially caught halibut, cod, and salmon to make dog treats. She had reason to think it would work, based on results from an Arctic fisheries development agency.

“The Iceland Ocean Cluster had already shown how to increase export value from using cod skins—now they’re making more from that than they’re getting from fillets,” she says.

Alaska has had its own Ocean Cluster since 2017, started by the nonprofit Bering Sea Fishermen's Association to provide information, referrals, and guidance for fishing industry entrepreneurs.

Erickson says, “That model was exciting to me, and the accelerator fit my line of thinking. We both have a focus on the blue economy.” The program directed Erickson to people who could help, including fishing reporter Laine Welch in Kodiak, who wrote an article about what AlaSkins was doing.

“That helped with getting my name known and getting connected to others; it pushed me to make contacts and connections and helped me to promote and push my agenda through Alaska and elsewhere,” says Erickson.

AlaSkins dog treats are now sold in fifty stores and to Alaska wholesale customers. “I’ve been thinking about getting in with larger wholesalers, and the accelerator has been helping me try to find funding and grants,” Erickson says. “I was thrilled when I found them, and they’ve been such a great support ever since.”

Alaska Ocean Cluster transferred to the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF) in 2022 and rebranded as the AFDF Startup Accelerator. Its current portfolio includes individual entrepreneurs and multi-million-dollar startups working in maritime automation, vessel decarbonization, ocean data, marine transportation, seafood quality, ocean modeling, mariculture, and marine coatings.

AlaSkins

AFDF also organizes the annual Alaska Symphony of Seafood, which Erickson entered to compete against other value-added products. “The accelerator has been instrumental in helping me make connections in the seafood industry, including finding processing plants to provide skins,” she says. “They also offer moral support; even when I get super discouraged, they tell me that I’m doing great. I can’t thank them enough for their total support of what I’m doing; they really want to see me succeed.”

Providing Direct Support

“As we meet different companies or entrepreneurs, we try to look for areas of collaboration, where we could work together to accomplish something meaningful,” says AFDF Startup Accelerator Director Garrett Evridge. “This can range from helping a company find a COO to refining their business model to making introductions to prospective investors, clients, or other mentors.”

AFDF is a nonprofit coalition with a Congressional mandate, created by the 1976 Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Act to develop products, equipment, and techniques for the benefit of harvesters, processors, and coastal communities. The Startup Accelerator serves that mission directly by supporting private-sector partners working in the ocean economy.

Industries working in Alaska waters employ more than 70,000 people and contribute more than $2 billion annually to the state economy.

While the AFDF Startup Accelerator was originally funded by the Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association and a grant from the US Economic Development Administration, today it is funded by a variety of partners, including the Denali Commission and Builders Vision, a Chicagobased impact platform founded by Walmart heir Lukas Walton to support changemakers and innovators building a more humane and healthier planet. According to Evridge, the accelerator is focused on two verticals: direct support of companies and the development of different projects.

“We like to connect companies with other individuals who can offer

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guidance as well; it’s a really costeffective way to help them,” he adds.

Evridge meets with companies that have been accepted into the accelerator every two to three weeks to talk about their progress toward clearly defined goals. “For example, an early-stage company may be starting to see growth, but their accounting system is in disarray,” he explains. “We’ll have a two-hour session where we look at their statements and end-ofyear compiled financials and start to build out a system so that they can engage more comprehensively with their company financials.”

The AFDF Startup Accelerator is currently working with sixteen companies at all stages of business. Clients range from a single entrepreneur developing electric deck gear who needs help identifying a market, finding funding, and working through technical issues all the way up to Saildrone, one of the leaders in the uncrewed vessel space.

The accelerator’s clients also provide a broad spectrum of services or products. For example, Foraged &

Found makes consumer goods out of kelp, and SafetyNet Technologies provides precision fishing devices to reduce bycatch. Some are homegrown Alaska ventures, and others have potential impacts that are national in scope.

Developing Ocean-Based Projects

While providing support to various companies, the accelerator is also involved in developing maritime industry projects. Last summer, for example, the accelerator completed pilot testing on three pollock trawlers using SafetyNet light technology to reduce bycatch.

It also worked with PolArctic, a Virginia-based oceanographic and data science company that identifies and creates solutions to business and policy questions about the Arctic through the artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning techniques.

“We build AI models that answer a lot of challenging questions concerning climate change and adaptation, including when and where ice will

“The accelerator has been instrumental in helping me make connections… They also offer moral support; even when I get super discouraged, they tell me that I’m doing great.”

Sara Erickson Owner AlaSkins

be,”says PolArctic co-founder and CEO Leslie Canavera. “We recently got an NSF [National Science Foundation] small business research grant to build a digital twin of the ocean to forecast where fish stock will be.”

After learning about the Alaska Ocean Cluster during a blue economy meeting, Canavera reached out to the accelerator, which had just revamped and was looking for companies to help.

“We were a great fit,” says Canavera, “and working with Garrett has been fantastic. As an economist and commercial fisherman, he brings a wealth of knowledge to the process.”

AFDF Startup Accelerator has also helped PolArctic connect with funding sources and get in front of potential customers, she adds. While working with the accelerator, PolArctic became involved in a pilot project helping crabbers forecast ice as a way to increase safety and decrease pot loss. “They have helped us ensure that when we are building solutions, we are building ones that people actually need and want,”

Soliciting Solutions

While every company could benefit from support and subject expertise, applicants accepted by the AFDF Startup Accelerator must be the right fit.

“The best thing for companies to do is to reach out to us, and we’ll have a conversation about their goals,” says Evridge. “We aren’t a good fit for everybody.”

In case AFDF Startup Accelerator is not the right organization for an applicant, “We’ll send them to other programs and mentors who we think can help them,” Evridge explains. “We regularly send companies to Launch Alaska, another accelerator program, or other innovation programs on the West Coast.”

The accelerator is always open to those who want to make inroads into the blue economy, in part because they understand how difficult it can be to start a business in the 49th state.

“Alaska is a very difficult place to do business, when you look at the underdeveloped capital, structure of venture capital, and private equity—it’s

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“The Alaska business landscape is quite underdeveloped, so we’re hoping to contribute to increased business formation and economic growth in the state and its communities… Part of this is showing Alaskans that they can start a business.”

Garrett Evridge, Director AFDF Startup Accelerator

Serving Alaska since 1978

expensive,” says Evridge, compared to vibrant startup ecosystems in Seattle or Singapore.

“The Alaska business landscape is quite underdeveloped, so we’re hoping to contribute to increased business formation and economic growth in the state and its communities,” he adds. “Part of this is showing Alaskans that they can start a business. If we can assist them, then they can start making sales, finding growth, hiring folks, and paying taxes.”

Evridge adds that if a company can offer a solution to a maritime problem, they want to hear about it.

“Look at bycatch, for example— if there’s a company that offers a solution, we want it. We’re agnostic as to where it comes from,” he says. “We want to solicit solutions and sources for economic growth wherever they are present.”

Connecting to Resources

One of the challenges that the accelerator faces, however, is that it is completely grant-funded and doesn’t currently take an equity percentage

from clients as some other accelerators do. “There are different ways to structure these programs, and in the future, we’ll see how it evolves,” says Evridge. “For me, it’s nice to have the flexibility to work with anyone we can help and not worry too much about equity or charging them for our services, especially since a lot of early-stage companies don’t have the money to pay for fees.”

So rather than earn a cut from clients’ success, AFDF leverages its nonprofit status.

“We’re always fundraising, and it’s clear from our experience that there is a need for a program like this,” Evridge says. “It’s not something that makes sense from a financial perspective, but it makes sense from a developmental perspective.”

As a coordinating entity, the AFDF Startup Accelerator is always looking for more help from those who could assist businesses in the maritime industry— anyone from accountants to IT experts to investors and philanthropists.

“Programs like this give us a chance to support others,” says Evridge. “If a company comes to us with challenges and no one in our network has that expertise, one of easiest ways we can support them is to connect them with informed people who can help.”

“I feel very fortunate that I am one of the companies that gets to work with them,” says Erickson of her experience with the accelerator. “It’s extremely difficult to do business in Alaska—shipping is hard, the labor cost is high, there are just endless amounts of hard things.”

AlaSkins has persisted since starting as an idea a little more than six years ago, with each small achievement building toward the next.

“The accelerator has been great in keeping me motivated and positive,” Erickson says. “They see the blue economy as something that needs to grow, and they work hard to get in front of Alaskans to say that this is a possibility. They want us to use the resources we’ve been given to full advantage.”

AlaSkins

Mobile Plastic Recycling

A portable processor to repurpose ocean waste

By Vanessa Orr

While many people were trying to find ways to stay busy during the COVID-19 pandemic, Patrick Simpson, owner of PKS Consulting, was studying ways to save the environment. He was investigating the issue of marine debris—and plastic in particular—when he decided to see if he could find a solution to help keep Alaska’s coastline clean.

“I spent my time combing through Google Scholar articles and searching scientific journals and peer-reviewed science publications to figure out how to put my arms around the problem,” he recalls. “When looking at the state of current technology, I discovered three themes: assessment, collection, and utilization of plastic ocean waste.”

Simpson put together funding proposals focused on the collection and utilization aspects. Some envisioned the use of heavy-lift drone aircraft that could carry up to 1,000

pounds of waste off a remote beach. The idea that gained traction, though, is a mobile system to recycle ocean waste into plastic lumber.

In 2019, Simpson’s mobile plastic processing system earned funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Small Business Innovation Research program, and Simpson also recently received funding through the US Department of Agriculture to use the same type of technology to recycle a different set of plastics.

The recycling system, housed in a 53-foot trailer, had its initial pilot demonstration last fall in Palmer. The shakedown tour goes to Seward and Soldotna this spring. Plastic waste fits through a slot in the side of the trailer, gets shredded into pellets, and is pressed into a flow molding machine. The output is a material shaped like boards or other construction products.

Because the unit is mobile, it can be used anywhere, saving communities the cost of the typical hub-and-spoke approach, in which they are required to ship their waste to another location for processing. This is especially

important for rural Alaska communities, which can simply stockpile their waste at a single location until the processing system arrives.

“This concept was really emotionally driven,” says Simpson, a fourthgeneration Alaskan who grew up in Cordova. “My father and brother are commercial fishermen, and though I get seasick on the water, I’ve spent a lot of time on these beaches. Seeing them littered with plastic and Styrofoam really concerns me because heavy storm tides break it up into smaller pieces that become microplastics. These make their way into our food supply, so we need to get it off the beach when it is still in macro plastic form.”

Simpson adds that Veronica Padula’s PhD thesis for the UAF School of Fisheries, in which she performed necropsies on every species of bird in the Bering Sea, added even more weight to the issue. “Without exception, she found plastic in every species, including some in the birds’ muscles where it metabolized,” Simpson explains. “Some plastic was found in bird gullets, and because it doesn’t digest, they were

“A lot of municipalities are also outsourcing their recycling or using a hub-andspoke model instead of having a company come to them to do distributed recycling, which is my model.”

Patrick Simpson Owner PKS Consulting, Inc.

starving to death. Her work in Alaska is telling us that the problem is already here and that we need to start solving it now.”

From Design to Destination

After designing the mobile recycling unit, which Simpson is marketing through PKS Consulting subsidiary Alaska Plastics Recovery, he took his idea to Paul Vanderpool, president of American Cierra Plastics in Auburn, New York, to create the prototype.

“Paul has forgotten more about plastics than I’ll ever know,” says Simpson. “I traveled to New York three times, and he not only worked with

me on the design but also trained me on the equipment and has offered continuous guidance since it arrived in Alaska.”

The company helped Simpson develop the prototype affordably, building it out of used items instead of new materials. Built brand new, a mobile recycling unit could run between $1 million and $2 million; working with American Cierra Plastics, Simpson was able to come in at roughly $400,000.

“Unfortunately, that didn’t include shipping,” says Simpson, noting he was quoted $21,000 to move the machine from New York to Alaska, but that

increased to $29,000—an 8 percent increase in the fuel surcharge—when it shipped less than thirty days later.

Vanderpool’s company had manufactured a product focused on ocean waste before, but he says Simpson brought a concept for a different type of unit.

“Patrick is a guy with great vision and a lot of heart,” says Vanderpool. “When he gave me a call and said that he wanted to work together and that he had a grant but a limited budget, I wanted to see what we could do. We’d already done an ocean waste project with someone else, but it wasn’t mobile. I knew we could build what he wanted.”

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Ocean waste contains a mix of plastic types, which are all shredded and molded inside Alaska Plastics Recovery’s mobile processor. PKS Consulting, Inc.

RYAN THOMAS

LAUREN SOMMER

BEN SPIESS

JOSH HODES

Fitting all parts of the plastics processor, from shredder to extruder, inside a 53foot container means the unit can move to communities where waste is collected, starting with Palmer.

PKS Consulting, Inc.

American Cierra Plastics previously worked on a recycling system that could go into shipping containers and be dropped out of a cargo plane, but Vanderpool says that it was much smaller. “Not a whole factory like Patrick had in mind,” he adds.

Just One Word: Plastics

American Cierra Plastics has a long history of expertise, going back more than a century to the first synthetic plastic. Originally known as Auburn Button Works, the company made Bakelite buttons for US Cavalry uniforms before evolving to make Bakelite distributor caps for cars.

“Auburn Button Works also made plexiglass hula hoops and phonograph records before vinyl,” says Vanderpool. The button manufacturer changed its name to Auburn Plastics in the ‘50s.

Vanderpool’s father, a chemist, worked at Auburn, and Vanderpool followed him into the field, landing an internship with Auburn Plastics. “I grew up spending my summers in the factory in the laboratory, making plastic resins and compounds and working on equipment to keep it running,” he says. “I fell in love with it.”

After starting his own plastics company, in 1975 Vanderpool’s father returned and they bought Auburn Plastics, shifting its focus from auto parts manufacturing to the recycling industry.

“His theory was simple: why buy prime virgin material when you can make things out of recycled materials?” says Vanderpool. “We bought post-industrial scrap from other manufacturers and recycled it to supply customers with high-quality products made out of recycled scrap.”

Vanderpool started American Cierra Plastics to continue to service companies that had more waste than they could handle.

“We got catapulted into this industry through people needing our help,” says Vanderpool. “We realized that there were not enough plastic recycling manufacturers in the United States and Canada to handle the large amount of waste collected that is not being utilized, so we decided to take our vast knowledge and understanding that has been beneficial to so many of our customers and put it to good use ourselves.”

American Cierra Plastics now provides composite products for landscaping, marine, construction, industrial, mining, and fencing use. It also makes products from textile waste. The company also supplies machinery to other companies making products from waste: one turns plastic pipe waste into pallets, and another provides jobs for people with disabilities to make park benches and tables.

In addition to working with Simpson to create the mobile processing system, Vanderpool also

“We realized that there were not enough plastic recycling manufacturers in the United States and Canada to handle the large amount of waste collected that is not being utilized, so we decided to take our vast knowledge and understanding that has been beneficial to so many of our customers and put it to good use ourselves.”

Paul Vanderpool, President,

American Cierra Plastics

Lumber is one of many molded forms that emerge from the mobile processor. The product is undergoing third-party testing to ensure it satisfies building standards.

PKS Consulting, Inc.

provided guidance on how to use the recycled material.

“Even as simple as it may seem, there’s always a catch—it’s a bit of a learning process to understand the do’s and don’ts of this type of machinery,” he says. “You don’t want trash in, trash out.”

Vanderpool notes that plastic additives or water can cause issues with the end product.

“It was a pleasure working with Patrick—he’s a quick learner and he’s been a great student,” Vanderpool continues. “The fun thing about it is that he had an idea, he followed through with it, and now he’s out there doing it. He’s taking waste materials as they are, and he’s repurposing them as we all hoped could happen.”

Litter into Lumber

Simpson’s design and Vanderpool’s technical know-how created a machine that can be moved around Alaska to recycle ocean plastics into recycled plastic lumber. While Alaska Plastics Recovery is currently making lumber in three different sizes, Simpson says products can be customized 100 different ways.

The cost of the recycled plastic lumber is higher than wood—roughly two to three times more expensive than the market price of wood—but it has a much longer lifespan, saving users money over time. The recycled product doesn’t splinter or rot and is easy to maintain, compared to wood, which would need to be replaced three to four times during the recycled product’s 25to 50-year lifespan.

“Right now, we’re working on finding a market for the recycled lumber that we’ll be making when we fire the machine up this spring,” says Simpson. “We need to do a lot of consumer education to show them what a bargain it actually is.”

Simpson has been meeting with municipal parks departments, contractors, architects, and more to share this message and to promote plastic lumber’s use as trim for gardens and hedges, for boardwalks, or for railings. In February, Mid-Valley Recycling in Big Lake awarded $5,000 for PKS Consulting to make picnic tables from its Grizzly Wood product.

“We also check a lot of boxes when architects and designers are focusing

on LEED certification for buildings,” says Simpson, who adds that his products are currently undergoing third-party testing to make sure that they meet required standards.

While he has many ideas of how the recycled lumber can be utilized, he is also looking to the market to help decide what other uses could be beneficial. “For example, I saw a mold for a park bench out of Wilmington, Delaware, that I liked very much, but the quote for the mold was $15,000— you’d have to sell a lot of park benches,” Simpson says with a laugh.

The choice of molds depends on what the market calls for. “If people have ideas, I hope they reach out to me,” Simpson says. “There could be some really cool applications out

there, and I just don’t know about them yet.”

As more people learn about his invention—and see it working in pilot projects throughout the state—Simpson hopes that he can make inroads into what is an ever-evolving industry.

“Plastic recycling is becoming something that more companies are investing in, and the marketplace is really in flux right now—there are a lot of moving parts,” he explains. “I went to the largest recycling show in the country held in Washington, DC, and they were focused on there not being enough capacity to feed what’s being built. There was such a large surge of recycling centers at one time that they were starving for plastics to come in.”

The market niche Simpson sees for Alaska Plastics Recovery is smaller communities that have more waste than they can handle. “Right now, a lot of municipalities are also outsourcing their recycling or using a hub-and-spoke model instead of having a company come to them to do distributed recycling, which is my model,” he adds. “It might make sense to have microhubs in areas like Anchorage that have a significant population, which I’m also open to doing.”

While teaching people that ocean plastic can be seen as a resource— and not as trash—may take some convincing, the use of the mobile plastic recycling unit could ultimately make a positive difference in the health of Alaska’s ocean environment.

“I’ve spent a lot of time on these beaches. Seeing them littered with plastic and Styrofoam really concerns me because heavy storm tides break it up into smaller pieces that become microplastics. These make their way into our food supply, so we need to get it off the beach when it is still in macro plastic form.”

Patrick Simpson, Owner, PKS Consulting, Inc.

The processing trailer plugs into a mobile generator to drive the conveyor. After demonstrating its capabilities in Palmer, the unit is going on the road this spring to the Kenai Peninsula.

PKS Consulting, Inc.

ALASKA

CREDIT

COVID-19 Fund$ and Fraud

The

potential and pitfalls of the Employee Retention Credit

By Tasha Anderson

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented. The federal government has invested heavily in its efforts to keep businesses afloat and stimulate the economy through various avenues. According to figures from USASpending.gov, forty-three federal agencies are responsible for $4.5 trillion in pandemic-related obligations and have outlaid $4.2 trillion of those. It’s a lot of money, and where such funds are found, fraud naturally follows.

According to Bret Kressin, special agent in charge at the Seattle Field Office for IRS Criminal Investigation, there are multiple ways that individuals and businesses have attempted to claim funds they aren’t entitled to. He says one common area of fraud centered around the Paycheck Protection Program. Those funds were administered through the US Small Business Administration (SBA) in partnership with private banking institutions. “We’ve been involved in a lot of activity dealing with fraud in that arena, fraudulent loans and things like that,” Kressin says. “There’s also unemployment fraud, [and] we’ve

worked with the Department of Labor on some of those investigations.”

Another popular area for fraudulent activity was economic impact payments made out to individuals. “There's obviously the risk of identity theft anytime identity thieves see that there's a pot of money out there… Those payments have all since come and gone, but that doesn't mean that there's still people trying to claim that stuff,” Kressin says.

But one tempting money pot that remains highly pertinent for businesses, which Kressin describes as “the biggest credit that applied to businesses,” is the Employee Retention Credit (ERC).

The ERC

The ERC is a tax credit designed to give relief to businesses that were severely impacted or even shut down because of the pandemic. Kressin gives the example of tourism and tour companies, many of which had severely reduced revenue, or perhaps none at all, in the 2020 summer season.

There are two iterations of the ERC. “Initially they passed the ERC,

which allowed a company to deduct 50 percent of a qualified employee’s wages up to $10,000 per employee for wages paid from March 13, 2020 through December 31, 2020.” That essentially amounted to $5,000, and employers would “get 50 percent of that,” he explains.

The following year, the ERC was updated. “For wages in 2021… if a business was still having impacts, an employer could deduct up to 70 percent of an employee’s wages of $10,000 per quarter, instead of per year,” Kressin says. Now an employer could deduct up to $28,000 of an employee’s wages in the calendar year 2021.

According to Kressin, “Those periods have elapsed, but businesses are able to still claim those credits. They can file amended tax returns.”

Businesses have four years after the tax year to amend their returns; they can amend their 2020 tax returns through 2024 and their 2021 returns through 2025. But just because the window hasn’t closed, does that mean every business should be looking to amend their taxes? No.

To Qualify

Only businesses that had 100 employees or fewer qualify for the 2020 credit, and businesses needed to have fewer than 500 employees (the SBA’s definition of a small business) in 2021 to qualify that year. Additionally, any business that has claimed the ERC once cannot amend their taxes to claim it for a second year.

Beyond that, Jeremiah Benson explains, a business must meet one of three major qualifiers to be eligible for the ERC: did the business experience revenue loss compared to 2019; was the business nominally affected by supply chain issues (nominally in this case being defined by the IRS as 10 percent); or was the business impacted by shutdowns, restrictions, or state or federal mandates?

Benson is at the helm of ERC Specialists Alaska, the local arm of ERC Specialists, based out of Utah. The company’s goal is to help businesses determine their eligibility for the ERC and, if eligible, maximize that company’s benefit. “My job as someone who is helping businesses get the ERC is to educate them on the credit,” he says.

Benson talks to multiple businesses every day about their eligibility for the ERC, and while many qualify, there are definitely those that do not. He gives the examples of a touchless car wash. Even though a touchless car wash in Alaska may have employed fewer than 100 people, if it was never mandated to shut down, didn’t experience any supplychain issues such as sourcing soap or other chemicals, and can’t show a drop in revenue compared to 2019, it would not qualify.

On the other hand, Benson used to ply his trade as a plumber, and he retains his license and connections. “I have a lot of friends and ex-coworkers that are still in that space, and they cannot get rooftop units, exhaust fans, furnaces, boilers—it’s a textbook example of a supply-chain qualifier.”

According to Benson, “That’s the gist of the program. But there’s a lot that goes into actually figuring out exactly how much a business qualifies for.”

Don’t Forget the CPA

Small businesses that reach out to Benson are first informed of the three qualifiers. If the business believes it

“Small businesses who claim COVID-19 credits should be cautious. The consequences of improperly claiming these credits could be significant.”

Joseph Moore, Principal, Altman Rogers & Co.

qualifies, Benson supplies a link to a questionnaire developed by ERC Specialists that is based on the 200page bill for the ERC program. “It essentially creates a substantiation package for that business” that can be used in the event that a business were audited, Benson says. He adds that audits are a concern that many interested businesses express, and the questionnaire sets up an “initial defense.”

Amending one’s taxes to take advantage of the ERC does not automatically flag a company for auditing, according to Kressin, nor does it necessarily make it more likely. Instead of that approach, the IRS looks for underlying patterns that indicate a fraudulent situation. “I use the example of a business that drops out of thin air that hadn’t been there prior to 2020. Obviously, some businesses were started in 2020, but if someone is suddenly claiming hundreds of thousands of dollars in ERC credits, that would obviously raise red flags with us,” says Kressin.

If the questionnaire indicates the company will qualify for the ERC, ERC Specialists will then use documentation submitted by the small business to determine the maximum appropriate credit.

While ERC Specialist’s work is finished at that point, the small business’ isn’t; it’s on the small business to complete its tax filing. “I want to emphasize that we are not a tax-preparer business,” Benson says. “Please refer to your CPA or accountant after you get the credit. It’s not counted toward income tax, but you will need to go back and adjust the amount of payroll taxes that you wrote off for those quarters.”

Businesses that already partner with an accounting firm or CPA will need to coordinate with their service provider to ensure their amended return is filed completely and appropriately. For those who have an accounting relationship already, they may be able to work directly with their CPA or accountant to determine eligibility, obtain the credit, and file.

Joseph Moore, a principal for accounting and tax firm Altman Rogers & Co., says that eligibility for the ERC is something the firm

determines in collaboration with its clients, since many of the details are complex. It does not automatically consider the credit for every client, since it’s not universally appropriate, even for small businesses. “Ultimately, the client is responsible for supplying the information that would qualify them for the ERC,” Moore explains. “Accurate books and records for the affected years, as well as facts and circumstances for each client, are considered for eligibility.”

Where’s the Fraud?

People are creative, Kressin says. “We kind of see the gamut with the fraud.” It can be as simple as a legitimate business with employees claiming more employees than it actually has. Or the business might be less than legitimate: “We’re also seeing people create shell, bogus, or dormant companies and then filing returns claiming these credits,” he says.

Not all fraud comes from tax filers, either. “We are seeing that there are some return preparers that are providing bogus advice in this area,” Kressin warns. “They’ll approach businesses that maybe didn’t know about these credits and weren’t even contemplating them and taking improper positions about their qualifiers for these credits.”

His advice? Business owners need to make sure that what they’re hearing makes sense. “Whether it’s a return preparer or other third party, we’re advising [business owners] to make sure they’re asking questions and they understand why they’re eligible for the credit,” Kressin says. “Really, this should largely be easily explainable to you, and you can understand it as a business owner.”

Moore echoes the advice: “Small businesses who claim COVID-19 credits should be cautious. The consequences of improperly claiming these credits could be significant.”

The accountant’s guidance for COVID-19 relief is the same that applies to most fraud risks: “Perform due diligence and beware of tax savings that are too good to be true.”

For more information on the ERC, please visit irs.gov/coronavirus/ employee-retention-credit.

“We are seeing that there are some return preparers that are providing bogus advice in this area… They’ll approach businesses that maybe didn’t know about these credits and weren’t even contemplating them and taking improper positions about their qualifiers for these credits.”

Bret Kressin

Special Agent in Charge

IRS Criminal Investigation Seattle Field Office

Stan’s Barbershop

A Photo Essay

By Katie Basile

School picture day is coming up in Bethel, and Stan’s Barbershop is packed. Two kids quietly play games on their grandma’s cell phone, another child climbs a stool and then howls when he can’t get down, and another little boy sits in the barber chair while Stan trims away—adding hair to the pile at his feet. While Stan cuts hair he talks: recalling decisions made at the city council meeting the week before, updates on the fall moose hunt, and the good health of his 104-yearold mother-in-law who lives in the village of Nightmute.

In 1992 Stan Corp hung his barber pole up in Bethel. Some of his first customers are now bringing in their grandchildren for a trim or buzzcut. In a town lacking a sit-down coffee shop, where restaurants come and go, Stan’s barbershop has been a community gathering point in the region for decades.

“I came here when I was 18 years old, and I've been here ever since. I enjoy it, I like the people, that's the main thing. And I like being on the river. I like hunting and fishing and doing what almost everybody does—subsisting,” Stan says.

Stan doesn’t take appointments; it’s walk-in only, and because of that, the line often gets long. A 30-minute haircut can easily stretch into a two-hour social affair. While cutting hair, Stan chats with his customers, marking the seasons with updates on the fish run, reports from berry pickers, winter storm predictions, births, deaths, and so on. When it comes to the everyday occurrences that impact people, Stan may be the most well-informed person in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region.

Stan Corp cuts Louie Andrew’s hair. Andrew is the Orutsararmiut Traditional Chief and has been getting his hair cut by Stan Corp for thirty years.

Bethel’s Traditional Chief Louie Andrew stops in for a trim. Andrew is 77 years old and has been getting his hair cut by Stan for thirty years. “I tell him to stay away from my eyebrows,” Andrew jokes. “Stan’s a good man.”

Stan recalls the bowl cut, the A-line bob, perms, and hair trends in every color over his decades of work. His business advice is to show up consistently.

“I go to work every day. You have to be there for your customers. The only time I miss is a vacation or hunting,” he says.

Stan follows in the footsteps of his father, who ran Don’s Barber Shop in Upper Michigan. Don Corp, who passed away two years ago, was happy to see his son pick up the shears.

“Every time I went home to visit him, I’d watch him, even until a few years ago. He was a barber for sixty-six and a half years,” Stan says of his father. “He loved it too. He liked going to work every day. I didn’t understand that as a kid, but now I do.”

View additional photos of Stan's Barbershop online in our digital issue.

Top Left: Theresa Nick watches her husband, Raymond Andrew, get a haircut at Stan’s Barbershop while Josh Charlie (right) waits in line.

Top Middle: Young locals play video games while waiting for a haircut at Stan’s Barbershop.

Top Right: Ari McIntyre gets a mohawk haircut from Stan; Ari wanted his haircut to match his dad, Shane McIntyre, who recently passed away in a boating accident.

2023 Corporate 100

Like a honeybee returning to a hive and waggling her body to report a tasty food source, Alaska Business returns with the dance of the Corporate 100, sorting employers by their in-state workforce totals. For companies that report the same number of Alaska employees, the tie is broken in favor of the one with more workers worldwide. If those numbers are the same—for example, Sourdough Express and Colville—the ranking defers to seniority (and few Alaska companies still operating today are as senior as Sourdough Express).

In the interest of completeness, this section tallies non-business employers in “Government, Inc.” using publicly available figures rather than responses to an Alaska Business survey. Flip to this month’s Alaska Trends for further examination of the overall Corporate 100 picture.

Articles in this special section cooperate, like sisters in a hive, for a broader view of the labor component of production. “Work Matters for Everyone” digs into state task force recommendations to integrate workers with disabilities. As diversity, equity, and inclusion principles guide more and more workplaces, DEI has evolved into what human resources professionals call DEIB; “Don’t Dream It, B It” explains that fourth letter. “Don’t Wait to Work on Retention” has advice for managers to soothe feelings of burnout, and “International Hiring” details the H-2B and J-1 visas for temporary foreign workers, which is one tool for solving a labor shortage.

Outside of the special section, “Working for Your Employees” asks Providence Alaska what keeps the hospital network at the top of the Corporate 100, and 3-Tier Alaska CEO Nick Ringstad shares his “Recruit and Retain” tips. And don’t miss columns by Woodrie Burich and Sean Dewalt on keeping workplaces happy and healthy, a topic further explored in “Preparing for the Unexpected,” which is about occupational and survival training.

1

PROVIDENCE ALASKA

Ella Goss, CEO

3760 Piper St., Ste. 3035

Anchorage, AK 99508

TRIDENT SEAFOODS CORPORATION

2

Joe Bundrant, CEO

717 K St.

Anchorage, AK 99501

3

providence.org/alaska

907-212-3145

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Providence, Renton, WA

tridentseafoods.com

206-783-3818

SEAFOOD

PRINCESS CRUISES, HOLLAND AMERICA LINE & SEABOURN

Jan Swartz, Pres. Holland America Group

720 W. Fifth Ave.

Anchorage, AK 99501

ARCTIC SLOPE REGIONAL CORPORATION

Rex A. Rock Sr., Pres./CEO PO Box 129

Utqiaġvik, AK 99723

FRED MEYER

5

Holly Mitchell, District

2000 W. Dimond Blvd. Anchorage, AK 99515

worldsleadingcruiselines.com

907-264-8043

TRAVEL & TOURISM

Carnival Corporation, Miami, FL

asrc.com

907-852-8633

NATIVE ORGANIZATION

fredmeyer.com

907-267-6778

RETAIL/WHOLESALE TRADE

The Kroger Co., Cincinnati, OH

anthc.org

907-729-1900

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Healthcare provider serving Alaskans in six communities: Anchorage, Eagle River, Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Kodiak Island, Seward, and Valdez. Providence Alaska includes Providence Alaska Medical Center, the state’s largest hospital.

Year Founded 1859 Year Founded in AK 1902

Employees (Worldwide) 120,000 Employees (AK) 5,000

Trident is privately held and 100 percent USA-owned, with primary seafood processing and fleet support in twelve Alaska communities. Trident partners in Alaska with more than 5,400 independent fishermen and crew members to serve customers around the world.

Year Founded 1973 Year Founded in AK 1973

Employees (Worldwide) 6,792 Employees (AK) 4,266

Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn own and operate eight hotels, twenty railcars, and more than 200 buses and motor coaches in Alaska in addition to supporting port operations to the cruise business.

Year Founded 1873 Year Founded in AK 1947

Employees (Worldwide) 30,000 Employees (AK) 3,500

ASRC is the largest Alaskan-owned and operated company and has six major business segments: government services, petroleum refining and marketing, energy support services, industrial services, construction, and resource development.

Year Founded 1972 Year Founded in AK 1972

Employees (Worldwide) 14,174 Employees (AK) 3,217

Retail grocery, clothing, household, and general merchandise with pharmacy, liquor, and fuel.

Year Founded 1922 Year Founded in AK 1975

Employees (Worldwide) 37,000 Employees (AK) 3,213

ANTHC is a nonprofit tribal health organization that provides health services for Alaska Native people at the Alaska Native Medical Center and across Alaska through training, health and wellness education, and rural water and sewer construction.

Year Founded 1997 Year Founded in AK 1997

Employees (Worldwide) 3,063 Employees (AK) 3,063 7

John Aġnaaqłuk Lincoln, Pres./CEO PO Box 49

Kotzebue, AK 99752

nana.com

907-442-3301

NATIVE ORGANIZATION

carrsqc.com

907-339-7704

Stephanie Kennedy, District Mgr. 5600 Debarr Rd., Ste. 100 Anchorage, AK 99504

RETAIL/WHOLESALE TRADE

Resource development, land management, federal contracting, engineering and design, surveying and mapping, food and facilities management, camp services, security, industrial and commercial fabrication and installation, and drilling services.

Year Founded 1972 Year Founded in AK 1972

Employees (Worldwide) 11,589 Employees (AK) 2,963

Retail food, drug, and fuel.

Year Founded 1901 Year Founded in AK 1950

Albertsons Companies, Boise, ID

907-966-3110

SEAFOOD

Seafood processing.

Employees (Worldwide) 286,000 Employees (AK) 2,700 9

Year Founded 2007 Year Founded in AK 2007

Employees (Worldwide) 3,000 Employees (AK) 2,500

4

Mgr.

ALASKA NATIVE TRIBAL HEALTH CONSORTIUM

Valerie Nurr’araluk Davidson, Pres./CEO 4000 Ambassador Dr. Anchorage, AK 99508

NANA REGIONAL CORPORATION

10

SOUTHCENTRAL FOUNDATION

April Kyle, Pres./CEO

4501 Diplomacy Dr.

Anchorage, AK 99508

ALASKA AIRLINES

11

Ben Minicucci, CEO

3600 Old Intl. Airport Rd.

Anchorage, AK 99502

GCI

12

Ron Duncan, CEO

2550 Denali St., Ste. 1000

Anchorage, AK 99503

FOUNDATION HEALTH PARTNERS

Shelley Ebenal, CEO 1650 Cowles St. Fairbanks, AK 99701

BRISTOL BAY NATIVE CORPORATION

Jason Metrokin, Pres./CEO 111 W. 16th Ave., Ste. 400 Anchorage, AK 99501

southcentralfoundation.com

907-729-4955

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Cook Inlet Region, Inc., Anchorage, AK

alaskaair.com

907-266-7200

TRANSPORTATION

Alaska Air Group, Seattle, WA

gci.com

907-265-5600

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

foundationhealth.org

907-452-8181

HEALTH & WELLNESS

bbnc.net

907-278-3602

NATIVE ORGANIZATION

Alaska Native-owned, nonprofit healthcare organization serving nearly 65,000 Alaska Native and American Indian people living in Anchorage, Matanuska-Susitna Valley, and fifty-five rural villages. SCF is home to the award-winning Nuka System of Care.

Year Founded 1982 Year Founded in AK 1982

Employees (Worldwide) 2,500 Employees (AK) 2,500

Alaska Airlines and regional carrier Horizon Air provide passenger and cargo service to more than 120 destinations across the United States, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, and Mexico.

Year Founded 1932 Year Founded in AK 1932

Employees (Worldwide) 23,000 Employees (AK) 1,925

GCI delivers communication and technology services in the consumer and business markets. GCI has delivered services in Alaska for forty years to some of the most remote communities and in some of the most challenging conditions in North America.

Year Founded 1979 Year Founded in AK 1979

Employees (Worldwide) 1,900 Employees (AK) 1,900

Foundation Health Partners is a nonprofit, community-owned healthcare system based in Fairbanks that operates the Tanana Valley Clinic, Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, and a long-term care facility, the Denali Center.

Year Founded 2017 Year Founded in AK 2017

Employees (Worldwide) 1,853 Employees (AK) 1,837

Industrial services, government services, construction, seafood, and tourism.

Year Founded 1972 Year Founded in AK 1972

HILCORP ALASKA

Luke Saugier, Sr. VP

3800 Centerpoint Dr., Ste. 1400

Anchorage, AK 99503

GLOBAL CREDIT UNION

16

Geofferey Lundfelt, Pres./CEO

PO Box 196613

Anchorage, AK 99519

UNISEA

17

Tom Enlow, Pres./CEO

PO Box 920008

Dutch Harbor, AK 99692

CHUGACH ALASKA CORPORATION

Sheri Buretta, Board Chair

3800 Centerpoint Dr., Ste. 1200

Anchorage, AK 99503

hilcorp.com

907-777-8300

OIL & GAS

Hilcorp Energy, Houston, TX

GlobalCU.org

907-563-4567

FINANCIAL SERVICES

UniSea.com

907-581-7300

SEAFOOD

Nissui Corporation, Tokyo, Japan

chugach.com

907-563-8866

NATIVE ORGANIZATION

Oil and gas operator/producer.

Employees (Worldwide) 5,128 Employees (AK) 1,538 15

Year Founded 1989 Year Founded in AK 2012

Employees (Worldwide) 3,200 Employees (AK) 1,500

Global Federal Credit Union, previously Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, is one of the fifteen largest credit unions in the US. Global Credit Union serves 750,000+ members and communities by enriching members’ lives through world-class financial services.

Year Founded 1948 Year Founded in AK 1948

Employees (Worldwide) 2,245 Employees (AK) 1,157

UniSea’s largest Alaska operations are state-of-the-art processing facilities in Dutch Harbor. UniSea processes surimi and fillets from pollock and processes crab and cod.

Year Founded 1974 Year Founded in AK 1975

Employees (Worldwide) 1,300 Employees (AK) 1,150

The Chugach family of companies provides government services, facilities services, and energy services. Chugach also manages a diverse portfolio of investments and land/resource development opportunities.

Year Founded 1972 Year Founded in AK 1972

Employees (Worldwide) 4,500 Employees (AK) 1,000

You bring out the best in us.

Alaska’s most award-winning hospital.

Providence Alaska Medical Center has once again been recognized as the top health care provider in Alaska. U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in hospital rankings, has named Providence Alaska Medical Center as a High Performing hospital in seven categories including heart attack and stroke.

Thanks to the great work of all our caregivers, providers and community partners, enabling us to serve our community with award-winning care.

Learn more at Providence.org/PAMCawards

Providence Alaska Medical Center, a nationally recognized trauma center and Alaska’s only Magnet hospital, is part of Providence St. Joseph Health, a not-for-profit network of hospitals, care centers, health plans, physicians, clinics, home health services, affiliated services and educational facilities. For more information about PAMC, visit alaska.providence.org.

ALASKA REGIONAL HOSPITAL

Jennifer Opsut, CEO

alaskaregional.com

907-276-1131

HEALTH & WELLNESS

24-hour ER department, Family Birth Center, comprehensive stroke center certification, surgical robotics, cancer center, cath lab, diagnostic imaging, heart center, orthopedic and spine, rehab unit, and nurse residency program.

2801 DeBarr Rd.

HCA, Nashville, TN

Anchorage, AK 99508

LYNDEN

Jim Jansen, Chairman

6520 Kulis Dr. Anchorage, AK 99502

CONOCOPHILLIPS ALASKA

Erec Isaacson, Pres. AK

700 G St., PO Box 100360

Anchorage, AK 99501

ALASKA COMMERCIAL CO.

Kyle Hill, Pres.

3830 Old Intl. Airport Rd.

Anchorage, AK 99502

THREE BEARS ALASKA

David A. Weisz, Pres./CEO

500 S. Triple B St.

Wasilla, AK 99623

THE ALASKA CLUB

Robert Brewster, CEO

5201 E. Tudor Rd.

Anchorage, AK 99507

CALISTA CORPORATION

Andrew Guy, Pres./CEO

5015 Business Park Blvd., Ste. 3000

Anchorage, AK 99503

ALYESKA RESORT

Sacha Jurva, GM PO Box 249

Girdwood, AK 99587

FEDEX EXPRESS

Dale Shaw, Mng. Dir.

6050 Rockwell Ave.

Anchorage, AK 99502

lynden.com

907-245-1544

Year Founded 1963 Year Founded in AK 1963 Employees (Worldwide) 1,000 Employees (AK) 1,000 20

TRANSPORTATION

alaska.conocophillips.com

907-276-1215

OIL & GAS

ConocoPhillips Company, Houston, TX

alaskacommercial.com

907-273-4600

RETAIL/WHOLESALE TRADE

The North West Company, Winnipeg, MB

threebearsalaska.com

907-357-4311

RETAIL/WHOLESALE TRADE

thealaskaclub.com

907-337-9550

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Partnership Capital Growth, San Francisco, CA

calistacorp.com

907-275-2800

NATIVE ORGANIZATION

alyeskaresort.com

800-880-3880

TRAVEL & TOURISM

Pomeroy Lodging, Grande Prairie, AB

fedex.com

800-463-3339

TRANSPORTATION

FedEx Corp., Memphis, TN

The Lynden family of companies provides transportation and logistics solutions in Alaska, Canada, the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, and around the world. For more than a century, Lynden has been helping customers get the job done.

Year Founded 1906 Year Founded in AK 1954 Employees (Worldwide) 2,519 Employees (AK) 989

An independent exploration and production company. We are Alaska’s largest oil producer and have been a leader in oil exploration and development in the state for more than fifty years.

Year Founded 1952 Year Founded in AK 1952 Employees (Worldwide) 9,400 Employees (AK) 980

Rural Alaska’s largest retailer of food, apparel, and general merchandise with continuous service since 1867.

Year Founded 1867 Year Founded in AK 1867

Employees (Worldwide) 985 Employees (AK) 951

Retail grocery and convenience stores, general merchandise, sporting goods (hunting, fishing, and camping), pharmacy, package stores (beer, wine, and spirits), and fuel.

Year Founded 1980 Year Founded in AK 1980

Employees (Worldwide) 908 Employees (AK) 833

The Alaska Club has fourteen statewide locations offering group fitness classes, state-of-the-art equipment, personal training, swimming, youth activities, amenities, and more. Providing fitness options for everyone in a safe and clean environment.

Year Founded 1986 Year Founded in AK 1986

Employees (Worldwide) 813 Employees (AK) 813

Calista Corporation is the parent company of 30+ subsidiaries in the industries of defense contracting, construction, real estate, environmental services, natural resource development, marine transportation, oilfield services, and heavy equipment.

Year Founded 1972 Year Founded in AK 1972

Employees (Worldwide) 3,600 Employees (AK) 800

Alaska’s premier year-round destination. Featuring the state’s largest ski resort, Alaska’s only Nordic spa, premium guest rooms, exceptional dining experiences, and more. Alyeska is your basecamp for endless adventure and relaxation.

Year Founded 1994 Year Founded in AK 1994

Employees (Worldwide) 744 Employees (AK) 744

Air cargo and express-package services.

Year Founded 1973 Year Founded in AK 1988

Employees (Worldwide) 400,000 Employees (AK) 740

Always here f you ALASKA’S MEDEVAC COMPANY

LifeMed Alaska provides safe, full-scope air medical transport services throughout Alaska to critically ill or injured infants, children and adults utilizing jets, turbo-props and helicopters.

LifeMed Alaska Membership Program

Group Memberships

MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM$49 PER YEAR

FORYOURWHOLE HOUSEHOLD

The LifeMed Alaska Membership Program is available for $49 per year that covers all LifeMed Alaska transport fees not covered by the patients’ primary health insurance. There is no waiting period to enroll and the program is available to all Alaskan residents and visitors. Terms and conditions apply.

Medevac Dispatch: 1.800.478.5433

LifeMed Alaska also o ers group memberships. Visit www.lifemedalaska.com/groupmemberships to start your application. For questions, call 855.907.5433 or 907.249.8358 or email membership@lifemedalaska.com.

KINROSS ALASKA

Brenna Schaake, Community Relations Specialist PO Box 73726

Fairbanks, AK 99707

ALYESKA PIPELINE SERVICE COMPANY

Betsy Haines, Interim Pres. PO Box 196660, MS 542

Anchorage, AK 99519

ALASKA RAILROAD CORPORATION

Bill O’Leary, Pres./CEO PO Box 107500

Anchorage, AK 99510

MATSON

Vic Angoco, Sr. VP AK

1717 Tidewater Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501

kinross.com

907-490-6132

MINING

Kinross Gold Corp., Toronto, ON

alyeskapipeine.com

907-787-8700

OIL & GAS

Kinross Alaska comprises the Fort Knox mine and the Manh Choh project. We are a leader in responsible mining, employing approximately 700+ Alaskans. We take deep pride in being in Alaska since 1996, putting people and the environment first.

Year Founded 1996 Year Founded in AK 1996

Employees (Worldwide) 6,331 Employees (AK) 730

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company has operated the Trans Alaska Pipeline System since 1977 and delivered nearly 19 billion barrels of oil. Focused on safe operations, employees are committed to environmental protection and TAPS sustainability.

Year Founded 1970 Year Founded in AK 1970

Employees (Worldwide) 723 Employees (AK) 723

alaskarailroad.com

907-265-2300

TRANSPORTATION

Alaska Dept. of Commerce, Community & Economic Development, Juneau, AK

Matson.com

1-877-678-7447

TRANSPORTATION

Freight rail transportation, passenger rail transportation, and real estate land leasing and permitting. Year-round employees 590610; Seasonal (summer) employees 125-135; Total employees 700+.

Year Founded 1923 Year Founded in AK 1923 Employees (Worldwide) 720 Employees (AK) 720

Matson provides twice-weekly vessel service to Anchorage and Kodiak and weekly service to Dutch Harbor, linking domestic and international cargo with seamless rail and trucking connections to the Kenai Peninsula, Valdez, Fairbanks, and Prudhoe Bay.

Year Founded 1882 Year Founded in AK 1964 Employees (Worldwide) 4,259 Employees (AK) 716

BARTLETT REGIONAL HOSPITAL

David Keith, CEO

bartletthospital.org

907-796-8900

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Emergency services; diagnostic imaging; critical care; cardiac & pulmonary rehab; speech, infusion, respiratory, sleep, occupational, and physical therapy; behavioral health; obstetrics; lab; surgery; critical care; medical oncology; specialty clinics.

35

3260 Hospital Dr. Juneau, AK 99801

NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED (POGO MINE)

MIchael Eckert, GM PO Box 145

Delta Junction, AK 99737

FIRST NATIONAL BANK ALASKA

Betsy Lawer, Board Chair/CEO/Pres. PO Box 100720 Anchorage, AK 99510

BERING STRAITS NATIVE CORPORATION

Gail R. Schubert, Pres./CEO

3301 C St., Ste. 100

Anchorage, AK 99503

nsrltd.com

Year Founded 1886 Year Founded in AK 1886 Employees (Worldwide) 705 Employees (AK) 705 33

907-895-2841

MINING

Northern Star Resources Limited is a top 10 global gold producer with mines in Western Australia and North America. In 2018, the company acquired Pogo Mine, 30 miles northwest of Delta Junction.

Year Founded 2000 Year Founded in AK 2018 Employees (Worldwide) 6,011 Employees (AK) 625

FNBAlaska.com

907-777-4362

FINANCIAL SERVICES

beringstraits.com

907-563-3788

NATIVE ORGANIZATION

Alaska’s community bank since 1922, First National, with assets of $5.3 billion and twenty-eight locations in nineteen communities, helps Alaskans shape a brighter tomorrow with banking services to meet their needs across the state, the nation, and around the world.

Year Founded 1922 Year Founded in AK 1922 Employees (Worldwide) 620 Employees (AK) 620

Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) was formed as a result of ANCSA in 1972. It is owned by more than 8,100 Alaska Native shareholders and actively pursues responsible development of resources and other business opportunities.

Year Founded 1972 Year Founded in AK 1972 Employees (Worldwide) 2,010 Employees (AK) 614

RIDENT SEAFOODS

T

50

1973 2023

FROM FLEET TO FORK

50 YEARS OF WORKING TOGETHER

For the last 50 years, Trident’s success has been built by people we work with – the fishermen who fish for us, the employees who work with us, the customers and suppliers who partner with us, and the communities who collaborate with us to deliver nature’s finest protein to the world.

We’re in this for the long run. We’re in this together. We’re committed to ensuring a sustainable future for all.

@TridentSeafoods

TridentSeafoods.com

@TridentSeafoodsCorporation

DENALI UNIVERSAL SERVICES

Maria Bourne, Pres.

11500 Sukdu Way, Ste. 100

Anchorage, AK 99515

SOUTH PENINSULA HOSPITAL

Ryan Smith, CEO

4300 Bartlett St.

Homer, AK 99603

UKPEAĠVIK IÑUPIAT CORPORATION (UIC)

Dr. Pearl K. Brower, Pres./CEO PO Box 890

Utqiaġvik, AK 99723

THE ODOM CORPORATION

William Odom, Vice Chairman/Exec. VP

6300 Changepoint Dr. Anchorage, AK 99518

PEACEHEALTH KETCHIKAN MEDICAL CENTER

Dori Stevens, Chief Administrative Officer 3100 Tongass Ave.

Ketchikan, AK 99901

ODYSSEY LOGISTICS & TECHNOLOGY

Kevin Kelly, Pres. Freight Forwarding Div.

5025 Van Buren St. Anchorage, AK 99517

HOPE COMMUNITY RESOURCES

Michele Girault, Exec. Dir.

540 W. Intl. Airport Rd. Anchorage, AK 99518

ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS

Bill Bishop, Pres./CEO

600 Telephone Ave. Anchorage, AK 99503

CHUGACH ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION

Arthur Miller, CEO 5601 Electron Dr. Anchorage, AK 99518

denaliuniversal.com

907-522-1300

INDUSTRIAL SERVICES

Sodexo, Paris, France

sphosp.org

907-235-8101

HEALTH & WELLNESS

uicalaska.com

907-852-4460

NATIVE ORGANIZATION

odomcorp.com

907-272-8511

RETAIL/WHOLESALE TRADE

The Odom Corporation, Bellevue, WA

peacehealth.org/ketchikan

907-225-5171

HEALTH & WELLNESS

PeaceHealth, Vancouver, BC

odysseylogistics.com

907-248-5548

TRANSPORTATION

Odyssey Logistics & Technology, Danbury, CT

hopealaska.org

907-561-5335

HEALTH & WELLNESS

alaskacommunications.com

907-297-3000

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

ATN International, Beverly, MA

Operational support including catering, housekeeping, facility maintenance, and security.

Year Founded 1946 Year Founded in AK 1946

Employees (Worldwide) 700 Employees (AK) 595

18-bed medical/surgical inpatient hospital; ER, general/ orthopedic surgery; diagnostic lab & imaging services; rehabilitation; SART/SANE, home-health, primary care, OB/GYN, visiting specialists, infusion clinic, behavioral health, and longterm care.

Year Founded 1956 Year Founded in AK 1956

Employees (Worldwide) 540 Employees (AK) 540

Commercial civil and industrial construction, architecture, engineering, surveying, environmental, marine logistics, real estate, land, natural resources, IT, maintenance and manufacturing, tundra transportation, and Arctic science support.

Year Founded 1973 Year Founded in AK 1973

Employees (Worldwide) 3,611 Employees (AK) 527

Licensed wholesale alcoholic beverage distributor. Franchised soft drink distributor.

Year Founded 1934 Year Founded in AK 1934

Employees (Worldwide) 1,886 Employees (AK) 518

In 1923 the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace opened the Little Flower Hospital in Ketchikan. Today, it is a 25-bed critical access hospital, in partnership with the city, providing medical services to support the health and wellness of Southeast Alaska.

Year Founded 1890 Year Founded in AK 1923

Employees (Worldwide) 16,000 Employees (AK) 500

Ocean freight forwarding, freight consolidation of all kinds, LTL/ LCL, full loads and single shipments, temperature protected, dry vans, specialized equipment, heavy haul, project logistics, intrastate trucking, warehousing and distribution.

Year Founded 1984 Year Founded in AK 1988

Employees (Worldwide) 2,500 Employees (AK) 500

Providing services and supports to Alaskans who experience an intellectual, developmental, or other physical disability; a traumatic brain injury; or a mental health challenge.

Year Founded 1968 Year Founded in AK 1968

Employees (Worldwide) 500 Employees (AK) 500

Alaska’s leading provider of managed IT services, high-speed internet, data networking, and voice communications.

Year Founded 1999 Year Founded in AK 1999

Employees (Worldwide) 526 Employees (AK) 478

chugachelectric.com

907-563-7494

UTILITY

We provide safe, reliable, and affordable electricity through superior service and sustainable practices, powering the lives of our members.

Year Founded 1948 Year Founded in AK 1948

Employees (Worldwide) 460 Employees (AK) 460

Thao Le and Cory Detty can rent to those who need it most with help from United Way of Anchorage’s Landlord Housing Partnership. We provide support to the landlord-tenant relationship.

Because taking a chance on someone shouldn’t mean that you’re on your own.

To learn more, including how you can list your property and receive rental incentives, visit www.LiveUnitedANC.org/LHP or contact Karlo Mercene at kmercene@ak.org or scan the QR code.

Nathan Rose, GM AK 600 E. 57th Pl.

Anchorage, AK 99518

NORTHERN PACIFIC AIRWAYS D.B.A. RAVN ALASKA

Rob McKinney, CEO

4700 Old Intl. Airport Rd.

Anchorage, AK 99502

47 AHTNA, INC.

Michelle Anderson, Pres. PO Box 649

Glennallen, AK 99588

COEUR ALASKA KENSINGTON MINE

Steve Ball, GM

slb.com

907-273-1700

INDUSTRIAL SERVICES

Ravnalaska.com

800-866-8394

TRANSPORTATION

Float Alaska, Anchorage, AK

ahtna.com

907-822-3476

NATIVE ORGANIZATION

coeur.com

907-523-3300

MINING

SLB is the world’s leading provider of technology for reservoir characterization, drilling, production, and processing to the oil and gas industry.

Year Founded 1927 Year Founded in AK 1956

Employees (Worldwide) 99,000 Employees (AK) 450

Ravn Alaska offers scheduled passenger, cargo and mail service to twelve destinations throughout Alaska and growing. Our charter operations fly to any destination with acceptable landing conditions and facilities.

Year Founded 1948 Year Founded in AK 1948

Employees (Worldwide) 450 Employees (AK) 410

Construction, engineering, environmental, facilities management, surveying, security, military training, janitorial, healthcare & medical records management, government contracting, land management, resource development, oil & gas pipeline services.

Year Founded 1972 Year Founded in AK 1972

Employees (Worldwide) 1,216 Employees (AK) 401

Kensington Mine is an underground, hard rock gold mine located in the Berners Bay Mining District about 45 miles north-northwest of Juneau. The mine is owned and operated by Coeur Alaska, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Coeur Mining.

50

3031 Clinton Dr., Ste. 202

Coeur Mining, Chicago, IL

Juneau, AK 99801

CROWLEY

Rick Meidel, VP/GM

201 Arctic Slope Ave.

Anchorage, AK 99518

GRANT AVIATION

Robert Kelley, CEO

6420 Freyholtz Ln.

Anchorage, AK 99502

crowley.com/alaska

866-770-5587

Year Founded 1987 Year Founded in AK 1987 Employees (Worldwide) 400 Employees (AK) 400 49

TRANSPORTATION

Crowley, Jacksonville, FL

flygrant.com

888-359-4726

TRANSPORTATION

Crowley Fuels Alaska is a leader in the fuel industry—storing, selling, and distributing petroleum products to more than 160 communities across the state and backed by decades of proven capabilities with an intense focus on safety in all that we do.

Year Founded 1892 Year Founded in AK 1953

Employees (Worldwide) 6,300 Employees (AK) 380

An Alaska airline known for a strong track record of safety and commitment to customer service. Provides scheduled and charter passenger, mail, freight, and air ambulance services in the YK Delta, Bristol Bay, the Aleutian chain, St George, and Kenai.

Year Founded 1971 Year Founded in AK 1971

Employees (Worldwide) 367 Employees (AK) 366

51 CREDIT UNION 1

52

Mark Burgess, Pres./CEO

1941 Abbott Rd. Anchorage, AK 99507

EVERTS AIR CARGO

Robert Everts, Pres./CEO PO Box 61680

Fairbanks, AK 99706

WELLS FARGO

53

Greg Deal, AK Reg. Bank Dir.

301 W. Northern Lights Blvd.

Anchorage, AK 99503

cu1.org

907-339-9485

FINANCIAL SERVICES

EvertsAir.com

907-450-2300

TRANSPORTATION

wellsfargo.com/biz

907-313-7266

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Wells Fargo & Company, San Francisco, CA

As a full-service financial institution that serves nearly 100,000 Alaskans, Credit Union 1 is proud to foster thriving, happy communities by always putting people first. We achieve this goal by offering low-cost loans, innovative technology, and more.

Year Founded 1952 Year Founded in AK 1952

Employees (Worldwide) 409 Employees (AK) 360

With a diverse aircraft fleet, Everts Air Cargo provides scheduled air freight service to nineteen destinations within the state of Alaska and on-demand air charter services throughout North, Central, and South America, including the Caribbean.

Year Founded 1995 Year Founded in AK 1995

Employees (Worldwide) 366 Employees (AK) 346

Diversified financial services company providing businesses of all sizes with checking and savings products, retirement planning, merchant services, loans, and credit cards.

Year Founded 1852 Year Founded in AK 1916

Employees (Worldwide) 268,465 Employees (AK) 340

BANK

Northrim.com

907-562-0062

FINANCIAL SERVICES

mtasolutions.com

907-745-3211

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

AFOGNAK NATIVE CORPORATION

afognak.com

907-486-6014

NATIVE ORGANIZATION

sealaska.com

907-586-1512

NATIVE ORGANIZATION

Northrim Bank is an Alaska-based community bank with eighteen branches statewide. The bank differentiates itself with its detailed knowledge of Alaska’s economy and its “Customer First Service” philosophy.

Year Founded 1990 Year Founded in AK 1990

Employees (Worldwide) 369 Employees (AK) 339

As a key player in the economy of Southcentral Alaska, MTA provides residential and business technology solutions to empower member-owners and patrons to live a connected life. Today, MTA remains as one of the largest technology co-ops in the US.

Year Founded 1953 Year Founded in AK 1953

Employees (Worldwide) 335 Employees (AK) 331

Afognak Native Corporation, Alutiiq, Afognak Commercial Group, and their subsidiaries offer exceptional government and commercial services worldwide, including leasing, timber, retail, engineering, security, logistics, and facility support.

Year Founded 1977 Year Founded in AK 1977

Employees (Worldwide) 3,149 Employees (AK) 314

Environmental services. Seafood and sustainable foods. Ocean and marine science.

Year Founded 1972 Year Founded in AK 1972

Employees (Worldwide) 2,000 Employees (AK) 300

Joseph Schierhorn, Chairman/CEO PO Box 241489 Anchorage, AK 99524

MTA Michael Burke, CEO 1740 S. Chugach St. Palmer, AK 99645

Greg Hambright, Pres./CEO

300 Alimaq Dr. Kodiak, AK 99615

57 SEALASKA Anthony Mallott, Pres./CEO One Sealaska Plaza, Ste. 400 Juneau, AK 99801

58

HUNA TOTEM CORPORATION

Russell Dick, Pres./CEO

9301 Glacier Hwy., Ste. 200 Juneau, AK 99801

59

hunatotem.com

907-789-8500

NATIVE ORGANIZATION

CARLILE TRANSPORTATION

Terry Howard, Pres.

1800 E. First Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501

60

THE HOTEL CAPTAIN COOK

Joe Towslee, Pres./CEO

939 W. Fifth Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501

ACE HARDWARE

61

John Venhuizen, Pres./CEO

240 Muldoon Rd. Anchorage, AK 99504

carlile.biz

907-276-7797

TRANSPORTATION

Saltchuk Resources, Inc., Seattle, WA

captaincook.com

907-276-6000

TRAVEL & TOURISM

Hickel Investment Company, Anchorage, AK

acehardware.com

907-333-6648

RETAIL/WHOLESALE TRADE

Owned by 1,550+ Alaska Native shareholders from Hoonah and Glacier Bay, Huna Totem has investments in tourism, government contracting, natural resource management, and an investment portfolio providing economic and cultural benefits for our people.

Year Founded 1973 Year Founded in AK 1973

Employees (Worldwide) 399 Employees (AK) 300

Transportation and logistics company offering multi-modal trucking and logistics services across Alaska and North America.

Year Founded 1980 Year Founded in AK 1980

Employees (Worldwide) 360 Employees (AK) 300

The Hotel Captain Cook is a 544-room luxury hotel with four unique restaurants and an athletic club. Centrally located in downtown Anchorage.

Year Founded 1964 Year Founded in AK 1965

Employees (Worldwide) 300 Employees (AK) 300

Paint, sundries, custom paint matching and mixing, power tools, hand tools, electrical, plumbing, heating, hardware, fasteners, lawn & garden, outdoor living, BBQ, housewares, key cutting, special orders, online orders, business-to-business services.

Year Founded 1924 Year Founded in AK 1969

Employees (Worldwide) 64,100 Employees (AK) 287

62

GOLDEN VALLEY ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION

John Burns, Pres./CEO

PO Box 71249

Fairbanks, AK 99707

NORTHERN AIR CARGO

63

Gideon Garcia, VP/GM

3900 Old Intl. Airport Rd.

Anchorage, AK 99502

GUARDIAN FLIGHT

64

Randy Lyman, Pres. Ops Northwest Region

3474 Old Intl. Airport Rd.

Anchorage, AK 99502

ENSTAR NATURAL GAS

John Sims, Pres.

PO Box 190288

Anchorage, AK 99519

NORTH STAR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

Patrick Wilder, CEO 2530 Debarr Rd.

gvea.com

907-452-1151

UTILITY

GVEA provides service to more than 45,149 meters in Fairbanks, Delta Junction, Nenana, Healy, and Cantwell. 3,292 miles of power lines; 35 substations, including mobile; 8 generating facilities; 381 megawatts of capacity; 5,973-square-mile service.

Year Founded 1946 Year Founded in AK 1946

Employees (Worldwide) 280 Employees (AK) 280

nac.aero

907-243-3331

TRANSPORTATION

Saltchuk Aviation, Seattle, WA

alaska.guardianflight.com

801-619-4900

TRANSPORTATION

Global Medical Response Solutions, Lewisville, TX

enstarnaturalgas.com

907-277-5551

UTILITY

TriSummit Utilities, Inc., Calgary, AB

northstarbehavioral.com

907-258-7575

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Universal Health Services Inc., King of Prussia, PA

Northern Air Cargo, Alaska’s largest all-cargo airline since 1956, offers multiple service options that help Alaskans find solutions to all of their shipping needs. The people of Alaska have established NAC as their preferred precious cargo carrier.

Year Founded 1956 Year Founded in AK 1956

Employees (Worldwide) 423 Employees (AK) 276

Guardian Flight is part of Global Medical Response, America’s largest medical transportation group. Guardian is Alaska’s largest air medical provider and has membership through AirMedCare Network, a national alliance of air ambulance providers.

Year Founded 1997 Year Founded in AK 2000

Employees (Worldwide) 3,500 Employees (AK) 270

ENSTAR is a regulated public utility that delivers natural gas to 150,000 customers across Southcentral Alaska. For sixty years, ENSTAR has heated homes and businesses with clean-burning and efficient natural gas.

Year Founded 1961 Year Founded in AK 1961

Employees (Worldwide) 265 Employees (AK) 265

North Star Behavioral offers pediatric acute psychiatric care and residential treatment. At the Chris Kyle Patriots Hospital we offer psychiatric care to first responders, active duty military personnel, and veterans as well as civilians seeking detox/rehab treatment.

Year Founded 1984 Year Founded in AK 1984

Anchorage, AK 99508

CRUZ CONSTRUCTION

Dave Cruz, Pres. 7000 E. Palmer Wasilla Hwy. Palmer, AK 99645

TDX (TANADGUSIX) CORPORATION

Christopher Mandregan Jr., CEO 3601 C St., Ste. 1000

Anchorage, AK 99503

NORTHERN ENERGY SERVICES

John Ellsworth Jr., Pres.

PO Box 224889

Anchorage, AK 99522

DAVIS CONSTRUCTORS & ENGINEERS | MASS X

Luke Blomfield, Pres./CEO

6591 A St., Ste. 300

Anchorage, AK 99518

cruzconstruct.com

Employees (Worldwide) 263 Employees (AK) 262 67

907-746-3144

CONSTRUCTION

tdxcorp.com

907-278-2312

NATIVE ORGANIZATION

nes-ak.com

907-245-6190

INDUSTRIAL SERVICES

davisconstructors.com

907-562-2336

CONSTRUCTION

Experts in resource development and heavy civil construction.

Year Founded 1981 Year Founded in AK 1981

Employees (Worldwide) 243 Employees (AK) 243

Industry leader in diverse energy and alternative power solutions, electric utilities, power plant construction and operations. Government and construction services worldwide remote power O&M and switch gear development, environmental services.

Year Founded 1973 Year Founded in AK 1973

Employees (Worldwide) 600 Employees (AK) 240

Rig moving, rig support, oil field trucking, fabrication and welding, O&M support, ice road and civil construction services, piling installation, overland transport, crane and rigging services, pipeline repair and maintenance.

Year Founded 2010 Year Founded in AK 2010

Employees (Worldwide) 340 Employees (AK) 240

In Davis Constructors’ forty-plus year history, we have completed almost 700 projects totaling nearly $2.8 billion throughout Alaska. Mass Excavation is a seasoned civil contractor established in 2004 and has completed more than 300 diverse projects.

Year Founded 1976 Year Founded in AK 1976

Employees (Worldwide) 236 Employees (AK) 236

Partners to the Alaska Native Community

DWT has been part of the Alaska community for more than forty years. Our lawyers use their depth and breadth of experience to serve and partner with our clients, including many Alaska Native entities, as they develop, grow, and strengthen their non-profit and for-profit enterprises.

BUSINESS & CORPORATE

ENERGY

ENVIRONMENTAL

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

HEALTHCARE & TRIBAL HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS

LABOR & EMPLOYMENT

LITIGATION

NON-PROFITS & FOUNDATIONS

PRIVACY & SECURITY

REAL PROPERTY

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

71

ESS SUPPORT SERVICES WORLDWIDE

Marq Couey, VP North America

201 Post Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501

N C MACHINERY CO.

72

6450 Arctic Blvd.

Anchorage, AK 99518

HILTON ANCHORAGE

73

Steve Rader, GM

500 W. Third Ave.

Anchorage, AK 99501

REI CO-OP

74

Eric Artz, CEO

500 E. Northern Lights Blvd. Anchorage, AK 99503

essalaska.com

907-865-9818

INDUSTRIAL SERVICES

Compass Group PLC (North America), Charlotte, NC

ncmachinery.com

907-786-7500

INDUSTRIAL SERVICES

Harnish Group Inc., Tukwila, WA

hiltonanchorage.com

907-272-7411

TRAVEL & TOURISM

Columbia-Sussex, Crestview Hills, KY

rei.com/stores/anchorage

907-272-4565

RETAIL/WHOLESALE TRADE

Restaurants, lounges, espresso. Catering services: remote sites, short-or long-term, including offshore platforms, camp janitorial, and other employee staffing and leasing, in-flight services, governmental agency support services.

Year Founded 1986 Year Founded in AK 1986

Employees (Worldwide) 513,707 Employees (AK) 233

Caterpillar dealer. Equipment sales, parts, service, and rental. Cat engines for marine, power generation, truck, petroleum, and industrial applications. Sales and rental of Cat & other preferred brands of rental equipment and construction supplies.

Year Founded 1926 Year Founded in AK 1926

Employees (Worldwide) 1,100 Employees (AK) 230

Historic downtown hotel with more than 23,000 square feet of flexible function space. 24-hour fitness center, indoor pool, business center. Centrally located in Downtown Anchorage.

Year Founded 1927 Year Founded in AK 1927

Employees (Worldwide) 142,000 Employees (AK) 225

National specialty outdoor retailer and the nation’s largest consumer co-op. Alaska stores in Anchorage and Fairbanks.

Year Founded 1938 Year Founded in AK 1979

Employees (Worldwide) 16,779 Employees (AK) 225

ANCHORAGE KENAI MAT SU FAIRBANKS DEADHORSE

75

HECLA GREENS CREEK MINING CO.

Brian Erickson, VP/GM

PO Box 32199

Juneau, AK 99803

SUBWAY OF ALASKA

76

Steve Adams, Pres./Co-Founder

1118 E. 70th Ave., Ste. 200 Anchorage, AK 99518

77

MATANUSKA ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION

Tony Izzo, CEO

163 E. Industrial Way Palmer, AK 99645

78

hecla.com

907-789-8100

MINING

Hecla Mining Company, Coeur d’Alene, ID

subwayak.com

907-563-4228

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Subway World Headquarters, Milford, CT

mea.coop

907-761-9300

UTILITY

UDELHOVEN OILFIELD SYSTEM SERVICES

James Udelhoven, CEO

184 E. 53rd Ave. Anchorage, AK 99518

udelhoven.com

907-344-1577

INDUSTRIAL SERVICES

Hecla’s 100%-owned and operated Greens Creek mine in southeast Alaska is one of the largest and lowest-cost primary silver mines in the world.

Year Founded 1989 Year Founded in AK 1989

Employees (Worldwide) 281 Employees (AK) 219

We cater to every craving! Subs, signature wraps, and salads prepared in front of you. Order at subway.com, on the Subway app, or at any Anchorage, Eagle River, or Girdwood Subway restaurant. Third-party delivery and curbside service also available.

Year Founded 1988 Year Founded in AK 1988

Employees (Worldwide) 216 Employees (AK) 216

A member-owned electric cooperative serving more than 55,000 members across 4,600 miles of power lines in the Mat-Su and Eagle River areas. MEA’s mission is to provide safe reliable energy at reasonable rates with exceptional member service.

Year Founded 1941 Year Founded in AK 1941

Employees (Worldwide) 215 Employees (AK) 215

Commercial and industrial construction, oil & gas operations and maintenance, procurement, fabrication, FCO, commissioning, automation systems, mechanical and electrical inspections.

Year Founded 1970 Year Founded in AK 1970

Employees (Worldwide) 263 Employees (AK) 197

GREAT NORTHWEST, INC.

79

John Minder, CEO/Pres. PO Box 74646

grtnw.com

907-452-5617 CONSTRUCTION

Heavy highway civil construction, utilities, paving, landscaping.

Year Founded 1976 Year Founded in AK 1976

Fairbanks, AK 99707

GOLDBELT, INCORPORATED

McHugh Pierre, Pres./CEO

3025 Clinton Dr.

Juneau, AK 99801

SANTOS

81

Bruce Dingeman, EVP/Pres. AK PO Box 240927

Anchorage, AK 99524

82

Goldbelt.com

907-790-4990

Employees (Worldwide) 191 Employees (AK) 191 80

NATIVE ORGANIZATION

santos.com

907-375-4600

OIL & GAS

NUVISION CREDIT UNION ALASKA

Roger Ballard, CEO

440 E. 36th Ave.

Anchorage, AK 99503

CAPE FOX CORPORATION

83

Chris Luchtefeld, CEO PO Box 8558

Ketchikan, AK 99901

nuvisionfederal.com

907-257-7200

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Nuvision Credit Union, Huntington Beach, CA

capefoxcorp.com

907-225-5163

NATIVE ORGANIZATION

Tourism, hospitality, transportation, security services, 8(a) government contracting.

Year Founded 1974 Year Founded in AK 1974

Employees (Worldwide) 3,045 Employees (AK) 186

Among the top two oil and gas leaseholders on Alaska’s North Slope and operator of the Pikka Unit located east of the Colville River and seven miles northeast of Nuiqsut. Santos expects first production from Pikka in 2026.

Year Founded 1954 Year Founded in AK 2018

Employees (Worldwide) 3,500 Employees (AK) 185

Complete financial services for our members throughout Alaska and the world. Nuvision has more than twenty branches in five Western states as well as 5,000 shared branches and 30,000 shared ATMs to serve members.

Year Founded 1935 Year Founded in AK 1948

Employees (Worldwide) 525 Employees (AK) 183

It is the mission of Cape Fox Corporation to grow and maintain a strong financial foundation by profitably managing financial and land resources to provide immediate and long-term economic, education, and cultural benefits for shareholders.

Year Founded 1973 Year Founded in AK 1973

RYAN AIR

Lee Ryan, Pres. 6400 Carl Brady Dr. Anchorage, AK 99502

ryanalaska.com

907-562-2227

Employees (Worldwide) 962 Employees (AK) 181 84

TRANSPORTATION

From Platinum to Kobuk, from Gambell to Mt. Village, we know the challenges of transportation in Alaska. Ryan Air operates twenty aircraft out of seven hubs across Alaska to serve more than seventy villages.

Year Founded 1953 Year Founded in AK 1953

H C CONTRACTORS

Bill Hoople, CEO/Mgr. PO Box 80688 Fairbanks, AK 99708

SOURDOUGH EXPRESS

Josh Norum, Pres. 600 Driveways St. Fairbanks, AK 99701

hccontractors.net

Employees (Worldwide) 170 Employees (AK) 170 85

907-488-5983

CONSTRUCTION

Sourdoughexpress.com

907-452-1181

TRANSPORTATION

HC Contractors is a local heavy civil contractor specializing in road, airport, airfield, and building site construction and reconstruction, including paving, bridges, utilities, and concrete construction.

Year Founded 1993 Year Founded in AK 1993

Employees (Worldwide) 169 Employees (AK) 169

Freight transportation services, logistics, moving, and storage services. Steel Conex container sales/lease.

Year Founded 1898 Year Founded in AK 1902

COLVILLE

Dave Pfeifer, Pres./CEO Pouch 340012

Prudhoe Bay, AK 99734

colvilleinc.com

Employees (Worldwide) 165 Employees (AK) 165 87

907-659-3198

INDUSTRIAL SERVICES

Colville’s family of companies provides essential supplies and services across the entire state from the North Slope to the Kenai Peninsula. Our services include fuel, aviation, solid waste, transport, industrial supply, camp/hotel, and office space.

Year Founded 1981 Year Founded in AK 1981

Employees (Worldwide) 165 Employees (AK) 165

usibelli.com

907-452-2625 MINING

Alaska’s only operational coal mine and its affiliate companies.

Year Founded 1943 Year Founded in AK 1943 Employees (Worldwide) 190 Employees (AK) 160

jagalaska.com

907-224-3198

91

beaconohss.com

907-222-7612

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Johnson, CEO

701 E. Tudor Rd., Ste. 110

Anchorage, AK 99503

MATANUSKA VALLEY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Ed Gravley, CEO

1020 S. Bailey St. Palmer, AK 99645

mvfcu.coop

907-745-4891

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Ship repair serving private, commercial, and government entities. Full in-house blast & coating, marine electrical, mechanical, machine shop, piping, structural, and joiner departments. 5,000T synchro-lift, (5) berths on rail system. 100T Grove Crane.

Year Founded 2018 Year Founded in AK 2018 Employees (Worldwide) 145 Employees (AK) 145

Beacon provides turnkey health and safety solutions for our clients’ workforces, including remote medical, occupational medicine, safety staffing, COVID mitigation/care, and training solutions.

Year Founded 1999 Year Founded in AK 1999

Employees (Worldwide) 188 Employees (AK) 142

Building better financial futures for people who live, learn, work, or worship in the state of Alaska and the Waipahu, Hawaii, Neighborhood Board #22. MVFCU offers a full range of financial services to all eligible members.

Year Founded 1948 Year Founded in AK 1948

Employees (Worldwide) 150 Employees (AK) 140

92

ALCAN ELECTRICAL & ENGINEERING

Chrys Fleming, Pres.

6670 Arctic Spur Rd.

Anchorage, AK 99518

93

alcanelectric.com

907-563-3787

ARCHITECTURE & ENGINEERING

ARCTIC SLOPE TELEPHONE ASSOCIATION COOPERATIVE

Jens Laipenieks, CEO/GM

4300 B St., Ste. 501

Anchorage, AK 99503

LIFEMED ALASKA

94

Grace Greene, CEO PO Box 190026

Anchorage, AK 99519

95

astac.net

907-563-3989

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

North Slope Telecom, Inc., Anchorage, AK

lifemedalaska.com

907-563-6633

HEALTH & WELLNESS

ALASKA VILLAGE ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE

Bill Stamm, Pres./CEO

4831 Eagle St.

Anchorage, AK 99503

CONAM CONSTRUCTION

Mike Colombie, Pres.

301 W. Northern Lights Blvd., Ste. 300 Anchorage, AK 99503

avec.org

907-561-1818

UTILITY

Electrical and telecommunications, security, CCTV, integration, oil production modules, hazardous electrical installation, and 508A control panel fabrication.

Year Founded 1971 Year Founded in AK 1971

Employees (Worldwide) 140 Employees (AK) 140

ASTAC provides fiber broadband ethernet and internet, LTE wireless, local telephone and long-distance services across the North Slope. ASTAC also offers a Nomadic WAN and internet service using the North Slope’s only private LTE network covering oil fields.

Year Founded 1981 Year Founded in AK 1981

Employees (Worldwide) 144 Employees (AK) 139

Your Alaskan-owned medevac company. Statewide air ambulance services with bases in Anchorage, Bethel, Dutch Harbor, Fairbanks, Juneau, Kodiak, Palmer, and Soldotna, and Anchoragebased ALS ground ambulance services. CAMTS Accredited.

Year Founded 2008 Year Founded in AK 2008

Employees (Worldwide) 135 Employees (AK) 135

Provides electric power to fifty-eight communities in rural Alaska.

Year Founded 1967 Year Founded in AK 1967

Employees (Worldwide) 133 Employees (AK) 133

conamco.com

907-278-6600

CONSTRUCTION

Quanta Services, Houston, TX

hdrinc.com

General contractor specializing in design and construction of oil and gas facilities and pipelines, mining facilities, water and sewer facilities, and other remote infrastructure projects.

Year Founded 1984 Year Founded in AK 1984

Employees (Worldwide) 150 Employees (AK) 125

582 E.

Ave., Ste. 500 Anchorage, AK 99503

907-644-2000 ARCHITECTURE & ENGINEERING

Comprehensive infrastructure development services firm, serving transportation, water/wastewater, waste, power, mining, and oil and gas clients. We provide engineering, environmental, construction management, planning, permitting, and communications.

Year Founded 1917 Year Founded in AK 1979

Ron Unger, Chairman/CEO 194 Alimaq Dr. Kodiak, AK 99615

koniag.com

907-486-2530

Employees (Worldwide) 12,000 Employees (AK) 124 98 KONIAG

NATIVE ORGANIZATION

Alaska Native corporation representing the Kodiak region. Koniag’s operations include four sectors with multiple business lines, including government services, IT, energy and water, and in-region investments as well as a growing real estate portfolio.

Year Founded 1972 Year Founded in AK 1972

BAKER HUGHES

Ross Dean, Ops Mgr. Drilling Svcs. 795 E. 94th Ave.

Anchorage, AK 99515

bakerhughes.com

405-474-9699

Employees (Worldwide) 3,000 Employees (AK) 121 99

INDUSTRIAL SERVICES

Baker Hughes covers every segment of the oil and gas industry as a full-stream company, including upstream, midstream, and downstream solutions. Delivering integrated oilfield products, services, and digital solutions to the oil and gas industry.

Year Founded 1969 Year Founded in AK 1980

Stewart Osgood, Pres./CEO

5015 Business Park Blvd., Ste. 4000 Anchorage, AK 99503

dowl.com

907-562-2000

Employees (Worldwide) 60,000 Employees (AK) 120 100 DOWL

ARCHITECTURE & ENGINEERING

DOWL is a multi-disciplined consulting firm that has been providing civil engineering and related services in Alaska since 1962. Some of our additional in-house services include environmental, land survey, and land use planning.

Year Founded 1962 Year Founded in AK 1962

Employees (Worldwide) 550 Employees (AK) 120

Government, Inc.

Ranking Alaska’s public sector employers

By Scott Rhode

Maj. Joseph Simms | DVIDS

Government is not a business, but it is an employer. In Alaska, government is the largest employer. Monthly employment estimates kept by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 78,600 government workers at the end of 2022. By combining all local, state, and federal employees— even without education workers and uniformed military—the government industry sector dwarfs all others, more than healthcare and retail combined.

Of the 309,600 total jobs in Alaska in December 2022, government supplied more than one quarter of them. The 25.5 percent share is the highest of any state, just ahead of Wyoming, New Mexico, West Virginia, and Hawaii. Pennsylvania and Nevada get away with half as many government employees per capita.

Like the Yellow Pages, the Corporate 100 list excludes government agencies. Businesses and governments are fundamentally different: governments are stuck in a defined territory, and their “shareholders” comprise whoever happens to live there.

Governments and businesses are alike, however, in pursuing economic growth. Cities and states seek trade opportunities and try to attract residents and companies to expand the tax base. “They market based on their location, to some extent,” says Nils Andreassen, executive director of the Alaska Municipal League. “They each have different tools to attract business, but they’re in the attraction development mode.”

Public sector workers also do many of the same jobs as in the private sector, from doctors, lawyers, accountants, and administrators to heavy equipment operators, customer service representatives, and even grocery clerks. So how do the employers in Alaska’s largest industry sector stack up against the private employers in the Corporate 100?

Compiling the Data

The monthly employment estimate divides the government sector into 41,800 local workers, 21,900 state, and 14,900 federal. A big asterisk notes the exclusion of uniformed military; the

Alaskan Command website puts that figure at more than 22,000 across all branches. Right away, the answer to the top employer in Alaska is—to perhaps nobody’s surprise—the United States of America with 36,900. The State of Alaska clearly ranks second, with a larger payroll than the top five in the Corporate 100 combined.

For more exciting answers, consider the Corporate 100 rule that allows subsidiaries to be listed, provided their parent companies don’t double count them. Separating the federal and state

governments into departments puts them on a more even footing with private sector employers.

How far down do subsidiaries go?

For instance, the University of Alaska has three separately accredited institutions, and they each have multiple college campuses. “The chancellor of each university is the CEO of that university,” says UAA Chancellor Sean Parnell. His organization chart points upward, though. “Our supervisor is the president of the UA System [Pat Pitney], and she answers

GOVERNMENT TOP 39

Government entities don’t qualify for the Corporate 100, but if they did they would cause an upheaval in the ranks. If the Corporate 100 folded government entities and private entities together, 39 companies would drop off the list, replaced by these federal, state, and local agencies.

(as do we) to the Board of Regents…

A company typically has a board of directors, and they have a president or executive director who is directly responsible to them.” When Parnell was governor, the chief executive of the entire State of Alaska, he issued paychecks to university employees even though he exercised minimal authority over them.

In similar fashion, local school boards direct their districts, somewhat independently from the municipalities that fund them. Meanwhile, cities and villages within organized boroughs are entirely distinct, even though Andreassen notes that some boroughs provide direct services for political subdivisions, like collecting taxes.

Cities can be home rule, first class, second class, or unincorporated, each with different degrees of responsibility. “I’ve heard people trying to compare a Seward mayor to an Anchorage mayor, and that’s just not the same,” Andreassen says. “You’ve got anything from a volunteer position; you’ve got one that is selected by your city council and isn’t elected, and others who are managers running the entire municipality. You’ve got anywhere from half-time staff to hundreds.”

Andreassen adds that local governments may or may not count city-owned enterprises, like utilities or ports, in their total employment figures. Figures are also hard to come by for federal courts, tribal courts, and the Alaska legislative branch, but they likely wouldn’t measure up to the Corporate 100 threshold.

Other gray areas include the Army National Guard and US Coast Guard, which are uniformed military but under state and federal departments. Also, most recent figures keep the US Space Force as part of the US Air Force. Civilian staffers of military branches are counted by the US Office of Personnel Management’s FedScope workforce database, but functions that have been outsourced to third-party contractors are not included.

Despite FedScope’s granularity (it counts nineteen US Marines and fortynine US Navy personnel in Alaska, for example), the tally for the US Department of Justice is blank. Somebody works in the big FBI building in Downtown

Anchorage and for the US Attorney’s Office, but those numbers are not available.

Size Matters

With those guidelines and caveats in mind, the results get a little more interesting. The US Army and Air Force separately top the rankings (combining all personnel, uniformed and non). With approximately 8,000 employees, the UA System is the fourth largest organization in Alaska, a bit bigger than perennial Corporate 100 topper Providence Health & Services.

In third place, the Anchorage School District employs almost half of all public school workers statewide. As is the case for most school districts, support staff outnumber classroom teachers by about two to one. In all cases, schools employ more people than their cities or boroughs.

Fourteen school districts have payrolls comparable to Corporate 100 businesses. Of the 143 incorporated cities and 19 boroughs in Alaska, twelve would make the cut for Corporate 100.

Although the Municipality of Anchorage is naturally the largest,

size does not perfectly scale with population. Figures supplied by the Alaska Municipal League show the top local governments range from 2.8 workers per thousand residents in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough to as many as 41 per thousand in Unalaska, a first-class city outside of an organized borough.

Encompassing more land area and population, boroughs tend to have more workers than cities within them, but not always. The City of Ketchikan employs almost three times more people than the Ketchikan Gateway

“Even when [government and private] positions are the same—and I’m thinking like a controller or finance officer—they’re using different accounting standards… For as much as there’s crossover, there’s also a distinction within a position and how they perform them.”

Nils Andreassen, Executive Director, Alaska Municipal League

Borough; the only community in the borough but not in the city is Saxman.

FedScope shows the largest nonmilitary federal agency in Alaska is the US Department of the Interior, which makes sense for the largest landlord in the state, managing 200 million acres.

The State of Alaska 2022 Workforce Profile shows the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, which includes the Alaska Marine Highway fleet, is the largest cabinetlevel agency. The Department of Health and Social Services, only slightly smaller, will drop several slots in the next profile after dividing into two new agencies last year.

A Different Beast

The FedScope database sorts government workers by salary. It shows the highest paid federal workers in Alaska are at the US Veterans Health Administration. Eighteen are in the $240,000-$259,999 pay bracket in that agency and no other in Alaska— which makes sense, given that medical doctors generally draw the highest salaries. Likewise, the highest

paid State of Alaska employee is also an MD, a forensic psychiatrist in the Department of Corrections, according to public records requested by the Alaska Beacon.

Some types of government workers have no private sector counterparts, such as wastewater treatment technicians or harbormasters. Air traffic controllers have exactly one agency they can work for, and until Alaska gets a private prison, the state has a monopoly on corrections officers.

Federal employees in Alaska with the lowest pay, at just over $30,000 per year, work for the Defense Commissary Agency, which operates supermarkets on military posts. Yes, the Pentagon runs a supermarket; together with its hospital, logistics, telecommunications, engineering, land management, and education functions (to say nothing of fighting wars), the Department of Defense alone parallels most of the Corporate 100.

Parallels but does not exactly duplicate. “Even when the positions are the same—and I’m thinking like a controller or finance officer—they’re

Fourteen school districts have payrolls comparable to Corporate 100 businesses. Of the 143 incorporated cities and 19 boroughs in Alaska, twelve would make the cut for Corporate 100.

Through its annual Arctic Care training exercise, the US Army shares medical resources in places where private sector services are scarce, such as the village of Tetlin.

Sgt. Craig Anderson | DVIDS

| UAA

using different accounting standards,” Andreassen explains. “For as much as there’s crossover, there’s also a distinction within a position and how they perform them.”

He notes that the public sector differs from businesses when it comes to public responsibilities. For example, governments must comply with the Open Meetings Act, which requires the governing bodies of public entities to hold meetings open to the public and

to provide reasonable notice to the public of those meetings. And they deal with public employee unions, which are not only the most organized sector of the labor force, but members have votes on both sides of the table, as workers and citizens.

Government entities are differentiated from their private counterparts in their responsibilities, goals, and operating procedures. But the bottom line is that a government

job is a job; governing entities provide salaries that are critical to Alaska’s overall economic health, particularly in small communities where opportunities for a steady paycheck may be scarce. While they may not technically qualify for the Corporate 100, public agencies and organizations touch nearly every economic activity and directly employ more Alaskans than anyone else—in spirit, they’re right at the top.

Of the 309,600 total jobs in Alaska in December 2022, government supplied more than one quarter of them. The 25.5 percent share is the highest of any state, just ahead of Wyoming, New Mexico, West Virginia, and Hawaii.

Early Childhood Education Professor Hilary Seitz teaches at UAA, part of the state's third-biggest employer, and many of her students may end up working for the fourth biggest, the Anchorage School District.

James Evans

Strategic Partnership & Series A-3 Financing

Partnership with Trilon Group

Joint Venture & Acquisition of Three Senior Housing Facilities in Utah & Idaho

Acquisition of Auburn Volkswagen

Acquisition of Missoula Kia

Refinance of CEDCO Credit Facility

Acquisition of United Oil

Sale to LS Networks

Series B-1 Preferred Stock Offering

Sale of Additional Series B Preferred Stock

Acquisition of Holocene Drilling, Inc.

Sale to Wolfe, LLC

Series A Preferred Stock Offering Extension

Acquisition of Multiple Senior Housing Facilities in Several States

Sale of Assets to Dinsmore Auto

Acquisition of Early Education Centers Across the U.S.

Acquisition of Crème de la Crème Child Care Centers (47 locations in 14 states)

Refinance of Base Holdings & Westbury Apartments

Financing of AM Owner Group Inc.’s Acquisition of Allen Marine, Inc. & Affiliates

Sale to GiftCraft USA, Inc.

Private Equity Financing

Series Seed Investment Acquisition of Comparably, Inc.

Sale of Assisted Living Facility in Washington

Refinancing Transaction

CARE

Sale of Assisted Living Facility in California

Sale of Independent Living Facility in Texas

Sale to Johnson Controls

LYNDEN CHAMBERS USA LEADING FIRM 2022

Acquisition of Dogpatch Advisors, LLC

International Hiring

How non-immigrant visas fill Alaska’s staffing needs

By Nancy Erickson

People from all over the world come to Denali National Park and Preserve to glimpse North America’s tallest mountain and its wild setting. Not only are international travelers among the half-million or so visitors in a typical year, but the hospitality workers serving them at the park’s hotels and restaurants are often from other countries, too.

Foreign nationals working at Denali National Park and Preserve for the summer tourist season are likely in the United States with a J-1 exchange visitor visa. That program is just one of the authorization categories that international workers can use to legally hold jobs, and the visa programs are also tools for employers to fill their labor needs.

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD) forecasts total job growth of 5,300 jobs this year as the state slowly continues to recoup pandemic losses. However, worker shortages and the rising cost of labor require creative staffing solutions. Many industries are looking for qualified employees, and sometimes there aren’t enough workers to fill open positions. International workers are often eager to take these positions—if they can obtain the appropriate documents and permission to do so.

Visa processing slowed down during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Italia Carson, an immigration attorney with Polaris Law Group in North Pole. “Overall, the COVID-19 travel restrictions prevented foreign nationals from traveling to the United States,”

says Carson. “Moreover, COVID-19 shut down most embassies and consulates… which drastically slowed down the movement of foreign national workers to the United States.”

The waning pandemic is ramping up visa processing just as industries that hire non-immigrant workers are bouncing back to normal staffing levels.

Legal Avenues

Not every foreign national working in the United States is an immigrant, legally speaking. Immigrants include lawful permanent residents with green cards, who might be immediate family members of a US citizen. About 14 million green card holders are eligible to work in the United States, and most of them are on a path to citizenship.

Alaska gained 823 new lawful permanent residents in 2020, the most recent complete data from the US Department of Homeland Security yearbook; the pandemic depressed that level from 1,374 in 2019. As many as 1,799 immigrants obtained permanent resident status in Alaska in 2011. Immigrants are naturalized at a somewhat slower pace: 1,115 became citizens in Alaska in 2011, down to 624 in 2020.

While immigration based upon being an “immediate relative” of a US citizen is unlimited, federal law caps annual numbers of green cards issued to other family members in preference categories and foreign nationals who come to the United States for employment-based reasons. Visas for employment are limited

annually to 140,000, which can be higher in any fiscal year. This limit includes an immigrant’s spouse and minor unmarried children. Visas such as EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 for collegeeducated professionals and some unskilled workers are limited to 40,000 in each category but can be supplemented each year by unused visas from other categories. Visas for specialty occupations in the H-1B category are capped at 65,000 annually. Other visas such as EB-4 and EB-5 for religious figures or job-creating investors, respectively, are capped at 10,000, again, with supplementation possible.

Complicating this calculation further are special rules the US Department of State must follow regarding percountry ceilings of no more than 7 percent of the total immigrant count allocated to any single country in any fiscal year (October 1 to September 30). “The US Department of State processes these visa applications at US embassies and consulates across the globe; they are not processed in the United States,” Carson explains.

“But the State Department is planning to launch a pilot program to allow certain employment-based visas to be renewed in the United States so the foreign nation worker doesn’t have to leave the United States to renew an H-1B visa.”

All those categories are separate from non-immigrant visas, which are intended for workers temporarily residing in the United States. It can all be rather confusing, but luckily immigration law firms like Carson’s

are available to help employers and employees navigate the system.

Carson worked as a federal attorney at Fort Wainwright, and after retiring from federal civil service with the US Department of the Army she founded Polaris Law Group in North Pole. The firm also offers legal services in the areas of real estate, bankruptcy, social security, public and private contracts, estate planning, and other areas of civil law in addition to immigration.

“It helps to have a diverse practice because our advice and counsel to our immigration clients goes beyond just immigration issues,” she says. “There are numerous cross-cutting issues that arise in immigration cases, and we take a holistic view toward serving our clients. It’s common for us to provide immigration services to a client and then, later, the client will seek our representation in other issues like starting a business, completing a comprehensive estate plan, or addressing employment law or taxation issues.”

Although based in North Pole, her practice covers all of Alaska and, effectively, the rest of the world. “Immigration law is federal law, so we have clients in Alaska, in the Lower 48, and outside the United States,” Carson says.

Two other types of travel visas available to foreign national workers sponsored by US employers are the H-2B and J-1. The H-2B and J-1 visa programs are the main avenue for temporary foreign workers in Alaska. The H-2B program allows businesses to hire thoroughly screened workers from foreign countries for temporary positions unable to be filled by local workers. The H-2B is a non-agricultural, non-immigrant, temporary program, meaning workers must return to their home country once the job is completed or when their visa expires.

The J-1 program is for international students to participate in an intern, trainee, teacher, camp counselor, au pair, or summer work travel program. J-1s are utilized heavily in the hospitality industries because the goal is interpersonal exchange and skill development, which foreign workers would take back to their home countries.

H-2B for a Season

Alaska offers a range of employment opportunities for H-2B visa workers, from landscaping, jewelry clerks, and forestry to construction, hotels, and more. However, the bulk of employer applications come from the state’s seafood processors.

More than 55 percent of Alaska employer applications listed on the US Department of Labor’s H-2B disclosure data for the fourth quarter of 2022 were from seafood

processors, requesting more than 4,600 workers.

The seafood processing industry is recovering slowly following the pandemic, according to DOLWD. The industry lost 1,300 jobs in 2020 but recovered 600 by 2022. An additional 500 jobs are predicted for this year, bringing the total job count to within 200 of 2019 levels.

H-2B visas originated in the ‘80s as the counterpart to the H-2A, which is for seasonal agricultural labor.

NOVAGOLD IS COMMITTED TO RESPONSIBLE MINING

Both are distinct from the H-1B visa, which is for professional workers.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 created the H-1 category for foreign nurses, the Immigration Act of 1990 split the category into other specialized occupations, and now the tech industry is by far the largest sponsor of H-1B workers. Temporary, in their case, is more than a single tourist, fishing, or harvest season, allowing them to stay in the United States for three years, extendable to six.

Carson cites the University of Alaska as an employer that sponsors H-1B workers. “The important thing to remember [is that] the H visas require the employer to prove it tried to hire Americans for these jobs but were unsuccessful and that it will pay the foreign national worker the prevailing wage for the type of work,” she says. “It’s not a way for American employers to pay employees less than the prevailing wage or benefits.”

The H-2B visas are designed for industries that have short-term surges of demand for labor. “The employer seeking an H-2B visa for a foreign worker has to demonstrate the need is temporary. It cannot be used where there is a permanent shortage. Seasonal, full-time employment needs are appropriate for H-2B visas,” Carson says.

H-2B visas are capped at 66,000 per year nationwide; however, in October 2022 the US Department of Homeland Security and the US Department of Labor issued a temporary increase of 64,716 supplemental visas for fiscal year (FY) 2023 (October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023).

Roughly 44,700 of the supplemental visas are available to returning workers, and the remaining 20,000 visas are allocated to workers from Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, regardless of whether they are returning. In contrast to previously issued H-2B supplemental visas, where rules allocated for specific time periods within a fiscal year, this rule authorizes the supplemental visas for all of FY2023.

Approximately 35,000 additional H-2B worker visas were issued for the second half of FY2022, according to a March 2022 press release from US

Senator Lisa Murkowski’s office. In 2021, 22,000 supplemental H-2B visas were added.

“The department is making supplemental H-2B visas available earlier than ever, ensuring that American businesses can plan for their peak season labor needs,” states a December 2022 press release from Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “At a time of record job growth, these visas will also provide a safe and lawful pathway to the United States for noncitizens prepared to take jobs that are not filled by American workers.”

Employers seeking H-2B workers must file an Application for Temporary Employment Certification with the US Department of Labor, while prospective workers outside the United States apply for visas and/ or admission.

Carson notes that all H visas are sponsored by US employers, so the employers pay all agency filing and legal fees. “These are complicated cases because the employer must negotiate this process with three federal agencies: Department of Labor, Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of State,” she says. “These are employer sponsored visas, so the foreign national cannot initiate these visas and cannot pay the fees.”

Furthermore, Carson describes H visas as “dual intent” visas. “This means an immigrant entering the United States on a nonimmigrant H-1B or H-2B visa can have an intent to stay here on a permanent basis, and that is acceptable under the Immigration and Nationality Act.”

J-1 for Exchange

The J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa Program is temporary by design. The Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 created the visas as a diplomatic overture, a way to invite people from other countries to experience American culture and return home with a more positive view of the United States. Skills developed during their stay would also help J-1 workers benefit the development of their home countries.

Indeed, Carson explains, “Typically, there is a requirement on the J-1 visa for the foreign national to return to

their home country for two years to share what they learned for the betterment of their country before they apply for another visa to come to the United States.” Durations of J-1 visas are typically four months for summer internships and three years for student researchers.

The US State Department issued 353,279 J-1 visas nationwide in 2019, according to a January 2020 report from Justice in Motion, a migrant rights protection organization. That number was considerably less in 2020 due to an executive action restricting certain visas due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unlike other non-immigrant employment visas such as H-2B, the J-1 program has no prerequisite labor market test and no requirement that employers request permission to hire such workers, due to the fact the J-1 program’s main purpose is to foster cultural exchange.

“The purpose of the program is for foreign nationals to travel to the United States, work for a finite duration, and return to their home countries to share positive experiences in the United States while building stronger international ties,” Carson says. It does not provide the applicant with a pathway to permanent residency in the United States on its own.

Carson adds, “Employers or universities sponsor the foreign national, and usually attorneys are not needed to navigate the process. While there are no caps on the number of J-1 visas issued annually, the State Department does limit the number of J-1 visa holders by setting a certain number of slots given to program sponsors.”

A separate visa program, the J-2, is available for immediate relatives of J-1 visa holders, if they are also entering the country during the temporary exchange, such as the spouse of a teacher who’s in the United States for an entire school year.

The J-1 and H-2B visa programs are both tools for boosting the US economy and the foreign workers who want to contribute to it. In return for helping the host country with its staffing needs, non-immigrant workers take a piece of the American experience back with them to every part of the globe.

Work Matters for Everyone

Task force recommendations for employing Alaskans with disabilities

By Katie Pesznecker

Both of Duane Mayes’ parents are deaf and communicate through sign language. When Mayes was growing up, his father worked as a press machine operator for a local newspaper in their small town.

“Over the years, he was visibly disappointed that he was not keeping up in terms of pay with others working in the same position without disability,” Mayes recalls. “He worked there for years and did not get a raise.”

At the time, the federal government commonly approved waivers for states to pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage and less than their

peers, even in integrated settings where people performed the same tasks. Often, when people with disabilities had jobs, they were segregated into workshops alongside other disabled people—an isolating practice that did nothing to support socialization and well-being.

The newspaper press was integrated, yet deafness still set Mayes’ father apart. “I remember as a little boy, going in and watching him work this big press machine, and I was proud of him,” Mayes says. “But I remember the day he walked through the door and was crying and said, ‘I can’t take it anymore,’ because he wasn’t being paid proportionally. So it’s personal for Patrick and I, people being paid for what they deserve.”

Patrick Reinhart is executive director of the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education, and Mayes is director of labor and workforce development in the Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR). Together, they co-chaired the Alaska Work Matters Task Force, convened in early 2021 by Governor Mike Dunleavy. The twenty-four-member group reviewed and analyzed existing policies, practices, procedures, barriers, and workforce utilization data regarding the employment of people with disabilities in Alaska.

The panel produced a report that includes sweeping recommendations for legislation and for executive branch departments, agencies, and commissions.

“Duane and I have been around for many years in state government, and we’ve had multiple conferences and meetings about employment with people with disabilities over the years,” Reinhart says, “but this was the first dedicated effort within state government to cross all departments involved with this issue and ask what the state can do to improve employment for people with disabilities.”

Overcoming Barriers

Part of the report documents the glaring disparity of employment of people with disabilities. Data sets from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey show that 35.1 to 51 percent of Alaskans with disabilities

are employed, compared to between 76.3 and 80 percent of working-age Alaskans without disabilities.

“It’s very clear that people with disabilities are underrepresented,” says Steve Williams, CEO of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, which co-led the task force along with Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education.

The trust serves Alaskans who experience mental illness, developmental disabilities, chronic alcohol or drug addiction, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, and traumatic brain injuries. Williams says that connecting a person with disabilities with a meaningful and integrated employment opportunity provides structure and routine that can be foundational to recovery or living a fulfilling life.

“The underlying premise here is that, just like anyone else, people experiencing a disability want to feel a sense of purpose,” Williams says. “They want to feel connected to their community, and they want to contribute to their community and

feel valued, and that happens through employment. It is a sense of purpose, contribution, and value that is really critical to maintaining a healthy life. It’s critical for people in recovery to maintain their stability—whether it’s recovery from an addiction or making sure your mental health is stable, it’s just a critical piece to someone’s overall well-being.”

The gap in employment is partly driven by cultural barriers. For instance, employers historically resisted hiring people with disabilities because they thought there will be associated high costs or that disabled workers wouldn’t be productive.

“It’s a myth that an employee with a disability is going to be super expensive, whereas studies have shown very rarely accommodations are needed, and when they do cost money, the cost is typically less than $500,” Reinhart says. “But as an employer, you see someone wheeled in in a wheelchair and you think, ‘Oh my God, this person is going to be so expensive to accommodate,’ and it’s just not true. And we have to get rid of this societal myth that

The theme of the Statewide Independent Living Council’s 2022 conference was “Living, Working, and Playing Towards Independence.”

Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education

somehow people with disabilities are expensive to have.”

One of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority’s primary areas of advocacy is battling the stigma of disability, says Williams. It remains an unfair, inaccurate, and prominent barrier that prevents people with disabilities from accessing housing, services, and jobs.

“These are health conditions, and these people with a disability can do the job just like anyone else with a health condition and be a wonderful employee,” Williams says.

Five Sections

The report delivered by the Alaska Work Matters Task Force contains twenty-two recommendations and sixty-eight action steps summarized in five sections: state hiring goals and practices; private sector capacity building; employment services and support; preparing people with disabilities for work and transitions, such as from school to the workforce; and policies and practices that promote

staying at or returning to work amid adversity and challenges.

The first of the report’s five sections, focusing on the State of Alaska as a model employer for individuals with disabilities, recommends ongoing education to executive and legislative staff on disability employment trends and data on employment outcomes.

It also calls for establishing via legislative action a centralized accommodation fund for state positions that hiring managers could use to offset any costs associated with employing people with disabilities. Reinhart reiterates that it’s the assumption there are costs versus the reality of expense that is a barrier, but having such a fund would help counteract that bias.

The report’s second section, on private sector capacity building, lays out actions to support training and hiring of people with disabilities, including accessible job fairs and partnering with the state-run Alaska Vocational Technical Education Center in Seward to ensure representation of people with disabilities in training programs.

The third section of the report examines employment services and supports. In this section, the task force considered unique circumstances in rural Alaska, exploring subsistence and self-employment as successful employment outcomes.

“We want people to want to be productive members of society and not be excluded from opportunities that exist around subsistence,” Reinhart says.

Section three also goes into an ongoing struggle for many with disabilities seeking and maintaining employment: accessible, reliable, timely transportation.

“It’s a perennial issue, and there’s no easy solution,” says Reinhart, who has personally supported many efforts over the years focused on transportation for people who are disabled.

He explains, “Here’s the way we look at it: if a community has a healthy community public transportation system, it will be inclusive of people with disabilities who are wanting to access employment. If they don’t have one, it’s hit or miss. It really is about the economic vitality of a community.

How do you get to work if you’re in a wheelchair, or have any kind of mobility impairment?”

Through the Alaska Mobility Coalition, chaired by Reinhart, work is underway to promote public transportation in Alaska communities that currently have nothing in place— Reinhart offers Homer as one example.

“It’s constantly being adjusted and looked at, but it’s not a one-fix thing,” he says. “It’s just a tough one.”

The report’s fourth section considers best practices for supporting transitions to the workplace, including how to support at-risk youth, and guidance to expand and improve school-to-work transition resources for school personnel.

The final report section explores telework to counteract transportation difficulties. It isn’t applicable to all jobs or always ideal, but Mayes calls telework “a game-changer,” particularly for those with significant physical disabilities. The task force acknowledges disparities based on poor internet availability.

Federal Framework

The concept of Alaska as an “Employment First state” began a decade ago during the Governor Sean Parnell administration, Reinhart says, which meant “we should be looking at every opportunity for people with disabilities to be employed. Just like every other individual in society has an expectation they’re going to go to work at some point, you have that expectation of the person with a disability.”

Employment First as the priority option for publicly financed daytime services is a framework of the US Department of Labor. The Work Matters

Task Force is likewise an extension of a larger national campaign known as the State Exchange on Employment and Disability, or SEED. Overseen by the US Department of Labor’s Office of Disability and Employment Policy, SEED is a state/federal collaboration that supports state and local governments in adopting and implementing inclusive policies and best practices that lead to increased employment for disabled people and a stronger, more inclusive American workforce and economy.

At the working level, this means Alaska’s task force had federal contractors on hand to provide technical assistance, and members could draw from work already completed by other states within the SEED framework.

“Depending on the topic we were discussing, they might already have a policy position from another state we could reference,” Mayes says. “That was the beauty of this effort as we looked at existing systems, in considering what we could do to elevate competitive and integrated employment for Alaskans with disabilities.”

Reinhart adds that the task force was able to point to research that shows people with disabilities can be exceptional additions in the workplace: “They’re more likely to show up every day, they’re not job hoppers, they’re consistent in sticking with a job, they’re appreciative of a good job with a good employer. Study after study shows they’re great employees to have.”

To facilitate hiring, the State of Alaska has a provisional hire component that allows agencies to work directly with DVR to place job-seekers.

“It’s really leveling the playing field,” Mayes says. “We have been able to successfully get Alaskans into state positions through that model.”

Private Sector Steps

A private-sector employer that’s actively placing workers with disabilities is Alaska Communications (ACS). The company was one of three, along with Mat-Su Regional Medical Center and Matanuska Electric Association, that participated in the Alaska Work Matters Task Force, offering an employer perspective.

“Research shows that customers choose brands they feel represented by… Research also shows that diverse perspectives increase empathy for customers. Inclusion in the workplace is one of the most important keys to retention.”

Rose Muncy Program Manager in Talent Management Alaska Communications

Attendees at the Statewide Independent Living Council’s 2022 Conference.

Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education

“We support building a more inclusive workforce throughout the state and saw this as an opportunity to help, as well as grow and learn ourselves,” says Rose Muncy, ACS program manager in talent management.

Muncy has worked with DVR to learn additional ways to attract individuals with disabilities to apply for career opportunities. “Some of the tactics are small, like checking the box on the Craigslist ad which encourage individuals with disabilities to apply,” she says.

ACS partners with the DVR’s JobX group that meets weekly. This collaborative network invites major employers and provides the opportunity to hear the most up-to-date news on job announcements and hiring events, Muncy says.

ACS also has a program called IDEAL, which stands for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Learning. Its mission is to create, nurture, and sustain an inclusive culture where differences drive innovation and empathy drives connection.

“This group was founded in 2015 with a focus on the acceleration of women in the workplace, but we since expanded the mission to create opportunities for all marginalized groups, including individuals with disabilities,” Muncy says.

Steps ACS has taken for recruiting people with disabilities include maintaining an accessible website and careers webpage, providing alternatives for completing the application process, posting job ads where individuals with disabilities are more likely to access them, hosting career fairs where individuals with disabilities are supported to attend, and collaborating with the business community and state agencies to expand their knowledge and network.

Muncy adds that ACS believes inclusionary hire of people with disabilities is important to her company’s stakeholders.

“Research shows that customers choose brands they feel represented by,” she says. “Research also shows that diverse perspectives increase empathy for customers. Inclusion in the workplace is one of the most important keys to retention.”

From a retention vantage point, ACS considers providing a more flexible work environment. “We’ve found our hybrid work model to be an added benefit to individuals with disabilities,” Muncy says.

Actions Underway

Hybrid work was one of many concepts explored by the task force, too. However, the task force cautions that telework is not a one-size-fits all solution and should not be the default for employees who have disabilities. “Some individuals may prefer to share a workplace with others rather than work at home in isolation. It is critical that policies regarding telework clearly state that individuals with disabilities should have full participation in telework decisions without others making

assumptions that employees with disabilities should work from home rather than being included in the workplace,” the report says.

The task force also identified a need for ongoing support for Alaskans who are hurt or become ill on the job.

“Multiple studies have shown [that] the longer someone stays at home after an injury, the less likely they are to go back to work. And in this day and age, it’s the last thing we need,” Reinhart says. “We need to make sure there aren’t barriers and incentivize return to work as much as we can… Maybe you can’t get to the office anymore, but what can we do to bring the office to you?”

The task force also considered steps to support seniors who remain in the workforce. Alaska’s Senior Community Services Employment Program is called Mature Alaskans Seeking Skills Training. In July 2022, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development transferred administration of this program to DVR “so we can maximize our resources for the benefit of that senior and get them integrated competitive employment,” Reinhart says.

Mayes and Reinhart credit the task force members with seeing and promoting this transfer and other solutions that will improve employment opportunities for all Alaskans. The task force’s report represents an ambitious collection of next steps, and meetings are underway to advance the work, Mayes says.

The Alaska Legislature already took an important action in 2022, passing a bill to essentially forever ban disparate pay based on disability, as Mayes’ father experienced.

“Not many states have done that,” Reinhart says. “We’re one of the few that really jumped on that. No more are we going to allow workshoptype environments when we pay people less.”

Reinhart adds, “I always say, when we develop a plan for a person with disabilities, we should ask, ‘What do you want to do for a living?’ A job is a part of most people’s identity. Without that, people can wander in the wilderness. And we want people with disabilities to have identity and a contribution to society."

“[Workers with disabilities are] more likely to show up every day, they’re not job hoppers, they’re consistent in sticking with a job, they’re appreciative of a good job with a good employer. Study after study shows they’re great employees to have.”

Patrick Reinhart Executive Director Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education

Don’t Wait to Work on Retention Prevention strategies for employee burnout

By Alexandra Kay

Until AI takes over every job, humans will have a role in the workplace. Unfortunately, humans are, in fact, human and subject to the inherent challenges of humanity, such as mental funk that impedes productivity. A recent Gallup report titled “Employee Burnout: Causes and Cures” found that 76 percent of employees experience burnout on the job at least sometimes, and 28 percent say they are burned out “very often” or “always” at work. Further, mental health affected job performance for nearly half the US workforce, says the 12th annual Aflac Workforces Report.

“There are many factors that contribute to employee burnout,” says Noël Gabler, vice president for corporate relations at Global Credit Union (formerly Alaska USA). “Increased workload due to high turnover or employee roles and jobs not being defined. This leads to longer hours and challenges maintaining a work/life balance.”

The labor shortage can also be a factor, when more pressure is placed on existing employees to take on extra tasks because of vacancies. According

to Gallup, other causes of employee burnout include unfair treatment at work, unmanageable workload, unclear communication from managers, lack of manager support, and unreasonable time pressure.

Employees experiencing burnout are 63 percent more likely to take a sick day, 23 percent more likely to visit the emergency room, 13 percent less confident in their performance, and 2.6 times more likely to be actively seeking a different job, according to the Gallup report.

Employees experiencing burnout can also make poor decisions and lose their desire to perform well. All these things can hurt businesses. Fortunately, there are several things that good managers and businesses can do to combat employee burnout—or prevent it from happening in the first place.

Improve Work Culture

“A toxic culture can lead to burnout and people not wanting to get up and go to work in the morning,” says Emily Berliner, founder and COO of EBO Consulting in Anchorage, a company that provides business

development services. “If you have that employee with a bad attitude… it just seeps out and everyone thinks they can act that way.”

And according to O.C. Tanner, an employee recognition company based in Salt Lake City, Utah, culture can cause a company to either thrive or suffer. The company started as a manufacturer of jewelry, trophies, and awards, and that expertise in uplifting spirits led to diversification into consulting services. Internal research found that poor workplace culture leads to a 157 percent increase in burnout rates. The seeds of dysfunctional culture can include poor leadership, lack of purpose, no opportunity for growth or development, not feeling appreciated, and a poor work/life balance.

To improve workplace culture, an O.C. Tanner resource guide outlines seven practices companies can take. x Build strong employee relationships. Leaders play a large part in shaping culture, and good leaders contribute to a stronger, better workplace culture. Good leaders should “cheerlead their employees” and get to know them

on a personal level. “When this happens, employees feel more appreciated and supported and feel like they belong in an organization,” according to the resource guide.

x Connect people to a purpose. Communicate to employees clearly and frequently about how their work contributes to the organization’s purpose. “When employees see reminders of their organization’s purpose throughout the workplace, they are 30 percent more likely to believe their organization inspires employees to work towards a common goal,” says the O.C. Tanner guide. This is something Global Credit Union regularly practices. “We try to engage with our employees through communications and activities to help connect them with the organization, building morale and a culture that helps our employees thrive,” says Gabler.

x Encourage recognition of employees. “Seventy-eight percent of employees say they are highly engaged when they feel strong recognition from their organizations,” according to O.C. Tanner data. Research shows engaged employees are happier at work and more willing to do tasks for the good of their employer organizations. They’re also less likely to call in sick or leave their jobs, which are two signs of burnout.

x Create positive employee experiences. Give employees the opportunity to share concerns and ideas for the company. Encouraging and appreciative regular leader communications and team activities and discussion can also contribute to an overall positive work culture.

x Open lines of communication. An O.C. Tanner study from early in the COVID-19 pandemic found that organizations that increased transparency had a 75 percent increase in employee satisfaction and a 17 percent increase in the likelihood of employee retention.

x Give employees autonomy. “With great autonomy comes great psychological safety—another important ingredient to building workplace culture,” says the O.C. Tanner guide. “When employees feel psychologically safe at work,

there is a 154 percent increase in the incidence of great work.”

x Meet with employees regularly. Scheduling one-on-one conversations between employees and leaders where both parties can speak openly leads to more engaged, motivated employees.

Bend Before Breaking

“European studies show that people who have a better work/life balance perform better and are more effective in the workplace,” says Berliner. And a

recent joint study by the University of Minnesota and Massachusetts Institute of Technology backs this up. According to the study’s results, published in January 2016, a flexible work schedule lowers stress and employee burnout while also increasing job satisfaction.

The study was conducted at a Fortune 500 company over a 12-month period and included 700 employees. Study participants who had flexible work options reported higher levels of job satisfaction and reduced levels of burnout and stress.

Those who participated reported being able to spend more time with family and having more control over their work schedules.

Aware of the benefits, Global Credit Union has implemented more flexibility for its employees. “Like most organizations over the last few years, we had to shift the way we viewed work. This resulted in nearly 70 percent of our workforce participating in a hybrid or fully remote work environment,” says Gabler. “We believe this allows employees to have an improved work/ life balance, more efficient use of their time, higher productivity, and a way to mitigate burnout. This telework arrangement has been incredibly beneficial for the organization as well as the employees.”

Flexible work arrangements can include flex-time, where employees work a full day but can shift or vary their hours, such as working part of

the day in the early morning and part later in the afternoon or early evening; working reduced or part-time hours, where employees work fewer than the standard 37.5 to 40 hour week; a compressed work week, where employees work longer days in order to have more days off; remote or telework, where people do some or all of their work from home; and job sharing, where two or more employees split a position and duties.

According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, offering these kinds of flexible work arrangements can help businesses better attract, retain, and motivate employees and lead to reduced employee absenteeism as well as increased job satisfaction, energy, creativity, and the ability to handle stress.

“Letting your workers take time to deal is important,” says Berliner. “The healthy work/life balance thing

is critical to adapting to each other’s schedules and understanding. At the end of the day, the majority of us are not working in life-or-death situations, and people can be accommodated. Recognize all of the things people might need and open yourself up to that as an employer.”

Accommodations may be as small as a standing desk or yoga ball chair for someone with back issues. “All of these little things demonstrate to your team that you care and it’s important and that they matter, and that makes a big difference,” Berliner says.

Perks That Work

In addition to things like flextime options, employers need to provide employees with other benefits, such as parental leave, professional development, educational reimbursement, and financial wellness tools. Supports like these can increase

Even in customer service jobs, managers can maintain a happy and energized workforce by discussing factors that might cause burnout during regular meetings.

Ruben Ramos | iStock

employee satisfaction, thereby reducing burnout.

“You’re the one leading the show, so you should hopefully have the wherewithal to extend comfort and productivity things,” Berliner says of managers. “If you’re an employer, offering leave and health insurance and other benefits for employees can really show them that they matter. However you can make it work, my recommendation is to try to build that into your realm. You’re basically doing anything you can to help avoid any undue stress to your employees.”

Make well-being a part of the company’s culture, says the Gallup report. “Gallup’s research has found five essential elements that differentiate thriving lives from those that are struggling or suffering.” These elements include career, community, physical, financial, and social wellbeing. And the company suggests that companies use those five elements as a science-based structure for benefits programs and offerings.

Key to preventing or combating burnout in the workplace is making sure that those in charge of employees can recognize its signs, and this means providing education. The Gallup report says, “Managers are your best solution for burnout when they take time to learn what’s behind burnout and are open to changing how they manage their teams. Taking ownership of their role in preventing burnout shows they are fully committed to helping every employee excel.”

Managers should be trained to recognize burnout factors and to examine how their management style could mitigate or potentially cause burnout. Integrate conversations on burnout into workplace meetings and other discussions, where managers can reflect on common scenarios and share best practices.

Creating an inviting workspace is another thing employers can do to help prevent employees from experiencing burnout. According to the Gallup report, “Organizations can reduce environmental accelerators of burnout by providing quiet, comfortable workspaces where employees can easily immerse themselves in their individual work,

and organizations should be intentional and strategic when creating the workspaces that employees will use for collaboration and meetings.” The three office features that employees want most, based on Gallup research, are all interrelated: privacy when they need it, personal workspace, and their own office.

To make workplaces more inviting, employers can reduce noise and interruptions, provide inviting collaboration spaces, and audit workspace lighting.

While there’s no way to prevent 100 percent of employee burnout, employers who take these steps can mitigate many of the causes and create happier and healthier working environments. “It’s also beneficial for organizations that seek sustained, long-term productivity, retention and growth,” says the Gallup report. “Ultimately, a workplace where employees can feel and perform their best is a win-win-win—for the company, its workers, and its customers.”

Don’t Dream It, B It

DEI policies add up to belonging

By J. Maija Doggett

By now, you’ve seen the initialism DEI, and you know that the letter “D” stands for diversity, the letter “E” stands for equity, and the letter “I” stands for inclusion. But in recent years, the term has become DEIB, with the letter “B” for belonging. What is belonging, and why did DEI become DEIB?

Before explaining the B, let’s review the meaning of each component of DEI.

Diversity can be described as the unique characteristics possessed by individuals within a group. Your workplace diversity initiative may include programs or actions to invite diverse individuals to your organization.

Equity, in this context, is recognizing that not everyone starts from the same place and, therefore, it may be necessary to provide what’s needed so that everyone can get to the same place, i.e., everyone achieves equality.

Inclusion involves taking action to create a feeling of belonging for all individuals in an organization.

And now for the letter B:

Belonging is the feeling that results from DEI efforts. It is an individual’s perception that their uniqueness is welcomed and valued by others in the organization. It’s the security of knowing they can be who they really are.

“DE&I is about your organization’s approach and principles, while belonging tells you if it’s working,” according to Monique McDonough, COO of WorkTango, the Canadian maker of an employee engagement platform.

Notice the difference between inclusion and belonging: inclusion comprises efforts made by an organization and behaviors demonstrated by people within that organization that foster employees’ feeling of belonging.

B Is for Bottom Line

Why is it important for employees to feel belonging?

“Experiences of reduced belonging most strongly relate to feelings of inauthenticity, whereas experiences of exclusion most strongly relate to negative affect (sadness and anger),” according to a study published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science by Michael L. Slepian and Drew S. JacobySenghar. “Furthermore, experiences with identity threats were related to loneliness, lower life satisfaction, and worse self-reported physical health… and both aspects predict lower workplace satisfaction, identification, and commitment when experienced in professional settings.”

Employees who lack belonging are less happy, feel less healthy, and don’t contribute to their full potential. They may quietly quit or even outright jump ship to an organization with which they feel better alignment.

Research shows that a lack of belonging creates more stress for employees than being harassed. A work environment where employees are uncomfortable being themselves can damage trust, diminish self-worth, and degrade workplace culture.

Lack of belonging is a top contributor to the Great Resignation, according to research by McKinsey & Company.

In agreement with those findings, a study called “The Value of Belonging at Work” revealed that employees who experience belonging at work perform better and stay longer than employees who don’t. Among the study’s findings:

x 50 percent lower turnover risk

x 75 percent fewer sick days used

When employees do not feel heard or accepted for who they are, productivity and innovation suffer. Without fostering belonging for everyone, organizations are unable to leverage the unique attributes of individuals into success. Employees and companies miss out on growth opportunities.

Late Night Double Feature

We now know what a lack of belonging looks like, but what does it look like when an organization succeeds at creating a culture of belonging?

Because this article is brought to you by the letter B, we’ll examine successful belonging through a B-movie: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

You know, the campy cult favorite created by Richard O’Brien that stars Tim Curry, Meat Loaf, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, and other great talents. Released in 1975, the musical comedy is about a conservative young couple whose car breaks down in the rain near an old castle. When they knock on the castle door to ask for help, they find Dr. Frank N. Furter, a mad scientist who is an alien transvestite from the planet Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania. The couple spend the night at the castle and re-discover themselves through the rock opera that ensues.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show was a flop when it was first released. It was low budget (and it showed), and people just didn’t get it. But on April 1, 1976, it became the feature for a midnight showing at the Waverly Theater in New York City. When one audience member hurled an epithet at the movie screen, the rest of the audience laughed out loud. Eventually, that one guffaw grew into moviegoers shadowcasting (re-enacting) the story while the movie is playing. The ritual tied together a community.

This movie grew into one of the best-known cult classics of all time, in which moviegoers dress in fishnet stockings, tight corsets, and heavy makeup, shouting well-timed sarcastic remarks at the screen. This still happens everywhere the movie is shown! Whether at the Waverly Theater or at

The Basement in Fairbanks, when The Rocky Horror Picture Show is shown, moviegoers dress up and dance and joke with the actors on screen.

Because of its themes and tone, The Rocky Horror Picture Show appealed to the LGBT community and created a culture where those who experience gender fluidity or question their own gender identity belong. And then those who were part of the genderfluid culture created a culture where

When employees do not feel heard or accepted for who they are, productivity and innovation suffer. Without fostering belonging for everyone, organizations are unable to leverage the unique attributes of individuals into success. Employees and companies miss out on growth opportunities.

everyone belongs. Members of the LGBT community began experiencing belonging because of the consistent practices of all patrons of the show— practices that applied to everyone who came to a viewing, regardless of their gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other unique character of the viewer.

Dig It If You Can

If you’re still wondering what this B-movie has to do with the workplace, consider that the word “organization” in the context of this DEIB story can refer to the theaters that offered midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show

“Employees” in this context can refer to the movie patrons who consistently carried out the inclusive activities that, to this day, result in all those who attend a midnight viewing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show anywhere in the world receiving the same experience, no matter who they are.

The phenomenon spread even without the internet. In the late ‘70s, a person who had been to the show in California could find themselves attending a show in New York, and they would then “train” all the patrons in that New York theater. The fun caught on!

The Rocky Horror Picture Show even offers onboarding for first-timers. If you’ve never been to a midnight viewing of the show at a theater, experienced patrons are ready to induct you into the culture in a way that is intended to show you how much fun it is to be part of the organization and motivate you to come back.

All of the activities at the show—such as dressing up, onboarding, singing, and dancing—happen in the same way for everyone who attends; no one is singled out for being different.

Because of this organic DEIB effort, the flop that was The Rocky Horror Picture Show in 1975 is still a thriving organization today. Wikipedia says the movie has generated at least $226 million in box office sales; not bad for a movie that started with a $1.4 million budget! This return on investment is easily attributable to the organization’s cultivation of an inclusive culture.

A Bit of a Mind Flip

How does this relate to the average workplace? No, you don’t need to add fishnet stockings and corsets to your company’s dress code, but you should consider belonging as your DEIB committee’s end game. Create a DEIB committee or task force if you don’t have one—and charge them with developing recommendations, guidelines, and checklists to make your workforce, products, services, programs, processes, and communications more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Your organization should consider taking these actions:

x Incorporate recruitment outreach activities to facilitate hiring a more diverse workforce.

x Conduct job leveling that equalizes salaries and promotions.

x Support diverse family types and situations by offering flexible work schedules, remote or hybrid work, fertility and adoption benefits, and kid-friendly company gatherings.

x Listen to your diverse employees and learn about ways to retain them.

x Facilitate career plans for all employees.

x Provide tools to build skills for all staff to address diversity, equity, and inclusion in your workplace. Do the things that show you value the components of each employee’s identity, such as their particular race, sexual orientation, or the fact that they have kids or are a military veteran.

Be sure to measure your progress. Ask employees about their trust in the organization, how much selfworth they feel, and their confidence that it’s okay for them to be their authentic selves.

Inclusion is effort fostered by your organization and behavior demonstrated by your people. Belonging is the feeling that results. Your DEIB efforts should send a message to your current and future employees that your workplace is a safe space to be themselves.

J. Maija Doggett, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, CEES, is People Department Operations Manager for an engineering firm with hundreds of employees and operations in several states.

No, you don’t need to add fishnet stockings and corsets to your company’s dress code, but you should consider belonging as your DEIB committee’s end game.

Scouting, Recruiting, Retaining, and Engaging People at Work—We’ve Got Your Back

At PeopleAK, “We’ve Got Your Back” is more than a company slogan. It embodies a deep commitment to be the “B-Team” to clients’ A-Team to enhance their business. “We make sure clients recruit the right team and they shine,” says CEO Paula Bradison, a fourthgeneration Alaskan. “And that’s when we see our clients become more successful and profitable.”

FULL GAMUT OF SERVICES

PeopleAK delivers an array of solutions that support businesses through the entire employee lifecycle. These services include scouting and active recruitment, onboarding support, coaching, team development, soft skills training, and strategic planning. “We can hire employees all day long, but if they’re not sufficiently onboarded and engaged, we have not done our job,” Bradison says. “We want to usher clients through all the best practices to identify, recruit, and retain the best employees.”

PeopleAK helps clients communicate their strategic goals in a meaningful way that motivates employees to engage in supportive actions. This involves using position-specific performance indicators to give workers detailed feedback on how their activities relate to achieving these objectives. The better-performing

companies measure employee engagement, which is about production—not feelings, according to Bradison.

UNIQUELY QUALIFIED

PeopleAK is the product of the 2016 merger of two successful Bradison companies: Alaska Executive Search, established in 1977, and Bradison Management Group, founded in 2012. With forty-plus years of experience, PeopleAK is distinctly qualified to empower employers with the right people and business strategy to grow their operation.

Over the years, PeopleAK has applied a multi-disciplinary, boutique approach to solidify its presence in Alaska. It has twelve local employees and more than forty contractors and temporary staff working strategically to help clients succeed. The company’s handpicked industry experts are highly skilled; some possess more than twenty years of real-world experience in their specific field. Recently, PeopleAK onboarded a seniorlevel professional trainer to offer clients soft skills and sales training, sales planning, and even an instant sales team if they need it. “We augment that with a level of accountability by bringing an objective resource in the room,” Bradison says.

Along with its extensive expertise and active involvement in the market, PeopleAK offers clients well-

researched data and proven processes to meet their individual needs. PeopleAK’s ability to build long-lasting relationships combined with its multi-disciplinary approach also enables clients to make important business connections. Bradison explains, “We are uniquely positioned to help foster introductions of people and

processes that strengthen companies.”

PeopleAK is committed to the communities and companies it serves in Alaska and the Lower 48. “We are your go-to team to support and propel your business forward,” Bradison says.

Recruit and Retain

Investing in the next generation of engineers, scientists, and surveyors

By Nicholas Ringstad

With positive predictions on the horizon for the state of Alaska, hiring is going to be a big priority. The Alaska Economic Trends forecast for 2023 predicts the state will add approximately 5,300 jobs this year due in part to the federal infrastructure bill that was approved by Congress in 2022. The bill will provide billions of dollars to the state over the next several years for engineering-related projects and is expected to boost professional services such as architectural, engineering, environmental, and other consulting services. This is expected to represent more than half of the new jobs.

On top of the federal stimulus, Alaska’s capital budget of $2.7 billion for fiscal year 2023 is more than three times higher than the previous fiscal year. An added advantage is that more employable workers have moved to the state as the number of military personnel and their families has doubled since 2019.

This welcome news means engineering and consulting firms across Alaska will need to ramp up employee recruiting and retainment efforts to meet the challenge of improving modern infrastructure to match other states. While traditional recruiting “carrots” like competitive salaries, bonuses, benefits, and profit sharing are a given, today’s new recruits have even higher expectations. Outlined here are additional strategies to consider when looking for or retaining employees new to the engineering field.

Start from Within

While job sourcing tools like LinkedIn, Indeed, and job postings with universities are crucial, one recruiting practice reigns supreme. For many firms, recruiting starts inside the organization. A tried-and-true adage applies here: great employees beget great employees. Some of our best employees came to us based on an internal recommendation, whether it be from an employee’s previous job or someone they went to school with. People like to work with people they know and trust.

While a specific technical role may require specific credentials, don’t squander a good candidate just because they don’t have all the right credentials. Skills can be learned and taught, but finding the right fit is often harder. The main asset that every potential employee must have is the ability to solve problems, even if this means breaking up a large problem into smaller ones and solving them. Companies must empower their employees to make independent decisions in the field. This is especially important when performing projects in remote areas of Alaska. Often the worst decision is to do nothing. Employees need to know that their company has their back when they call the shots in the field.

According to Nathan Kaaihue, an Engineer-in-Training (EIT) in Fairbanks, “While working on another project, I saw Ryan Hunt [a land surveying employee at 3-Tier Alaska, Fairbanks] working in the field on the Yukon Drive project. That attracted my attention and made me interested in working for 3-Tier. Working on interesting projects that have a tangible impact to the community is a great feeling.”

Build a Strong Culture

The best teams are not necessarily who is on them but how they work and collaborate. This starts at the top. Actions and respect by senior leaders speak louder than words. Being transactional (i.e., simply doing a flyby in a meeting or listing what needs to get done) without giving context, structure, and guidance sets up employees—and ultimately you— for failure.

do

in

industry, and our leaders have never shied away from letting us try new approaches.”

Emilee

Matthews,

Project Manager of Operations, 3-Tier Alaska

As a leader, even in busy times, carve out time to build personal relationships and foster an environment where people can be their authentic selves. Reward and recognize great work and accolades from clients, management, and peers—and do so in front of all your employees. Be accessible, empower employees to ask important questions, and create forums for employees to share how they feel about the company and where it is headed. A recent Gallup report confirmed that having a friend at work is key to employee engagement, success, and retention. Creating a buddy program especially for new employees could result in significant job satisfaction since they will always have someone who will lend an ear. And remember, humor and a little fun can go a long way, like hosting early happy hours on Fridays to unwind and shoot the breeze and catch up with colleagues on how the week went.

Hone Employee Skills

Training and coaching, particularly with new and younger employees, can’t be underestimated. They need to be reassured that you are invested in their career success, not just another cog in the wheel, whether it be job shadowing or investing in their continued education and training. Mentoring a new-in-career employee is critical to helping them learn and understand not only the company’s mission and values but, for environmental consulting specifically, existing state and federal requirements, such as wetlands determinations, anadromous fish regulations, National Environmental Policy Act regulations both locally and federally, and a myriad others. Help them connect complex industry and government dots by providing local context that you may think is second nature.

For most engineers and consultants, obtaining certifications related to their role is job security and reinforces the unique value they provide. It also gives your firm a competitive edge. The inverse is also true. Employees that have a knack or a love for teaching others is a gift that should be encouraged and fostered.

Above, Casey Volk brings dog Hatcher to work at 3-Tier Alaska.

Below, Michaela McGee’s drafting receives pointers from Ryan Hunt and a canine consultation, too. Pet policies and pet insurance sweeten the appeal for new recruits.

3-Tier Alaska

Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation

This month, Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC) will reach a monumental accomplishment. The Alaska Native village corporation—which incorporated on April 19, 1973 in Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow)— is turning fifty. “We can’t wait to celebrate this milestone with our shareholders, our Barrow community, and all our employees,” says CEO Pearl K. Brower, PhD.

For its next significant step, UIC will begin issuing fifty Class B shares of its stock to first-generation descendants of original shareholders this year. And in 2025, secondgeneration descendants of original shareholders will start reaping the same benefits. “This is a huge milestone for UIC, and it’s an incredible way to engage the next generation of shareholders into our company,” Brower says, who took the helm at UIC in April 2022.

UIC is also diligently working to rethink how it engages shareholders in workforce development and training opportunities to better equip them to operate in its companies, across the state, and beyond. These kinds of investments reflect UIC’s perpetual commitment to build foundations for the future for its more than 3,000 shareholders.

STRATEGIC EVOLUTION

As one of about 200 Alaska Native village corporations established under the Alaska

Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, UIC has come a long way from its humble origins. It began formal operations in July of 1973 with just three employees: Arthur Panigeo, president; Wesley Aiken, land chief; and Lucille Adams. The next year, UIC initiated its first major purchase— Shontz Store—and continued to grow strategically. Today, UIC’s diverse family of companies offers a wide variety of services and support to the federal government, commercial clients, and defense and civilian government agencies throughout Alaska, the United States, and the world.

Currently, UIC is Alaska’s tenth-largest local company by revenue. It has 290 locations worldwide, 3,600 employees—more than 500 of whom reside in Alaska—and more than sixty subsidiaries in more than twenty-five industries, ranging from oil and gas and construction to commercial and government services. “Fifty years ago, we were this tiny, fledgling company on the very edge of the Arctic Ocean,” Brower says. “Where we are now is an incredible testament to the past leaders and employees of the corporation.”

FOCUS ON PEOPLE AND THE FUTURE

Brower credits much of UIC’s success to its ability to watch the market and understand what is happening in the world while also looking toward the future. Other key contributors

to the corporation’s progression are its dedicated employees, high-caliber executive leadership team, and strong board—which focuses on working for the benefit of its people and shareholders.

“We think about our people, our shareholders, and that has really driven our company forward,” Brower says.

Now as UIC proudly celebrates its fifty-year anniversary, the corporation is working toward the next big step in its evolution: to become one of Alaska’s top three companies by 2030. “We’re open for business,” Brower says. “We want to be your goto company for whatever you need—and our track record shows that we do a fantastic job both in Alaska and beyond.”

According to Emilee Matthews, 3-Tier Alaska’s project manager of operations and survey technician, the company has provided ample time to further her education and to learn other aspects of engineering and surveying. “There is flexibility in finding my own groove. There isn’t one way to do something in our industry, and our leaders have never shied away from letting us try new approaches,” she says.

Transparency Is a Two-Way Street

In a recent study by McKinsey & Company, younger generations, particularly millennials and Gen Z, now expect full transparency. They want to know what is expected of them to advance in their career and what it takes to succeed not only as an individual contributor but as a potential manager or leader. Managers and their direct reports should meet regularly and at specified times during the year to discuss career goals and job priorities so that they always know where they stand and what’s expected of them.

However, transparency and expectations go both ways. A key metric of our success is that our employees collaborate on projects and understand how their role and work contributes to the bigger picture and future projects. It is important, for example, that a survey technician understands their environmental division peer’s role to effectively share insight or sell services, even if it’s not specific to their discipline. This understanding goes a long way with clients and can often make or break the success of a project.

Employees Are Driven by Purpose

This may be true for most employees but especially those who are new to the workforce. McKinsey & Company’s recent workplace study confirms Gen Z is a purpose-driven generation. Their desire to know how their contributions support the organization’s mission and why their role matters differentiates them. They make career choices based on the impact it can have on society or toward a greater purpose. It’s important that leadership takes the time to explain how broader

Problem-solving adaptability in field work is a skill that can’t easily be taught. Organizations that support employees who show initiative are cultivating a precious talent.

3-Tier Alaska

Ryan Hunt (right) with a 3-Tier Alaska client and a furry friend. Connections that Hunt forms while land surveying can yield recruitment leads.

3-Tier Alaska

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organizational goals can also have a positive impact on the world. For the environmental and surveying field, that could be helping bring broadband and WiFi capabilities to rural and underserved communities or creating sustainable infrastructure.

Charlie Hampton, an environmental EIT in Anchorage, shared that he was drawn to 3-Tier Alaska based on a clear vision for the company’s future. He felt at his age (he graduated in 2020) and experience level, it is difficult to identify worthwhile and realistic longrange goals. He believes that the way the company is poised for growth, he can achieve short-term goals that he can see clearly while being a part of a growing team for the long term.

Open and honest communication is the key. Step back and ask yourself and your leadership team: Are we providing opportunities for our employees to hear and understand our business strategy and how each person’s role contributes to that strategy? Do our employees feel empowered and supported to speak up? Are our clients happy, and if not, why? Are there areas where

the leadership team could be more open, honest, and transparent? If the answer is no to any of these questions, there’s some work to do.

While recruiting and retaining employees can seem daunting, one of the most rewarding aspects of leadership is to see a team of individuals work together to achieve a common goal and purpose and to see these individuals become leaders themselves. With the pending stimulus bill earmarked for infrastructure expansion across Alaska, there’s never been a better time to grow or invest in a career in civil and environmental engineering and land surveying, especially with thousands of jobs on the horizon.

Nicholas Ringstad is owner and CEO of 3-Tier Alaska Civil, a civil and environmental engineering and consulting and professional land surveying firm with offices in Fairbanks and Anchorage. His father, company founder Jim Ringstad, passed down ownership in 2018, at the same time the company acquired Northland Surveying & Consulting. In March 2021, 3-Tier Alaska acquired Travis Peterson Environmental Consulting.

Step back and ask yourself and your leadership team: Are we providing opportunities for our employees to hear and understand our business strategy and how each person’s role contributes to that strategy? Do our employees feel empowered and supported to speak up?

A land survey technician should understand the role of other specialists, such as environmental engineers, to effectively collaborate. And vice versa; transparency among departments contributes to the big picture.

3-Tier Alaska

Working for Your Employees

Recruitment strategies for the labor shortage

By Tracy Barbour

Recruiting the right talent can be challenging for employers— even in a loose labor market with ample job candidates. In today’s tight labor market, companies have a tougher time finding qualified applicants for hourly, entry-level, and managerial positions.

The labor shortage is causing organizations in Alaska and elsewhere to be more resourceful when pursuing prospective employees. Take, for example, Providence Alaska Medical Center (PAMC) in Anchorage. PAMC is part of Providence Alaska and the Providence St. Joseph Health (PSJH) system. With approximately 5,000 employees throughout Alaska, Providence Alaska is the state’s largest private employer.

As the state’s largest hospital, PAMC depends on having enough skilled employees to offer a full spectrum of care. That’s why the healthcare provider goes out of its way to “meet candidates where they are,” according to Providence Alaska Chief Human Resources Officer Florian Borowski. This includes asking managers to try to accommodate candidates’ scheduling preferences. “We often find that our leaders are able to do that when they find out what a candidate’s needs and limitations are—especially those with special skills and unique backgrounds,” he says. “Flexibility is really important.”

It's also important for Providence to move expeditiously when screening, interviewing, and hiring potential employees. This can be particularly challenging in the healthcare field, where background checks can take thirty to forty days and there are other requirements to ensure employees can safely care for patients. “Candidates who are out in the marketplace have a lot of options, and they move quickly,” Borowski says. “We’re calling on our core leaders, our supervisors and hiring managers, to stay in touch with those coming on board so they know where they are with the background check process. Communication with our new hires is more important now than ever.”

Where Have Workers Gone?

Economists nationwide cite various causes for the sparse labor supply, ranging from robust job growth

and record-low unemployment to demographic shifts and aging populations. And the labor shortage— which affects nearly all industries— will remain challenging for years, as the number of working-age people declines, according to the 2023 "Hiring and Workplace Trends Report" by online job platforms Indeed and Glassdoor.

The labor market is particularly tight in Alaska, which is dealing with an aging population, migration losses—

especially of working-age individuals— and lower workforce participation.

“Alaska has historically been a young state and remains so relative to the United States as a whole, but the number and percentage of older people has grown dramatically over the last couple of decades, increasing fivefold as a percentage of our total population,” reports the January 2023 "Alaska Economic Trends" published by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD).

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In addition, fewer people are moving to Alaska, and many of those who come generally do not stay long enough to apply for a Permanent Fund Dividend, which requires one year of residency. These trends are notable because movers tend to be in their 20s and 30s—people of working age. “About 20 percent of Alaska’s jobs are filled by nonresidents,” the January 2023 Trends states. “Some stay—about 10 percent each year—but most come temporarily to work in our seasonal or remote industries: seafood processing, tourism, and oil and gas. A record number of job openings across the country means less draw to Alaska for both temporary and longterm work.”

Alaska is also grappling with lower labor force participation as people opt out of the job market due to health problems, caregiving responsibilities, retirement, and other reasons. The state has fewer jobs now— about 11,000 below 2019—but there are fewer workers to fill open positions than before the pandemic, according to the DOLWD. However, the percentage of the workingage population either employed or available to work had already been declining nationwide for decades.

As Alaska's economy continues to

recover and add new jobs, the worker shortage will make it difficult to fill these positions.

Plague of Uncertainty

Regardless of the reasons for the dearth of workers, it’s a humbling situation, says Paula Bradison, CEO of People AK, which has more than forty-five years of experience in the recruitment and staffing industry. And the juxtaposition of the tight labor market against concerns about high inflation, rising interest rates, and job layoffs in certain industries is fostering some level of uncertainty among employees and employers. “I think we’re in a new dynamic,” Bradison says. “Just from the fall to now heading into the spring, there is a sort of indecision that seems to be plaguing employers and employees: Do I want to move? Is this the candidate we really want? People on both sides are hesitant to make decisions.”

Despite the employee-driven job market today, many workers are feeling a level of unease about their jobs. “Forty percent of employees in the workforce are worried about layoffs in the next six months,” Bradison says, referencing research by the American Staffing

“While costly, we often ‘borrow’ talent by employing travelers, people who live elsewhere but come up to Alaska for a shortterm assignment. These travelers help ensure that we have the expertise and staff needed to deliver on the quality of care that our patients know and expect from us.”

Florian Borowski Chief Human Resources Officer Providence Alaska

Florian Borowski Providence Alaska

Nationwide, employers are enticing new hires with incentives such as more money, generous benefit packages, and flexible workplaces, as well as more unconventional perks.

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Association. “That wasn’t the case six months ago.”

This “plague of uncertainty,” which Bradison says employers and employees may have not anticipated, is also infiltrating Alaska, adding another invisible force to an alreadystrained labor market.

Targeting Talent

A decade ago, employee recruitment efforts were typically a reactive process, Bradison says. When employees gave notice, the human resources department would advertise to fill their position. But employers today need to look strategically at where future talent is, so they can identify those candidates before they begin searching for a job.

“In the current market, the better performing companies are those that recognize they need to look for talent— before they have a vacancy,” Bradison says. “And then they should augment those efforts with outside recruitment tactics to reach target audiences that they may not already be reaching.”

One strategy for filling the hiring gap, Bradison says, is to consider workers who are newly retired or near retirement as well as over-qualified candidates. Another tactic is for employers to reach out to certain universities that might be graduating potential talent either within or outside their industry. “You want to be recruiting to Alaska as much as the position,” she says. “This means looking at universities in places that share similarities with Alaska [such as having comparable weather or geography].”

Providence Alaska employs a wide variety of methods to identify future caregivers and other employees. Providence’s Clinical Academy, for example, places new registered nurse and nurse practitioner graduates directly into specialty positions through a year-long standard program. “It allows us to work really closely with the schools and, as they have students exiting their programming, graduating, we can bring them straight into Providence through a program that's really going to support them and help them achieve their longterm goals as a nurse,” says Nicole Kennard, director of talent consulting at PSJH in Renton, Washington.

Providence is also using other education-related practices to target individuals at the start of their healthcare career. For instance, the Earn While You Learn Program pays potential candidates as they train to fill certified nursing assistant positions at various Providence healthcare facilities throughout the state. The project, administered by the Alaska Hospital and Healthcare Association, is funded by the State Training and Employment Program through DOLWD.

In addition, Providence operates apprenticeship programs for certified medical assistants, phlebotomists, and other specialties to enhance access to healthcare careers. And Providence’s ambassador program connects healthcare staff with middle and high school students to build their early awareness about the healthcare field. “Healthcare is amazing,” Kennard says. “And I think there are a lot of folks who don't even realize the multitude of possibilities and types of careers you can have within the healthcare industry.”

To target job candidates in the Lower 48, Providence is using a new video series to increase awareness of Providence and Alaska as a whole. “It’s about the adventure you get to embark upon coming up to Alaska and what Alaska looks like,” Kennard says. “With each video, we try to capture the unique characteristics of our locations and showcase them to potential candidates.”

The goal is to offer more illustrative and engaging video content that draws a positive response from candidates. Kennard explains, “That’s a big part of creating broad awareness in a way that it resonates enough and motivates that action of actually applying to a position. When applying to a position that is much farther away, candidates need more information to consider a position in Alaska. We want to meet people where they are and inspire confidence about working and living in Alaska.”

Marketing Tactics

Anchorage-based Thompson & Co. Public Relations also leverages a combination of media to entice talent. Last year, the full-service agency began using digital advertising as a workforce development tool for itself and its clients. “One of the best mixes we found was a combination of Google Search and paid social,” says Senior Digital Strategist Caitlin Weaver. “It was great for finding people who were searching for seasonal jobs.”

The objective was to use videos and photos to create dynamic imagery to attract job candidates in the Lower 48. Social media campaigns, primarily on Facebook and Instagram, steered away from static graphics. “We wanted to create something visual that would allow them to imagine themselves there,” Weaver explains.

Digital ad campaigns were highly successful for Thompson & Co. and its clients, Weaver says. And they proved to be a valuable complement to the agency’s more traditional recruitment tools: newsletters, organic social media, job boards, and media releases.

Thompson & Co. and its sister agency Blueprint Alaska rely heavily on their partner network as another recruitment strategy. “We get a lot of fantastic hires through referrals from our partner network,” Weaver says. “It’s important to remind companies to tap into their own networks.”

Weaver also encourages businesses to be creative with their recruiting efforts. “It’s a really great time to try new ideas that you haven’t tried,” she says. “The job market is so competitive.”

Enticing Candidates

Companies nationwide are dangling incentives such as more money, generous benefit packages, and unconventional perks to reel in qualified candidates once they are on the hook. Compensation continues to be the primary bait, and signon bonuses are becoming more common, especially with employers offering on-

“In the current market, the better performing companies are those that recognize they need to look for talent—before they have a vacancy… And then they should augment those efforts with outside recruitment tactics to reach target audiences that they may not already be reaching.”

Paula Bradison, CEO, People AK

Nicole Kennard Providence St. Joseph Health

Paula Bradison People AK

site positions, according to Indeed.

In July 2022, 5.2 percent of US job postings on Indeed advertised signing bonuses, more than three times higher than in the same month in 2019, but below the December 2021 peak.

The Society for Human Resource Management indicates that companies are offering an array of new and enhanced benefits, including more flexible work schedules. Stocked kitchens and free lunches are increasingly offered as perks, too.

Employers are also increasing their healthcare and dental plans as well as mental health and wellness benefits. And some companies are allowing employees to customize benefits based on their personal preferences and values. They give workers an annual budget to use on a wide range of options, such as gym memberships, college tuition and loan-assistance payments, and pet insurance.

A recent survey by People AK found that some of the most sought-after incentives among top executives are unique benefits. According to Bradison, many of these chief officers were

The Providence hospital network has a video series to sell the adventure of working in Alaska, along with practical details to reassure job seekers about the long move from the Lower 48.

Charles Bell | Alaska Business

interested in tuition reimbursement— not necessarily for themselves, but for their children. They also valued the ability to bring their dog to work, to have a flexible schedule in and out of the office, and to have executive coaching as a budget item.

At Thompson & Co., many job candidates inquire about opportunities for personal development and growth within the agency. They are also keenly interested in the company’s vacation and sick leave policy.

The benefits package at Thompson & Co. is “unmatched,” Weaver says. It includes work-from-home Fridays, 401(k) matching, a professional development budget, and a strong, familyfriendly culture. “One of our agency tenets is family first,” she explains. “Your family comes first, so if you need to take time off, the agency understands.”

Incidentally, Thompson & Co. was named one of PR News’ top twenty places to work in 2020.

Providence, like many employers, is using sign-on and referral bonuses to support its recruitment practices, as well as professional development opportunities as incentives. For example, Providence offers tuition reimbursement of $5,250 annually for their caregivers’ education. It also recently enhanced its tuition program to provide additional options for assistance. “We recognize that people may not be able to pay for school up front and then get reimbursed,” Borowski says. “We’re now paying for school for select programs through designated learning partners on behalf of our caregivers, so they can pursue education without first having to pay out of pocket.”

Providence’s efforts to identify, attract, and hire suitable employees are part of its five-prong staffing strategy to build Alaska’s local workforce, recruit experienced talent to come to Alaska, borrow talent when necessary, retain existing employees, and reimagine ways to utilize talent.

“At this point, we don’t expect to be able to fill all our open positions with local Alaska talent,” Borowski explains. “We have a duty to our communities to make sure they receive the care they need. So, while costly, we often ‘borrow’ talent by employing travelers, people who live elsewhere but come up to Alaska for a shortterm assignment. These travelers help ensure that we have the expertise and staff needed to deliver on the quality of care that our patients know and expect from us.”

Providence is also focused on retaining employees through various efforts. This includes providing career advancement opportunities.

“Providence is continuously reimagining and rethinking ways to utilize the talent it has recruited and developed in Alaska,” Borowski says. "It’s important for our communities throughout Alaska to know that we have a staffing strategy and are executing on that strategy. We’re working diligently to meet our current and future healthcare staffing needs.”

Caitlin Weaver Thompson & Co.

Preparing for the Unexpected

Occupational and survival training for Alaska’s workforce

By Rachael Kvapil

Alaska Communications delivers in-house training based on its own developed health and safety curriculum supplemented by other third-party instructors.

Alaska Communications

Survival training sounds ominous for workers who simply want to ply their trade in Alaska.

Which is why Learn to Return owner Brian Horner no longer refers to his service as survival training and has rebranded his company as LTR Training Systems.

The term “occupational training” better describes the specialized scenarios developed for each industry he works with, Horner says, as defined by US Occupational Safety

EVE R Y CR AV I N G W E C ATE R T

“When we added fixed wireless as one of our last-mile technologies, it meant our techs were now climbing tall towers to install equipment… We needed to incorporate tower training into our safety training portfolio for applicable team members.”

Shawna Watson

Business Continuity, Emergency Management, and Safety Manager, Alaska Communications

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and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. Lessons include scenarios with uncontrollable variables that students will face while on the job, like bad weather, aggressive wildlife, an emotional fellow employee having a bad day, or someone else making an unsafe decision.

“It’s easier to stay out of trouble than get you out of trouble,” says Horner. “Preparation is a big part of occupational training. Introducing people to intense scenarios and desensitizing them to those moments prevents them from panicking should a problem arise.”

LTR has provided occupational training for the Federal Aviation Administration, US Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies, and Alaska energy and telecom companies.

Other companies handle training internally. Udelhoven Oilfield System Services uses third-party trainers for a small fraction of employee prep, according to corporate safety manager Brad Hill. As a general contractor providing specialized fabrication, construction, and maintenance support for Cook Inlet and North Slope oil field development, Hill says Udelhoven employees receive occupational training that applies specifically to the job they regularly perform.

“All our workers receive OSHA health and safety training that includes chemical safety, hazard identification, fall protection, fire prevention, and more,” says Hill. “Additional training like excavation safety and respiratory protection depends on their actual position.”

A bit more intense than “here’s where the coffee pot is” training at the average workplace, but then again, whatever the training is called, survival is at stake.

Far From Medical Care

The menu of courses at LTR in Anchorage includes Confined Space Entry and Rescue, Helicopter Underwater Egress, and Wilderness Safety Leader for bear guards. Classes run through scenarios for plane crashes, sinking ships, and cold weather survival. During an 8-hour training day, students might be dunked in a pool, flipped over in a crash simulator, or face down a row of grizzly-shaped targets.

Medical training is also available, beyond the first aid offered by the American Red Cross, which is geared for stabilizing patients until paramedics arrive in a matter of minutes. Delayed Care First Aid assumes help won’t arrive for more than an hour, and Wilderness Survival Medicine spends two days teaching how to care for patients for at least that long.

Extended first aid is the specialty of Wilderness Emergency Medical Education (WEME), a Palmer-based training service. Company owner Dorothy Adler, who began teaching as a mountain climbing guide in McCarthy, says her classes are designed for assessing, responding, and treating injury and illness when hospital care is an hour or more away.

“In Alaska, that scenario happens just driving between Palmer to Fairbanks,” says Adler.

She says it’s become an industry standard for employees to take some form of wilderness first aid. WEME offers basic training in addition to more extensive courses that cover both remote land and maritime scenarios faced by Alaska’s workforce and recreationists alike. Adler’s earliest clients in 2007 were individuals and a few professional groups; over the years, she’s seen a growing number of companies and organizations contacting her for third-party training. She has worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, military units from Fort Wainwright, trail crews, surveying groups, and Native corporations. She also teaches Youth Wilderness First Aid

LTR Training Systems offers specialized educational programs providing knowledge, experience, and confidence in emergency situations.

LTR Training Systems

and Youth Safety Education, something she sees as a vital preparation for Alaska’s future workforce and recreationists.

Technology has evolved so that people can contact emergency medical services easier than before, says Adler, from deeper in the Bush. However, it still takes time for services to arrive on the scene, which means people need to be prepared with knowledge and supplies to manage trauma. WEME maintains a good relationship with LifeMed Alaska, one of the emergency services that transport people from remote locations to nearby hospitals by ground or air. Her extended wilderness emergency training includes scenarios where people need to stabilize a patient for helicopter transport.

Back in the day, a technician traveling to a remote area would say to colleagues, “If you haven’t heard from me by X time, call the troopers,” observes Shawna Watson, manager of business continuity, emergency management, and safety for Alaska Communications. The Anchoragebased telecom now provides satellite phones and other emergency communication devices to its workers. She says security advances have also helped Alaska Communications employees monitor remote facilities with cameras and track each time a door is opened.

Internal vs. Third-Party Training

Like Udelhoven, Alaska Communications conducts most of its training internally, supplemented by contract resources. Since employees work statewide, Watson says the biggest training challenges are logistical. She says virtual training helps fill this gap, but in some cases, they send in-person

training resources to teams to meet them where they are.

Hill believes in-person training is more important than ever, especially for inexperienced workers. He feels the transition from classroom to computer training makes it more difficult to assess the level of understanding employees have of the material, even if they passed all the required tests.

“In that sense, mentoring with a more experienced worker becomes extremely valuable, as does frequent conversations with supervisors who can ensure employees understand what is expected of them,” says Hill. Neither classroom nor computer screen can fully prepare students for the elements. Depending on the time

of year, employees face inclement weather that can drop to -40°F in the winter and rise to 90° in the summer. Watson says Alaska Communications technicians don’t stop working when it’s cold, so the company trains and equips them with appropriate gear for cold weather. This also applies to heavy snowfall, which has occurred a lot more in recent years.

“Sometimes our crews arrive at a job site to find they have to spend several hours unburying our facilities,” says Watson.

Inclement weather potentially creates transportation barriers, especially for Bush technicians who experience weather-related travel cancellations. Bush technicians are trained for extended stays in a remote

community, bringing everything they need, including extra food and personal supplies, sleeping bag, satellite phone, cash, and more.

Udelhoven likewise makes sure employees take extensive training on how to handle cold weather in Alaska—or the heat employees experience at their Texas worksites. The company follows up this training with frequent safety meetings that remind employees of safety protocols.

Alaska Communications’ monthly topical training ranges from winter conditions, fire and electrical hazards, and chemical hazards to power tools, fall protection, trenching and excavation, and more. It also performs all employee mandatory training on

Wilderness Emergency Medical Education teaches group response activities in which a team leader directs the emergency response to a crisis scenario. These scenarios give students a chance to practice emergency skills and desensitize themselves to a situation they may find uncomfortable or frightening.

Wilderness Emergency Medical Education

topics from active shooter and fire safety to cybersecurity. Watson says the telecom weaves safety messages into internal communication as part of its safety culture, keeping messages seasonally appropriate, covering topics from wildfire safety and winter weather driving to cooking safety and fireworks safety.

It's a Long Way Down

For internal training, Alaska Communications designed its own comprehensive safety manuals, in addition to implementing best practice resources from industry leaders.

“We use the CPR training program from the American Heart Association,” says Watson, “but we also team up with union and industry experts for specific training, like tower climbing and fall protection.”

Watson adds that Alaska Communications’ safety training program is designed to meet the unique needs of the state and the overall industry. Her department regularly asks for feedback from employees and adapts training resources to meet their needs. Changes in technology and changes within the industry also influence the type of training assigned.

“For example, when we added fixed wireless as one of our last-mile technologies, it meant our techs were now climbing tall towers to install equipment,” says Watson. “We needed to incorporate tower training into our safety training portfolio for applicable team members.”

Horner has seen similar demand at LTR. In recent years, he’s found LTR providing more “fall protection” training that applies to warehouse and office employees as much as it does to those who scale steep terrain or climb tall trees and towers.

“Falling is one of the leading causes of death in the workplace,” says Horner. “And it isn’t just falling from big heights, but falling down stairs, off ladders or platforms.”

Fake Blood and Burns

The know-how acquired from occupational training becomes part of the tool kit that keeps employees happy and healthy.

“The most important benefit is keeping our employees safe so they

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can return home to their families in the same condition they arrived,” says Watson.

That importance justifies the intensity of the training. Adler says people who have not spent much time outdoors or never received formal training are overwhelmed on the first day of her WEME courses by the amount of information they need to remember. She says her method is to introduce extreme scenarios to teach how to handle them in a calm assertive manner. By going through simulations, Adler says students end up much more comfortable with the information by the second day.

“They are also more comfortable working through any fear or anxiety they might experience when helping someone with a traumatic injury,” says Adler. “We use fake blood and burns that look realistic to desensitize them to injuries that may look scary.”

In group settings, Adler says it’s common to have a student who is hesitant to take on a leadership role during simulations. Adler says she will often set up a scenario in which the leader becomes injured, which forces quieter students to step up as the second in command. In most cases, those students perform in leadership roles perfectly fine; they just needed an opportunity to prove it to themselves.

“One woman thanked me and said she needed that opportunity,” says Adler. “Part of my job as an instructor is to pay close attention to each student and give them the help they need.”

Horner says reactions to occupational training depend on a student’s age and experience and the company culture. He says some groups that LTR trains are eager to learn, and others are more difficult to motivate. More seasoned employees are sometimes harder to teach if they feel they already know the answers, while some younger employees struggle to deal with the uncomfortable emotions that come with an intense scenario.

“We really can’t bend training so that people never feel uncomfortable,” says Horner. “How you react to things is often what determines what will save your life.”

In cases where Alaskans find themselves far away from professional medical services, it’s beneficial to know how to prepare for emergencies and respond in case of an illness or injury.

Wilderness Emergency Medical Education

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Denali Dining Roadside restaurants serve customers by the busload

By Amy Newman

Tourism in Denali is on the rise. According to the National Park Service, 364,000 travelers made their pilgrimage to the continent’s tallest mountain in 2000. By 2019, those numbers jumped to 601,152 annual visitors to Denali National Park and Preserve.

Since 2000, options have proliferated for meals outside of hotel restaurants. New eateries have joined the old-time establishments, and some have changed owners and rebranded, offering visitors diverse and sophisticated dining options. And, like all the roadside businesses clustered near the park entrance, they specialize in serving busloads of customers at a time.

Northern Hospitality

North of Denali Park itself, hungry travelers can find satisfaction on the shady side of the Alaska Range. In Healy, 49th State Brewing – Denali Park serves classic pub fare centered around sustainable Alaska foods. The restaurant hosts group dining in the dining room and pub sides of the restaurant, as well as the brewery.

“We give them a unique experience where you literally dine in the brewery,” says co-founder David McCarthy.

“There are tables in between the brewery tanks and the barrels filled with beer, which is really cool. People just don’t expect it.”

McCarthy works with tour companies to provide groups a custom experience,

whether it’s a special menu, a buffet, or something else.

“Every tour group is treated uniquely,” he says. “We want them to experience Alaskan hospitality.”

Hospitality is the name of the game for McCarthy, and the name of his business. Northern Hospitality Group is the parent company of the flagship brewery in Healy and its successful spinoff in downtown Anchorage. It also operates a couple of restaurants 1 mile north of the Denali Park entrance: The Overlook at the Crow’s Next and Prospectors Pizzeria & Alehouse.

Comfort foods with an Alaska twist, along with forty-nine draft beers, at least half of them from Alaska breweries, are on the menu at Prospectors Pizza

& Alehouse, which opened in 2010, the same year as the first 49th State Brewing location up the road.

“The majority of people who came to Denali prior to 2010 were basically being fed the same food repetitively to get the ‘Alaskan experience,’” McCarthy says. “What we saw in the market was that people were looking for more comfort food.”

That comfort comes in the form of “hybrid Alaskan-style Italian food” that manages to incorporate Alaska into every dish, McCarthy says. “There’s spaghetti and meatballs, but the meatballs are made of elk. Fettuccine Alfredo is topped with king crab. You might have a pizza with king crab in the shell on top. It wasn’t made as a novelty. It was made as a quality pizza to drink with a craft beer.”

Northern Hospitality Group purchased the Crow’s Nest Hotel in 2014, transforming The Overlook into an elevated dining room with an aesthetic McCarthy describes as “outdoor chic.”

“It’s not quite tablecloth,” he says. “It’s just a more elevated experience with higher-end wine and foods.”

Like at 49th State Brewing, The Overlook offers customized dining options for groups based on what they want to experience in Alaska.

And that experience, just as much as the food, is what McCarthy thinks restaurants are offering.

“What you’re selling is this experience of going to the national park and seeing the greatest Northern American safari,” he says. “The authenticity of what we offer in the restaurant becomes part of their adventure.”

Gulch Gastronomy

The Overlook’s neighbor on the bluff above the Parks Highway is the Grande Denali Lodge, which contains the Alpenglow Restaurant, serving a spectacular view of the park alongside continental American fare with an emphasis on Alaska seafood.

“The idea up there is great cocktails, good food, in a great setting that overlooks into the national park,” says Chris Scheffer, complex general manager for the Grande Denali Lodge and Denali Bluffs Hotel.

A private banquet room in the lodge is available for groups that want privacy or a more customized experience;

group dinners in the main dining room can accommodate up to sixty guests. Scheffer says he works with tour groups in advance to prepare a menu that not only fits the group’s dining budget but gives the kitchen flexibility in case certain items are unavailable and helps expedite production.

What Grande Denali Lodge and The Overlook both overlook is a bend in the Nenana River known as Glitter Gulch. Located just outside the park proper, highway traffic stops for pedestrians crossing between

Prospectors Pizzeria & Alehouse offers comfort food with an Alaska twist, like king crab pizza and spaghetti and elk meatballs.

49th State Brewing

a strip of merchants at the foot of the bluff and the deluxe visitor accommodations on the riverbank, including McKinley Chalet Resort and Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge.

Fannie Q’s Saloon opened in 2019 in the former site of Denali Wilderness Lodge’s dinner theater. A redesign transformed the restaurant into a sleek, well-lit space with large windows, a candelabra chandelier and, befitting a saloon, a long bar that stretches along the back wall, says the lodge’s general manager, Michael Cook.

“The menu is American fare, not casual but not formal,” he says. “Fish and chips, a burger, fried chicken sandwich, but we also have some nicer entrees, like a braised pork shoulder and Alaska rockfish with chipotle lime.”

The saloon’s full bar offers twelve Alaska beers on tap and craft cocktails focused on Alaska-sourced products, whether a Southeast Alaska or Talkeetna distillery or local Alaska flavors, Smith says.

Next door, Grizzly Burger was revamped in 2019 into a full-service, self-seating restaurant, so groups can

rearrange tables and chairs or head to the deck above the Nenana River, Cook says.

He likens the burger-based menu to Five Guys or Smashburger, with “fresh grill top patties on a brioche bun.” Grizzly Burger has a full bar and a milkshake machine that can make kid or adult-friendly treats.

“We do boozy milkshakes,” Cook says. “So, if you wanted a s’mores milkshake with a shot of peanut butter whiskey, we can do that.”

Within the McKinley Chalet Resort, Karstens Public House serves casual Alaska fare—burgers and sandwiches, pasta and steak, and some great shareable appetizers— in a fun, open space that can accommodate large groups.

“It’s just like a public house feel,” says Tracy Smith, general manager at McKinley Chalet Resort, Holland America Princess Alaska-Yukon. “It’s open and has lots of energy, and we do have the ability to make large tables in there.”

Like Fannie Q’s (both are owned by Holland America Princess), Karstens

“Kitchens are never built, unfortunately, to actually feed every table at the same time… The grill space or the number of burners that you have, and the number of staff that you have, is really aligned with how much food you can produce at once, so a lot of times we’re controlling the flow.”

Chris Scheffer

Complex General

Manager

Grande Denali Lodge and Denali Bluffs Hotel

offers twelve Alaska beers on tap and craft cocktails featuring unique Alaska ingredients.

Southside Snack Stops

When Prey Pub & Eatery opened in 2012 as Prey, its one-word name created confusion.

“People didn’t really understand what it was,” says Chris Hudson, general manager. “It was just Prey, so people thought it was a church.”

A name change and exterior facelift in 2019 make clear the pub nourishes the body, not the soul. The Americanstyle pub fare menu features sandwiches; caribou meatloaf; a burger made with a mix of bison, Wagyu beef, elk, and wild boar; Alaska seafood; and prime rib.

The 68-seat dining room can accommodate small to mid-size groups with advance notice. Groups can order straight off the menu, but Hudson says most request a pared-down menu that coincides with the group’s prepaid dining budget.

Without advance notice, Hudson’s advice is to be flexible.

TV the way it should be with DISH

Everything at The Perch Restaurant is made in-house from scratch using local ingredients as much as possible, like these handcut pappardelle noodles using Alaska barley flour.

The Perch Restaurant

“We have to be very calculated about it,” he says. “Small groups, ten to twenty people, are a bit easier. But for the larger groups, we recommend coming very early, when we open, or late in the evening.”

Prey Pub & Eatery is about ten miles south of Glitter Gulch, near the airstrip outside of the park. Farther south, perched above Carlo Creek about twelve miles from the park entrance, is The Perch.

Panorama Pizza Pub serves piping hot gourmet pizza with dough and sauce made from scratch in-house.

Panorama Pizza Pub

The restaurant has undergone “a bazillion different iterations” since co-owner Jessica Rinck’s mother-inlaw opened it in the ‘90s. The most recent, which Rinck and her husband settled on when they purchased The Perch five years ago, is American bistro-style fare. The menu focuses on scratch cooking using fresh, local ingredients.

“The bread, the sauces, the pasta, everything is made from scratch inhouse with a really small team and people who are just committed to the art of making really good food,” Rinck says.

The restaurant often welcomes small, independent tour groups, which are booked months in advance. Rinck says the restaurant accommodates groups without advanced notice when possible, but they must call ahead of time rather than just walking in; the restaurant switched to reservation-only during the pandemic.

The Perch’s sister restaurant in the Carlo Creek area is Panorama Pizza Pub, which Rinck and her husband also own. The couple renovated the restaurant in 2018 and debuted a menu that was the same, but different.

“The restaurant’s stayed pretty steadfast, but when times change, we try to stay on trend as much as possible,” Rinck says. “So, the menu’s been the same, but changing.”

Translation? Pizza is the star, but more adventurous than basic cheese (though that’s on the menu, too), like the Banh Mi-Oh-My, inspired by the Vietnamese sandwich, or the Berry White, which consists of whipped goat cheese, berries, and caramelized onions and topped with arugula and microgreens. Like The Perch, everything is made from scratch using local ingredients whenever possible.

The pub’s pizza-centric menu simplifies operations, which makes it easier to accommodate large groups, Rinck says, though she still recommends calling ahead.

Panorama Pizza expected to open a spinoff location in the Palmer/Wasilla area last fall, but a fire damaged the building. Their plans for winter cashflow dashed, Rinck and her husband decided to risk opening the Denali Park shop in February, if only on weekends, in defiance of the area’s usual off-

Karstens Public House features casual Alaska fare with appetizers perfect for group sharing.

Holland America Princess

Fannie Q’s Saloon serves American fare that hits the sweet spot between casual and formal, along with craft cocktails featuring Alaska spirits and beers from Alaska breweries.

Holland America Princess

season shutdown. They’re counting on shoulder-season recreational travelers. But first, they had to make sure the building’s plumbing would work at all before spring thaw.

Another Busload to Feed

“There are so many challenges on a daily basis in food services in remote Alaska,” McCarthy says. “There are so many moving parts, and everything has to be coordinated correctly.”

From the diner’s perspective, it may not be immediately clear why one table of twenty diners is more difficult to serve than five tables with four diners each. Twenty people is twenty people, right?

Not exactly.

“Kitchens are never built, unfortunately, to actually feed every table at the same time,” Scheffer explains. “The grill space or the number of burners that you have, and the number of staff that you have, is really aligned with how much food you can produce at once, so a lot of times we’re controlling the flow.”

Controlling the flow ensures that diners at individual tables get each course at the same time and that a steady stream of food is coming out of the kitchen. Restaurants manage this by staggering seating (which is why you may have a 15-minute wait even though there are empty tables) and spacing food production. Groups of diners interrupt that steady stream by pulling the kitchen’s attention away from the entire dining room and focusing it on a single table.

“We’re trying to provide a great experience for all of our guests, and if a kitchen is focusing on a table of twenty, the rest of the restaurant’s tables are waiting for that food to come out,” says Smith. “The line, each station, is focused only on that table for the most part. There isn’t a trickle of food coming out.”

To alleviate that bottleneck, restaurants typically require that groups make reservations well in advance of their arrival, often long before tourist season even begins. That helps guarantee they’re not overextending themselves on any given night.

“At the beginning of the season I just have to map out where these tour

companies are going to go and check availability,” says Rinck. “Then we pin them in where we can.”

Demand, but Little Supply

Getting seafood, meat, produce, and other essentials to Denali Park has always been a challenge. National food supply chain issues haven’t helped.

“Unfortunately, there are only so many purveyors that supply Alaska,” Scheffer says. Last season, he says Alpenglow Restaurant was on a two-week hold for gluten-free panko, went ten days without bananas, and, when they did have produce, the quality was less than desirable.

“These are constant things that we’re trying to source by running to Fairbanks, driving two hours in a vehicle to buy all the bananas at Costco,” he says.

Logistical relationships with vendors have helped. For example, since 2010 Northern Hospitality Group has been getting its halibut from Kachemak Bay delivered via DiTomaso Produce Company in Anchorage, alongside regular orders of vegetables and fruits. But McCarthy says sometimes the items are unavailable, forcing his restaurants to adapt the menu.

Staffing shortages have also complicated restaurants’ ability to get supplies.

“Trucks weren’t able to get to the location to make the delivery because they didn’t have drivers or hours,” Smith says. “So we would not be getting product at all.”

Due to difficulty with their own staffing, too, restaurants had to adjust, whether it was increasing wages, modifying hours, paring down the menu, or switching to a buffet breakfast because there wasn’t enough staff to provide plated service.

The restaurants’ response in the face of these challenges, and the nimbleness with which they continue to handle them, serve as good advice for diners.

Smith says, “Being flexible and knowing it’s all part of the Alaskan adventure are part of the requirements.

“We’re trying to provide a great experience for all of our guests, and if a kitchen is focusing on a table of twenty, the rest of the restaurant’s tables are waiting for that food to come out… The line, each station, is focused only on that table for the most part. There isn’t a trickle of food coming out.”

Tracy Smith General Manager McKinley Chalet Resort

Australian Adrenaline Santos

stimulates Slope with pending Pikka production

By Scott Rhode

Jacob Boomsma

Hockey season in Alaska wraps up in early April.

The Kenai River Brown Bears, Fairbanks Ice Dogs, and Anchorage Wolverines of the North American Hockey League hang up their skates until September. On the other side of the globe, their semipro counterparts in the Australian Ice Hockey League are just starting their season, including the Adelaide Adrenaline, hometown team in the state capital of South Australia.

Adelaide is also the headquarters Santos, which operates oil and gas fields in Australia’s northern neighbor, Papua New Guinea, and beyond. In 2020, it acquired more than $1 billion worth of ConocoPhillips’ assets in the region. The following year, it came into possession of an Alaska project, making Santos and ConocoPhillips neighbors on the North Slope.

That project, named Pikka, was not necessarily a production prospect when Santos entered Alaska. “If you asked our CEO or some of our senior leadership team, when the acquisition occurred the intent was likely to sell Alaska [assets] or to exit because it really didn’t clearly fit with the company’s portfolio,” the company’s Alaska president, Bruce Dingeman, told the annual conference of the Resource Development Council (RDC) in November. Upon further review, though, his new bosses in Adelaide realized what they had: “What fell into the company’s hands was a shovelready project.”

Pikka Phase 1 project is progressing to plan with over US $800 million of contracts committed and fabrication of the processing facility modules underway.

rig continue on schedule.”

Santos 2022 Q4 Report

A structure map of the Nanushuk formation, with the Pikka leases situated on top.

Oil Search Alaska

Dingeman went into further detail in a presentation for Santos investors in November. “Typically, when you take FID [final investment decision] on a major project, the degree of engineering completion might be 30 to 40 percent. We had scopes that were up to 70 percent,” he explained. “So we took a very high level of definition into that FID.”

A decision to proceed had arrived only a few months earlier: in August 2022 Santos committed $2.6 billion for Phase 1 of Pikka. “The project will add further diversification to our portfolio and reduces geographic concentration risk,” Santos Managing Director and CEO Kevin Gallagher said at the time.

Fair Dinkum, Mate

Pikka sits on top of the Nanushuk formation, a geologic layer from the early Cretaceous Period, about 100 million years ago, when Dromaeosaurus skulked beneath gingko trees near what is now the Colville River. The river forms the eastern boundary of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, just west of the Pikka leases.

The significance of the Nanushuk formation had been overlooked for decades until 2013, when the Pikka discovery well Qugruk 3 was drilled by Spanish energy company Repsol and Colorado-based Armstrong Oil & Gas. Further drilling in 2015 discovered economically viable flow rates, and more exploration to the south established Nanushuk as the largest onshore find in the United States since the ‘80s, with an estimated 768 million barrels of recoverable oil. The layer just beneath, the Torok formation, extends offshore and may prove to be even richer.

Repsol maintains 49 percent ownership of Pikka. Armstrong sold its majority stake in 2018 to Papua New Guinea’s largest energy company, Oil Search—no relation to Santos. At least, not until Santos and Oil Search completed a merger in December 2021.

Oil Search had set up headquarters in BP’s recently vacated Anchorage highrise. Santos hung its shingle outside; within the building, Dingeman kept his role, becoming an executive vice

president for Santos and its subsidiary, Oil Search Alaska.

When Oil Search bought into Pikka, the company expected first oil in 2023, based on a plan to invest $6 billion and produce 120,000 barrels per day. After crude oil prices dropped in 2020, the investment was halved, and Phase 1 was scaled down to 80,000 barrels per day. Last summer, in advance of the final investment decision, Repsol CEO Josu Jon Imaz forecast first oil in 2026.

“That's our planning case,” Dingeman assured investors. “We're looking for opportunities to accelerate that after Kevin [Gallagher] said that we were sandbagging. So hopefully, we can do a bit better than that.”

When Pikka changed hands from Armstrong to Oil Search, just three employees in Alaska were attached to the project. Three years later, the Oil Search workforce swelled to 150 by the time of the Santos merger. With the FID, the company enlisted an army of contractors.

“We've set up several large engineering, procure, fabricate

contracts that are fixed price in nature,” Dingeman told investors. “So of our total spend, about 60 percent of that is fixed; the remaining 40 percent represents contingency and some unit cost labor. So we feel like we've really well positioned the

project in spite of the inflationary environment that we're in to maintain our promise on cost and schedule.”

That schedule was holding, as of Santos’ quarterly report in January, which contained this brief

statement: “The Pikka Phase 1 project is progressing to plan with over US $800 million of contracts committed and fabrication of the processing facility modules underway. Modifications to the contracted drilling rig continue on schedule.”

A geologic map of the Nanushuk formation near the North Slope village of Nuiqsut.

Alaska Department of Natural Resources

The Phase 1 scope, according to a 2019 Clean Water Act permit, encompasses three drill sites for production and injection wells, a central processing facility, an operations center and camp, approximately 35 miles of pipelines, two bridges, and approximately 25 miles of roads.

Still, the road to Pikka has some obstacles. Literally.

Road Warriors

Pikka is situated near the Colville River village of Nuiqsut and west of ConocoPhillips’ Kuparuk River Unit.

“Pikka Phase 1 will execute a responsible development plan with a small surface footprint and utilize existing infrastructure, including the Kuparuk transportation pipeline and the Trans Alaska Pipeline System,” says Gallagher.

Exploration crews have been utilizing 75 miles of gravel roads across Kuparuk, with the permission of ConocoPhillips. The roads were built in the ‘80s by Arco Alaska,

which was divested by BP during a 2000 merger and became part of Philips Petroleum, which joined with Conoco in 2002.

As Santos shifted from exploration toward production, the company offered ConocoPhillips $60 million for access to the Kuparuk roads, treating the payment as a courtesy for upkeep costs. ConocoPhillips countered with a request for $95 million spread over twenty years, noting that annual maintenance costs $15 million. The companies have been at loggerheads for more than a year.

To avoid slowing Santos’ momentum, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources last year permitted its crews to use the roads, free of charge for the time being. Acting Commissioner Akis Gialopsos concluded that the state reserves the right to grant road access on state lands, though he expressed hope that the parties would reach an agreement.

In response, ConocoPhillips filed a lawsuit in January challenging

“The project has strong fundamentals. It is located in a world-class oil producing province with significant existing infrastructure. It is going to be developed as a carbonneutral project and is well supported by local stakeholders.”

Jane Norman, Vice President of Strategy, Santos

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the permit. It argues that classifying the road as a public right-of-way is an unconstitutional taking of private property, citing the $1 billion replacement cost of the Kuparuk roads. The lawsuit asks the court to intervene in a legal gray area, since the state has no explicit rules for sharing roads, as it has for sharing pipelines.

A Shot in the Arm

Mobilization at Pikka occurred over the winter. Vertical piles were driven to set facilities on top, and a 185-bed camp was put in place. “We’ve started cutting steel and welding connections at the processing facility fabrication site in Airdrie, Alberta,” Dingeman told investors. “So that’s well underway, as well as work with other contractors and suppliers.”

The commitment by Santos and Repsol to progress with Pikka signals a “renaissance on Alaska’s North Slope,” according to Governor Mike Dunleavy.

For an oil industry workforce that shed nearly 3,000 jobs in the last three

Santos

The Pikka pad as it appeared after the summer 2022 construction season.

years, Pikka is a proverbial shot in the arm. Plans call for 2,600 jobs during construction of the production facilities and 500 ongoing during the field’s 30year lifespan.

Through the development phase, Pikka plans were amended to account for local concerns, everything from moving a drill site farther from the riverbank to using light fixtures that minimize skyward glare. Santos also made agreements with Native corporations to offset the carbon emissions from Pikka operations, part of the company’s goal of net zero by 2040.

Offsets cannot account for carbon in the petroleum extracted from the ground, but the field itself is slated to emit 75 percent less greenhouse gasses than the North Slope average, based on a Wood Mackenzie benchmarking tool, or less than 14 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per 1,000 barrels of oil produced.

Pikka’s compact size makes operations offsets possible. With up to fifty wells from one pad, Dingeman says the surface footprint of 20 acres

can reach as much as 20,000 acres of subsurface. Gas turbines generate power for fully electrified equipment, and waste heat is recovered for processing purposes.

Jane Norman, Santos vice president of strategy, touts Pikka as the right project at the right time. “The project has strong fundamentals. It is located in a world-class oil producing province with significant existing infrastructure. It is going to be developed as a carbon-neutral project and is well supported by local stakeholders,” she says.

Total output from Pikka could reach 400 million barrels. The daily volume of 80,000 barrels would amount to 15 percent of oil carried through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS).

Dingeman adds that Pikka’s output would increase the value of all crude oil in the pipeline because of the tariff structure. “The TAPS throughput cost is going to drop by $1 per barrel shipped, when our volumes enter that pipeline,” Dingeman explained to RDC. “That’s not just a benefit to Santos; that’s a benefit to our joint venture

partner Repsol and it’s a benefit to the existing producers in the pipeline, and it’s a benefit to the state because the royalty barrels will be transferred at a lower cost.”

Further, Dingeman points to a “conveyor belt of opportunities” to follow up on Pikka. The portfolio of Alaska assets that Santos acquired also includes Pikka’s neighbors, the Quokka and Horseshoe units. Oil Search Alaska actively bid on state leases in November, picking up tracts adjacent to Quokka, just south of Pikka. That’s far enough away that it would require a new production hub, Dingeman warns, so development of those units is on a longer timeline.

Still, Dingeman says, “We’re really excited about the potential down there.”

The drilling rig for Pikka is arriving in April, just in time for the Australian hockey season. Dingeman expects to spud the first well there in the first half of the year.

“The project is off to a really good start,” he says, “and we look forward to being a significant cash contributor to the company in three and a half short years from now.”

The development plan for Pikka includes options for additional pads tied to the processing facility.

Oil Search Alaska

Prevention Each Day Keeps the Inspector Away

Understanding occupational safety and health enforcement

By Sean Dewalt

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 authorized the US Secretary of Labor to set “mandatory occupational safety and health standards applicable to businesses affecting interstate commerce, and by creating an Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission for carrying out adjudicatory functions under the Act.” This act, also known as the WilliamsSteiger Occupational Safety and Health Act, gave the new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sweeping powers to create minimum safety standards, interpret these standards, and enforce these standards through administrative procedure.

The act also provided an avenue where states could adopt their own programs with federal approval, monitoring, and oversight. These state plans “must be at least as effective as OSHA in protecting workers and in preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths.” The Alaska Occupational Safety and Health statutes, AS 18.60.010 - 105, became effective on July 24, 1973. Alaska completed the development steps by creating the Alaska Occupational Safety and Health (AKOSH) section within the Alaska Department of Labor. The state plan received final approval by the US Department of Labor on September 26, 1984.

“Safety applies with equal force to the individual, to the family, to the employer, to the state, the nation, and to international affairs. Safety, in its widest sense, concerns the happiness, contentment, and freedom of mankind.“

- William M. Jeffers, former President, Union Pacific Railroad Co., 1946

OSHA continues to have authority over large segments of Alaska workplaces, including all military installations, national parks, the US Postal Service, offshore oil platforms, and longshoring at cargo ports. AKOSH has jurisdiction over most general industries, including city and state employers, land-based oil and fish processing, and construction.

It is important to understand that AKOSH has program directives. These programs dictate a fair amount of what AKOSH focuses on for inspections and detail the purpose and scope of the directive. Many of these directives last several years and can range from a local or national emphasis program to reduce and/or eliminate occupational safety and health hazards in the construction industry to recordkeeping regarding COVID-19 for healthcare employers. Knowing AKOSH’s priorities allow an organization to increase awareness of the potential enforcement visit and tighten up safety plans and programs, educate company safety committees, and increase or enhance training for affected employees.

Be Normal

Another AKOSH directive is the high hazard targeting system, a programplanned system to assess target selection for enforcement inspections. This program enables AKOSH to quickly assess which employers have higherthan-normal rates of loss time incidents. According to the rule, “Employers with three or more lost time incidents as reported through the Alaska Division of Workers’ Compensation database for the previous year shall be identified and placed on a list. Each employer will then be evaluated based on the number of loss time incidents in comparison to the number of workers employed to determine the employer’s loss time rate per 100 employees. Those employers with lost time rates in excess of 90 percent of the overall average loss-time rate for all employers in Alaska as outlined in the AKOSH Performance listed for the most recent fiscal year shall be placed on a targeted list of employers.” A letter is sent to the employer as notice that there is a high likelihood of an AKOSH enforcement inspection resulting from the number of loss time incidents.

CSHO ROADMAP

OSHA compliance safety and health officers (CSHOs) follow a roadmap, and knowing it in advance can help the inspection go smoothly.

x Before the visit, the CSHO reviews previous case files.

x The CSHO will request a copy of the certification of hazard assessment, if applicable.

x Inspections are made during regular working hours, except in special circumstances.

x An employee representative must be given opportunity to participate in the inspection.

x At an opening conference, the CSHO outlines the scope of the inspection, such as whether employees will be interviewed privately.

x CSHOs determine whether the employer is subject to any voluntary compliance exemptions.

x Any records requested during the inspection must be provided within four business hours.

x The CSHO shall review the employer’s injury and illness records for three prior calendar years.

x A walkaround inspection is meant to identify potential hazards.

x Violations are brought to the attention of the employer and employee representatives at the time they are documented.

The multifaceted solution to this issue is to double down on assessing exposures and applying controls for workers along with increased safety training for affected employees. Utilize external resources such as consultants, insurance company loss control professionals, and safety managers to reduce the frequency of worker injuries. Remember, investigating smaller injuries or near misses for root cause and hazard mitigation will often prevent larger loss time incidents.

Having a formalized, written plan for an OSHA inspection is another tool that can help employers stay a step ahead when a Compliance Safety and Health Officer knocks on your door. Understanding both the responsibilities of the employer and employees along with the inspection process from start to finish is key. Knowing what to do or what not to do could be the difference between a citation and no citations. Strategies for working through an OSHA visit vary greatly, and each company should take an individualized approach to this administrative inspection.

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You’re Cited. Now What?

If a citation is received, read through the entire notice carefully. An entity only has fifteen days to contest a citation. There are posting requirements as well, and the employer must comply with these posting requirements even if the citation is contested. Failure to follow posting requirements is a violation and can result in a penalty. If the employer fails to notify the OSHA Review Board of intent to contest the citation or proposed penalty within fifteen working days, the citation and the penalty assessment, as proposed, are considered final and not subject to review by any court. The company must also correct the violation in the citation. It is best to do this immediately and document the hazard mitigation.

Before deciding whether to file a written Notice of Intent to Contest, the company may request an informal conference with the OSHA Area Director to discuss the citation and notification of penalty. This is an opportunity to get more information about the citation, garner a better understanding of the process, and even

resolve disputed citations and penalties, thereby eliminating the need for the more formal procedures associated with litigation. It is noteworthy to understand that OSHA is not required to show any of the case file evidence during the informal conference. In fact, in Alaska, according to the Attorney General’s office, “no constitutional provision, federal statute, rule or regulation, or Alaska statute, rule, or regulation require OSHA to disclose the entire investigative file during an informal settlement conference. The Chief of Enforcement has the discretion to show an employer photographs during the informal conference if it will facilitate settlement.” This makes it more difficult to negotiate in good faith, considering the company may not be able to see all of the evidence (or lack of evidence) against it.

Another consideration to examine closely is that if the company accepts a settlement for a “serious violation” (or even an “other than serious violation”), that employer may be cited for a repeat violation if that employer has been cited previously for a substantially similar

condition. There are no statutory limitations upon the length of time that a citation may serve as a basis for a repeat violation. Repeat violations penalties have increased to $156,259 as of January 15, 2023.

In Alaska, if the citation is contested, it is sent to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Board, which consists of three members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature. The board then requests the chief administrative law judge to appoint an administrative law judge employed or retained by the Office of Administrative Hearings to preside at a hearing conducted under this section. This judge will preside over the contested citation throughout the process. It is only at this time that a full discovery of evidence will be allowed and the case file will be permitted to be reviewed.

Sharing a Deeper Appreciation

It is rewarding, as well, to hear feedback from advertisers and readers about Alaska Business. Our success depends on both audiences to succeed, and I'm happy to report that we’re hearing great things! Here are a couple of recent quotes that illustrate what we’re hearing:

Having worked for Alaska Business Publishing Co. for more than two decades, I have learned a thing or two about the publishing industry. My area of expertise has focused on print advertising, and I have learned what works in print and what doesn't. I find great satisfaction in sharing this knowledge with my clients. Offering feedback and discussing strong advertising strategies has led to a deeper appreciation of the business community, and I’m grateful to work with such an amazing and diverse group of professionals.

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Since starting Yuit Communications in 2013, Alaska Business has been our agency's and clients' go-to print publication. Alaska Business supports

its publication and advertisers with strategic programs that demonstrate a genuine understanding of the industries and players who are the backbone of Alaska's economy. Charles Bell is our primary contact and has always gone above and beyond, and his level of service is exceptional. We consider Charles to be a trusted business partner.

Grant Johnston, Yuit Communications

I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback, whether you are an advertiser or a reader. Call or email me to find out how we can get your business in front of our audience, and share your thoughts on how we’re doing!

Charles Bell Vice President of Sales & Marketing 907-257-2909

cbell@akbizmag.com

Sean Dewalt is a Senior Loss Control Consultant for Umialik Insurance Company in Anchorage. Dewalt has been working in safety and risk management in Alaska since 2000.

Want More Employee Engagement?

Try these five disciplines

By Woodrie Burich

I’ve been hearing a lot about the increasing need for employee engagement in an increasingly hybrid world. Gallup recently compiled research pointing to drops in engagement the past few years and noted that it’s a hot topic at leadership tables in 2023.

If we want more engagement, we need to focus on connection first. Connection fuels us. It provides us passion and meaning. Consider how a great conversation can inspire the whole day. Or reflect on the best teams you have been lucky enough to be part of: high-performing, driven, innovative, fun to the point of uproarious laughter at times—those are the best. Both of these have something in common: meaningful connection.

A while back, I was on a coaching call with a talented man working in a Fortune 100 company (story details slightly edited to ensure confidentiality). We were reflecting on his past job departure and lessons learned from that experience. He shared how the last company he left was great, and his previous boss there

had been kind, engaging, and always seemed to care about him. Before his departure, he had been reassigned to a new boss, and his new boss was different. Highly transactional and deadline driven. His boss wasn’t necessarily mean or toxic—he was actually effective and efficient—but he wasn’t connected. His boss never asked about his personal life or seemed to care how his day was. Eventually, in time the work became monotonous, dry, and boring. My client shared with me that he was craving to do more in that position—to contribute more—to engage. But instead, he left.

What’s interesting is that my client had never met any of his colleagues or supervisors in person; every single engagement with that company was through a computer screen. What was even more fascinating was the huge perspective shift that arose the moment his boss changed. It was the role of relationship that forced the departure. Not pay. Not job duties. Not workload. It was the transactional nature of the relationship that reflected a lack of engagement.

Ultimately, it was loss of connection that drove this young and clever individual to a new job at a new company (lucky them).

I’m curious if the same would have occurred in an onsite job setting. I wonder if our corporate cultures are simply not translating well into hybrid spaces—and if our relationships are being severed through reduced connection points. I’m also curious what might have occurred if the organization had other efforts underway to drive connection and communication with their remote team members. Would connecting with more coworkers have helped or made a difference? I know many people who have been able to outlast cranky and difficult supervisors through the support of trusted colleagues. One might even argue that the experience made them stronger and better leaders themselves.

Luckily, as leaders we can do a lot to support our teams with engagement and avoid the type of loss mentioned above, even in hybrid environments. Simple small steps can go a long way. Below are five steps to foster more

connection, honor more boundaries, and support increased engagement:

1. Invest in Opportunities to Connect

We are social beings by nature. We are biologically hardwired to connect, and oxytocin (that fabulous feel-good hormone) is activated by connection. Oxytocin is known to enhance our ability to trust, and it opens us up to sharing and deeper connections. Reflect on how often your team is actually connecting versus just working. As a leadership coach, it is not uncommon to hear the rumblings of discontent—and these are always heightened when work is relegated to transactional interactions or monotonous work tasks without meaning.

We miss out on the depth of meaning and purpose to our work when we lose our connection. Focus and invest in connection opportunities that give value to your team members. It can be as simple as creating space and inviting more personal chat time at the beginning of a Zoom call or meeting, all the way to coordinating a large corporate event with speakers. Get creative, have some fun, and let connection fuel engagement.

2. Build Trust and Show Appreciation

Team members know when they are cared for. We can look at all Society for Human Resources Management literature, find multiple case studies cited from well-known publications, or simply look to our own experience. My personal favorite reference on this topic comes from the book The Progress Principle by Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer, how the number one motivating factor is when employees feel their supervisors understand and take a personal interest in their personal work life. At the root: connection. Taking time to notice and take an interest in others reflects our care and appreciation—always a win for our teams.

3. Teach & Honor Boundaries

When we teach boundaries and honor boundaries of our team members, we are instantaneously showing them that we value and

honor them. We see their needs and we honor them. We want our team members well taken care of. There is no substitute for this. I’m continuously astounded with how often we forget to pre-emptively offer permission and proactively offer support for our team members. People need to hear that they are appreciated and cared for, and they need to be shown that they can take time off. They need us as leaders to recognize and support their needs and honor them. The rewards are massive. We see retention, change in culture, and the impact this has on people’s personal lives as well as professional outcomes.

4. Promote Rest and Offer Relief When Needed

Leaders and organizations can support their teams simply by understanding and incorporating a team’s rest needs. There are many ways to rest and promote it within the workday. Breaks are one way, integrating quiet focused work hours into a team’s schedule, honoring breaks between back-to-back meetings, and referencing the latest in rest research (hint: it’s not just about sleep) is a good start. One of my favorite researchers on this subject is Dr. Saundra DaltonSmith and her overview of the seven types of rest. The gift of rest provides us much needed relief, especially when we’re dealing with high stress or suffering from exhaustion. Promoting and supporting rest activities can go a long way toward reenergizing a team.

5. Commit to Connect— Especially Hybrid Offices

I’m continuously amazed by the value teams receive simply by connecting and communicating regularly on hot topic issues. The key to success lies in the commitment. How committed is the team to addressing the issue? Psychological safety, enhanced communication skills, the ability to address conflict and manage tensions, improved work structures and outcomes—these are the benefits received when we regularly commit to creating brave spaces that allow us to communicate and bring our full selves to the table. Without the commitment or conscious effort for connection, we lose out on the benefits these times

provide. How are you consciously connecting? How are you addressing and communicating the most pressing issues? Are you aware of the top three issues your team members are grappling with, and do they have solutions to them?

Engagement and connection require commitment and focus. Engagement does not happen on its own; rather, it arises when the conditions are right. Invest in and create those conditions. Our teams, our organizations, and our communities will surely benefit from the increased connection.

Woodrie Burich is an award-winning executive and leadership coach based in Alaska. She is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council, TEDx presenter, national speaker, and author. More about her may be found at integratingwork.com.

Psychological safety, enhanced communication skills, the ability to address conflict and manage tensions, improved work structures and outcomes—these are the benefits received when we regularly commit to creating brave spaces that allow us to communicate and bring our full selves to the table.

INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS

Alaska USA Federal Credit Union

As of April 3, Alaska USA Federal Credit Union is no more. The state’s largest financial institution is taking on the branding of the Spokane-based affiliate it acquired last year: Global Credit Union. The new name reflects a worldwide reach, since the merger came with three branches in Italy that serve US military personnel. alaskausa.org

Glacier Oil & Gas

A local independent producer and explorer, Glacier Oil & Gas, has new out-of-state owners. Pontem Energy and Sweat Equity Partners, both based in Houston, Texas, acquired 100 percent ownership in January. The transaction price was not disclosed. Glacier built at least $500 million worth of assets at the Badami unit on the North Slope and at the Osprey platform and West McArthur River in Cook Inlet, including the Kustatan Production Facility. Its subsidiary, Savant Alaska, plans further drilling at Badami. glacieroil.com

Silver Bay Seafoods

Silver Bay Seafoods acquired Seattlebased processing company Orca Bay Foods. Through a joint venture over the past several years, Silver Bay has supplied seafood and Orca Bay has managed secondary processing, sales, and marketing. Orca Bay foods will continue to operate as a separate business line. Silver Bay, formed in Sitka in 2007, owns six processing plants in Alaska.

silverbayseafoods.com

Coastal Villages Region Fund

The nonprofit that pools the Community Development Quotas of twenty villages in Southwest Alaska is now the proud owner of a Seattle waterfront property that it has occupied since 2015. Coastal Villages Region Fund (CVRF) bought a marina and office building on the shore of Lake Union from its neighbor, United States Seafoods. The property serves as CVRF’s base of fishing operations in the Lower 48. US Seafoods owned the property, once a home port for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, since 2012 and continues to keep offices there, alongside CVRF. coastalvillages.org

OCCP

The joint venture of Ounalashka Corporation and Chena Power, OCCP, agreed to an engineering, procurement, and construction contract with Ormat Technologies for the Makushin Geothermal Project. OCCP has been developing the $235 million project to build a 36 MW power plant drawing heat from Makushin Volcano, about 14 miles west of Unalaska. Ormat Technologies is a Nevada-based company that has built more than 190 power plants around the world. alaskageothermal.info

Granite Construction

A suspension bridge is coming to Denali National Park and Preserve, restoring access through Pretty Rocks, where a landslide in 2021 swallowed a section of the only

road into the park. The US National Park Service awarded the contract to Granite Construction, a California company with an Alaska regional office. The $102 million project is scheduled to be completed by the 2025 summer tourist season. Until then, the 92-mile park road is open for only its first 43 miles. graniteconstruction.com

Häagen-Dazs

Beyond supermarket freezer aisles, Häagen-Dazs sells its ice cream at more than 200 storefronts nationwide. The first outlet in Alaska opened in December near the Target store in South Anchorage. Franchise owner Christina Bean says sales have been among the best for the Minneapolis-based chain’s streetbased locations, not counting mall locations.

icecream.com/us/en/brands/haagen-dazs

The Roaming Root Cellar

For the second year in a row, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ “Golden Carrot” award goes to The Roaming Root Cellar. As in 2021, the shop in Fairbanks demonstrated exceptional marketing creativity in 2022 as part of the 6th annual Alaska Grown $5 Challenge, encouraging customers to spend $5 each week on Alaska Grown products from June to November. The shop, which expanded from a bus in 2020 to a storefront a year later, was the first Alaska small business to win the Golden Carrot after the prize went to the Palmer Fred Meyer store, the Palmer Carrs-Safeway store, and the Wasilla Walmart.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

CELEBRATING YEARS

Papé is celebrating its 85th year as the premier capital equipment dealer of the West through a consistent dedication to supporting local communities, employing countless families, and providing customers with the highest caliber of end-to-end solutions and reliable service.

RIGHT MOVES

Anchorage Opera

The leading professional performing arts company in Anchorage has a new General Director. The board of trustees of Anchorage Opera concluded a worldwide search to find a successor for the retiring Reed W. Smith by hiring Ben Robinson. Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, Robinson has appeared on stage in Anchorage Opera productions of S outh Pacific, Macbeth, Tosca, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Magic Flute. He has also served as Artistic Director of Raylynmor Opera in New Hampshire and Opera Ithaca in New York. Robinson expects to move to Anchorage in early June with his husband, bass-baritone Michael Scarcelle, who has also performed in Anchorage before.

Thompson & Co. Public Relations

 Thompson & Co. Public Relations (T&C) created a new executive position and promoted a team member to the leadership ranks. Kailee Stickler is T&C’s first Vice President of Digital Services. Stickler joined the T&C team immediately after graduating from UAA and has spent the last six years growing the agency’s digital services, now T&C’s fastest-growing department. Having helped develop the path for digital services offered at the agency, she now oversees all aspects of the digital department, including digital advertising, social media strategy, video, photography, graphic design, and more.

Alaska Testlab

Construction materials testing and inspection firm Alaska Testlab (ATL) added four new shareholders as Owners.

Blake Aro is the Field Supervisor for ATL. A secondgeneration inspector and lifelong Alaskan, Aro has nearly twenty years of experience in construction materials testing and inspection, certified by the International Code Council, Precast Concrete Institute, American Concrete Institute, Western Alliance for Quality Transportation Construction, and more. Aro has extensive experience in all facets of horizontal and vertical construction.

Stephen Brewer is a senior Special Inspector for ATL with more than twenty years of construction experience. A former US Army Paratrooper, Brewer enjoys the challenge of working on remote projects across the state. When not on a remote site, Brewer serves as ATL’s resident troubleshooter and maintenance man. He maintains numerous certifications from the International Code Council, Precast Concrete Institute, American Concrete Institute, Western Alliance for Quality Transportation Construction, CESCL, HAZWOPER, and more.

Ashley Kampsen is the Operations Manager for ATL. A lifelong Alaskan, she has nearly ten years of experience in administration and operations. A graduate of UAA, Kampsen is responsible for the day-to-day management of the office and is an expert

in multi-tasking, accommodating short notice projects, logistics, bookkeeping, and scheduling.

Brandon Ukena is a senior Special Inspector for ATL and has more than twentyfive years of experience in construction materials testing and inspection. He maintains many certifications from the International Code Council, Precast Concrete Institute, American Concrete Institute, Western Alliance for Quality Transportation Construction, and more. A former mason, Ukena is an expert in all things concrete, especially girder construction for bridges, pre-cast elements, mix designs, and troubleshooting concrete issues in the field.

Landye Bennett Blumstein

The law firm of Landye Bennett Blumstein (LBB) hired a new attorney and promoted another.

The firm’s newest Partner, Anna Chapman Crary, focuses her practice on Alaska Native corporations, business organizations, nonprofits, and public entities. She joined the firm as an associate in 2015. Chapman Crary earned her undergraduate degree from Smith College in Massachusetts, where she majored in art history and African American studies. She received her law degree from the University of Washington School of Law in 2012. As a law student she participated in the Tribal Court Public Defense Clinic, representing tribal members against misdemeanor criminal charges in Tulalip Tribal Court.

Robinson

Aro

Ukena

Stickler

Brewer Kampsen

Chapman Crary Committed

RIGHT MOVES IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY NORTHERN AIR CARGO

She also worked as a legal assistant for immigration law firms in Seattle and Boston. Chapman Crary began her legal career in Alaska clerking for Superior Court judge Anna M. Moran in Kenai.

Ryan J. Thomas is LBB’s newest Associate Attorney.

Thomas’ practice focuses on real estate transactions, business law, and Alaska Native corporations. Thomas was born and raised in Fairbanks and lives in Anchorage with his wife and two children. He attended the University of Colorado School of Law and practiced commercial real estate law in the Lower 48 before returning to Alaska. He also worked for the Alaska Department of Natural Resources before returning to private law practice.

Davis Wright Tremaine

The law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine hired Sarah Gillstrom as a Partner in its real estate group in Anchorage. Her duties focus on real estate transactions and construction law, handling all aspects of property ownership, acquisition, financing, and sales. Gillstrom earned a bachelor’s degree in finance at DePaul University in Chicago and received her JD from the University of Minnesota Law School. She previously worked at Perkins Coie, where she spent almost a decade representing construction companies, public utilities, telecoms, and other clients.

Northrim Bank

Northrim Bank is staffing up its newest branch in Nome and also promoting a new hire to the role of a corporate officer.

Ken Hanley joined Northrim in January, and already the bank is making him a Vice President, Commercial Loan Officer. The promotion is based on Hanley’s twentyfive years of experience in the financial industry in Alaska and Illinois. A veteran of the US Coast Guard, Hanley is a past board member for Junior Achievement of Alaska and the Salvation Army.

John Baker started at Northrim in December as Associate Vice President, Assistant Branch Manager in Nome. Baker also brings twenty-five years of experience in the banking industry. A longtime Alaskan, he volunteers as a basketball referee for the Nome Community School.

Another new hire, Dunbar Anders, joined Northrim as Commercial Loan Officer. Anders has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and economics from UAA and is pursuing an MBA in finance from Alaska Pacific University. He has three years of experience in commercial lending.

Travaris Bell started at Northrim in December as Assistant Branch Manager at the West Anchorage branch. Bell has eight years of experience in the financial industry. A longtime Alaskan, he volunteers at a local high school, teaching financial literacy and planning.

Coffman Engineers

A project manager in Coffman Engineers’ corrosion control department earned her Project Management Professional certificate.

Michelle McGinnis joined Coffman in 2014 and has provided project controls and management services for numerous projects in the oil and gas, commercial construction, and hospitality industries. Apart from being a certified cathodic protection technician, McGinnis

is also the corporate safety coordinator for Coffman. McGinnis graduated from UAA with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She is currently working toward a master’s degree in business administration.

Tlingit & Haida

The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska promoted Amelia Rivera to Senior Director of the Cultural Heritage & Education division. Rivera previously served as manager of the employment and training department. She retains this department within her leadership, merging post-secondary educational funding options while overseeing child care and language immersion programs. Rivera grew up in Juneau and carries her greatgrandmother Emma Frances Marks’ Tlingit name, Jiyal’áxch. She has a bachelor’s degree in the humanities from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, and a master’s degree in secondary teaching from UAS and taught social studies with the Juneau School District.

National Park Service

A 29-year veteran of the National Park Service is the new Deputy Superintendent of Denali National Park and Preserve. Vernon Cody was previously detailed to Alaska in 2018, working at Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve. However, most of his service has been in the Desert Southwest. His previous assignment was superintendent of Hovenweep and Natural Bridges National Monuments in Utah, and he recently completed an assignment as deputy superintendent at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Thomas Gillstrom

Rivera Cody

McGinnis

For more information, please visit us at www.nac .aero.

Northern Air Cargo is committed to getting your cargo where it needs to be, on time, so you can worry about what really matters.

ALASKA TRENDS

The annual Corporate 100 list is not a competition. Organizations can be proud of signing the most paychecks, but so can lean operations that get the most bang for their payroll buck. And employees themselves compose the bulk of the numbers, so any medals could be hung on their collective shoulders. If this were a race. Which it isn’t.

But if it were, this edition of Alaska Trends shows which Alaska employers were on a hot streak, climbing the most spots. We don’t dwell on which businesses dropped in rank or disappeared from the list, if only because the reason might be as prosaic as they didn’t respond to the survey this year.

Fewer than one-third of the Corporate 100 appear on the Alaska Business Top 49ers list, and not just because there are half as many slots available. This month’s list is not restricted to Alaska-based companies, which is the sine qua non for a Top 49er; in the Corporate 100, top employers include out-of-state firms that contribute to the state economy. Conversely, healthcare nonprofits and smaller utilities that employ a considerable number of Alaskans don’t handle the gross revenue to qualify for the Top 49ers, whereas some businesses rake in massive revenue with relatively few personnel, particularly automotive dealerships and equipment rental companies.

Sifting through the Corporate 100 survey, we also learn which companies have a massive worldwide workforce and only a small fraction in Alaska, while others have exactly zero workers out of state, putting all of their employment eggs in the Alaska basket.

On your marks, get set, go… see what else the Corporate 100 survey reveals.

Corporate 100 By

15

of the Corporate 100 were FOUNDED IN ALASKA.

Approximately 30% of the Corporate 100 report a 100% ALASKAN WORKFORCE.

of the Corporate 100 are 100 YEARS OLD OR OLDER.

Rank Climbers

The 28 Corporate 100 that are also Top 49ers earned $12.2 BILLION in gross revenue in 2021.

What book is currently on your nightstand?

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (audiobook) and We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy by Kliph Nesteroff.

What charity or cause are you passionate about? The ACLU… Planned Parenthood… a number of homeless initiative.

What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a long day at work? Say hello to my cats, which is more their choice than mine.

What vacation spot is on your bucket list? My sweetie and I are planning a bucket list trip to Ireland, which I’ve always wanted to go to my entire life, and France.

If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be? Without a question, red pandas.

Photos by Photo Arts by Janna

Frank Delaney

Working actors in Alaska could all fit on a very small stage. When Frank Delaney tried to make a living at his chosen craft, he had to move from Anchorage to Cincinnati.

“At the time when that was my primary source of income, I was choosing to live a very extremely modest life. I was fortunate that the company I was working for provided my housing,” he recalls.

Acting is a contractual obligation in Delaney’s current position as managing director of Perseverance Theatre. He appeared recently in The Great Leap at the UAA Mainstage Theatre, where he previously trod the boards as a student in the ‘90s.

While acting in college, Delaney found work in radio, first as a DJ and then in the engineering department. For twenty years, IT was his primary day job, acting on the side. Juggling IT projects taught him the management skills he now uses to run Alaska’s most prominent professional theater company, alongside Artistic Director Leslie Ishii.

“It’s hard to find a job in the arts, particularly in theater in Alaska,” Delaney says, “so I’m really lucky as far as that goes.”

Alaska Business: What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?

Frank Delaney: Pack up my entire life and move to Illinois to go to grad school… It was scary and one of the best things I ever did.

AB: Is there a skill you’re currently developing or have always wanted to learn?

Delaney: I’m currently learning Norwegian, which has been really interesting and fun. I want to pick back up my singing lessons.

AB: What do you do in your free time?

Franke Delaney: [he laughs] That shouldn’t be as hard a question to answer as it seems to be. I like board games a lot; I play a lot of very geeky, complicated board games.

AB: What’s your favorite way to exercise?

Delaney: I don’t like to exercise, but… My favorite way to exercise is in combat workshops. It is a drudge for me to get to the gym and do an hour in there, but I will do an 8-hour sword workshop without thinking about it.

AB: What’s your greatest extravagance?

Delaney: Post-pandemic, we think differently about extravagances. Right now, probably my biggest one is I eat out.

AB: What’s your favorite local restaurant?

Delaney: I have so many, but my absolute favorite is 49th State [Brewing].

AB: What are you superstitious about?

Delaney: I mostly observe superstitions out of respect for other people. For example, in this building [the UAA Fine Arts Building], I won’t say “MacB” [Macbeth] backstage.

AB: What supernatural experiences have you had?

Delaney: There’s a lot of people who think that all theaters are haunted. I don’t necessarily believe that, but I have had a couple weird experiences in theaters where I know I’m the only one who’s supposed to be in the building but I hear weird sounds or doors closing… that kind of thing.

AB: What’s your best attribute and worst attribute?

Delaney: One of my best traits comes from theater training: I’m willing to listen and adjust how I do things… My worst trait is probably that I’m a little bit of a know-it-all. My sweetie would probably say that I’m very much of a know-it-all. I bump up against that a lot, and I’m working on it.