RIGHT MOVES

LifeMed Alaska

A veteran of the US Marine Corps is the new CEO of LifeMed Alaska. The air and ground ambulance service selected Grace K. Greene to Greene lead the company. Greene was the president of TOTE Maritime Alaska until last year, when she moved to Oak Brook, Illinois to take a job as senior vice president of Hub Group. Greene attended the US Naval Academy and was commissioned into the Marine Corps, working in logistics and aviation safety.

Natives of Kodiak

The Alaska Native urban corporation for Kodiak selected a successor to longtime President and CEO Jim Erickson, who is James retiring. Natives of Kodiak hired Monica James, most recently the chief operating officer at Aleut Corporation. James is a shareholder of Calista Corporation and Bethel Native Corporation. James was previously executive vice president and COO at Calista and also served as president of Yulista Holding, the Alabama-based aerospace branch of Calista. James also served as vice president of business operations and administration for Alaska Aerospace, the state-backed owner and operator of the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island.

Alaska Communications

Alaska Communications promoted Mark Ayers to Chief Technology Officer. In that role, Ayers leads information technology, planning and construction strategy, engineering design and execution, and helps set network vision. Ayers joined the Anchorage-based telecom at the start of 2022 after working for twenty years at cross-town rival GCI. Ayers is a UAA graduate and a licensed professional engineer.

Ayers

Northrim Bank

Northrim Bank recently promoted four officers and managers, rehired another, and added one more financial industry veteran to the team. Newest to Northrim is Samantha Schemm, who joined the bank in September as AVP, Deposit Applications Manager. Schemm brings more than fifteen years of experience in retail banking, back-office operations, and IT. Jason Gentry returns to Northrim as VP, Commercial Loan Officer. Gentry grew up in Utqiaġvik and attended UAF. He has more than ten years of experience in the financial industry in Alaska and Washington. Ben Schulman is promoted to VP, Commercial Loan Officer. Schulman started at Northrim Bank in 2010 and has twentytwo years of banking experience. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Corban University in Oregon. Johnico Bashford-Blumer received a promotion to AVP, Branch Manager at the Lake Otis Community Branch. BashfordBlumer has been with Northrim for more than two years and has more than thirteen years of management experience. He earned his MBA degree from Colorado Technical University. Jodie Stone, promoted to AVP, Card Services Manager, started at Northrim two years ago and has twenty-four years of experience in retail banking and backoffice branch support. Cindy Cheely, the new Assistant Branch Manager at the Southside Financial Center, has been with Northrim Bank for thirteen years and has more than twenty-five years of experience in the financial services industry. She has worked in a variety of departments at Northrim, including financials sales, lending, and retail banking.

RIGHT MOVES IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY NORTHERN AIR CARGO Integrated Prescription Management

A California-based pharmaceutical company chose an Alaskan for its executive suite. Erin Narus will continue to work from Alaska Narus as Vice President of Clinical Services for Integrated Prescription Management. Narus was most recently manager of the Pharmacy & Ancillary Services Unit for the Alaska Division of Health Care Services. Narus earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from UAF, a Master of Science Jurisprudence from Seton Hall University, and a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Municipality of Anchorage

The new Public Works Director for the Municipality of Anchorage is Kent Kohlhase, elevated from his previous position as Director of Project Management and Engineering. Mayor Dave Bronson appointed Kohlhase to the

Keeping Alaska Open for Business

position, filling the vacancy created when Lance Wilber was promoted to Executive Director of Community Development. Kohlhase Kohlhase graduated from UAF in 1993 with a degree in civil engineering and worked for the US Forest Service in Anchorage for twenty-two years. He started working with the Municipality of Anchorage in 2013 and became Director of Project Management and Engineering in 2019.

Alaska Legislature

Twenty new members are joining the Alaska Senate and House of Representatives as the session starts this month, as a result of the November 2022 elections. House District 2 elected Rebecca Himschoot of Sitka, an elementary school teacher and Sitka Assembly member since 2020. Senate District D elected Jesse Bjorkman, a teacher at Nikiski Middle/High School and Cook Inlet drift fisher who served one term on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly. House District 7 elected Justin Ruffridge of Soldotna. Born in Idaho, the pharmacist and business owner has been a member of the Soldotna City Council since 2018. House District 11 in Anchorage’s Lower Hillside elected Julie Coulombe, a marketing director and member of the city commission on Housing, Homelessness, and Neighborhood Development. House District 14 in Spenard elected Alyse Galvin, the organizer of Great Alaska Schools and owner of Galvin Education Consulting who was twice a candidate for US House. House District 16, the Anchorage Airport neighborhood, elected Jennie Armstrong. Born in New Orleans, Armstrong moved to Anchorage in 2019 and is CEO of Wild Awake Creative, a local publishing firm. Senate District I—covering Downtown, Government Hill, and Northeast Anchorage—elected Löki Tobin. She was born in Nome, studied nonprofit management and rural development at UAF, and was a legislative aide to her predecessor, Senator Tom Begich, in the last two sessions. House District 18—including Government Hill, Northeast Anchorage, and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson—elected Cliff Groh. The attorney and former state prosecutor was a legislative aide in 1981 when the Permanent Fund Dividend was created. Senate District J—covering Mountain View, Airport Heights, and U-Med area—elected Forrest Dunbar. The attorney and National Guard officer was in his third and last term as a member of the Anchorage Assembly. House District 19—including Mountain View and Airport Heights—elected Genevieve Mina. One of the state’s first Gen Z lawmakers, the former legislative and Anchorage Assembly aide was most recently program director at North Star Group for Alaska’s Build Back Better initiatives. House District 20 in Anchorage’s U-Med area elected Andrew Gray. Born in Texas, he traveled the world as a teacher, singer, and yoga instructor. Gray now hosts the “East Anchorage Book Club” podcast and works as a physician assistant for the Alaska Army National Guard and Veterans Administration. House District 21 in South Muldoon elected Donna Mears, a civil engineer originally from New Jersey. Mears earned a bachelor’s degree in bioenvironmental engineering from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Michigan. House District 22 in North Muldoon elected Stanley Wright. A US Navy veteran of Iraq and a legislative liaison, Wright studied business management and marketing at UAA. House District 23 in the Eagle River Valley elected Jamie Allard. The daughter of an immigrant from Chile, Allard worked for the federal government and was a member of the Anchorage Assembly since 2020. House District 28 in the Tanaina/Lakes area elected Jesse M. Sumner of Wasilla. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly member and home builder by trade won a four-way Republican ranked-choice runoff. House District 31 in Downtown Fairbanks elected Maxine L. Dibert, a teacher and consultant for the PBS TV series Molly of Denali. House District 32, covering East Fairbanks and Fort Wainwright, elected Will B. Stapp of North Pole. Born in Seattle, the US Army veteran of Iraq came to Alaska with the Airborne Infantry and is now an insurance agent. House District 34—including Salcha, Two Rivers, and Eielson Air Force Base—elected Frank J. Tomaszewski of Fairbanks. The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly member grew up in Fox and is an electrical contractor by trade. House District 35—including College, Ester, and Chena Ridge—elected Ashley E. Carrick of Fairbanks. She studied public health at UAF, started a consulting service, and was executive director of the Tanana Valley Watershed Association while working as chief of staff to outgoing Representative Adam Wool. House District 38 elected Alaska’s youngest legislator, CJ McCormick of Bethel. McCormick is a communications specialist with Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation. He was appointed to the Bethel City Council in 2020 at age 23 and was elected Vice Mayor in 2021.