Tanana Chiefs Conference EDUCATION SUMMIT

August 2nd, 2019 8am - 5pm Chief David Salmon Tribal Hall Fairbanks, AK State of Education Agenda August 2nd, 2019 8:00AM Breakfast - catered by Bonnie Carroll Ginnis, Elder Nutrition Coordinator & TCC Elder Nutrition cooks 8:40AM Welcome Address - TCC Chief/Chairman, Victor Joseph 9:00AM Alaska Legislature, Rep. Grier Hopkins 9:20AM Fairbanks Education Association - Sandy Ryan, President 9:35AM National Education Association - Tim Parker, President 9:50AM Fairbanks Native Association - Daphne Gustafson, J.O.M. Director 10:05AM BLAST - Dr. Arleigh Reynolds 10:20AM BREAK - snacks provided 10:35AM Patrick Manning, Nenana School District Superintendent 10:50AM Iditarod Area School District Superintendent, Connie Newman 11:10AM Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Superintendent, Dr. Karen Gaborik 11:30AM Alaska Gateway School District Superintendent, Scott MacManus 11:50AM Q & A - Superintendents Panel 12:10PM WORKING LUNCH - lunch provided 12:40PM TCC Education Department - TCC Education Manager, Edward Alexander, and TCC Program Coordinator, Blanche Murphy 12:55PM Alaska Legislature, Senator Click Bishop 1:10PM Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments, Yukon Flats Indigenous Languages Revitalization Institute Director, Stephanie Hinz 1:25PM Doyon Language - Native Languages Online Director, Allan Hayton 1:40PM Commissioner D.E.E.D., Dr. Michael Johnson 2:05PM University of Alaska President, Dr. James Johnsen 2:35PM Q & A - K-12 & University Panel 3:05PM Literacy Council of Alaska - Michael Kolasa, Executive Director 3:20PM BREAK - snacks provided 3:35PM TCC Headstart Education & Disability Manager, Jennifer Russell M.Ed. 3:50PM UAF Rural Student Services - Gabrielle Russell 4:00PM UAF Rural Alaska Honors Institute - Brianna Pauling 4:15PM Fairbanks Correctional Center Education Program, Officer Howard 4:25PM Re-entry Coalition, BRIDGES program - Linda Setterberg 4:35PM Q&A - Program & Agency Panel 4:55PM Closing Comments - Edward Alexander, TCC Education Manager meet the speakers Chief/Chairman Victor Joseph Victor Joseph is a tribal member of the Native Village of Tanana. He is the grandson of the late Virginia and Chuck Newby and the late Benjamin Joseph. He is the son of the late Kitty Smith and Joseph Burns. Victor is the proud parent of six children and the grandfather of 19 grandchildren. Victor and Doreen Deaton, have been together for 15 years. Victor has worked for TCC for 27 years. In March 2017, he was re-elected to serve a second three year term as TCC Chief/Chairman. To this role, Victor brings extensive experience building strong working relationships with tribal leaders, beneficiaries, colleagues, funding entities, and state and federal officials. Prior to being elected Chief, Victor served as the TCC Health Director for seven years and he worked closely with tribes, administration and staff to rebuild health services ensuring continued and expanded quality health care systems in the Interior. Chief Joseph continues to advocate for strong, healthy tribes and advancing Native unity and Tribal self-determination for future generations.

Rep.Rep. GrierGrier Hopkins Hopkins is born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska. He received his Bachelors in Anthropology from the University of Washington in 2006, and has dedicated his personal and professional career to improving Alaskan communities and schools since. He currently works for NEA-Alaska, representing educators in the North Slope Borough School District, Yukon Koyukuk School District, Borough School District, Nenana City School District and the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District to create the best possible learning environment for Alaska’s students. As a legislator, elected in November of 2018, he is the chair of the Special Committee on Energy, and is a member of the House Education Committee, House Resources Committee and the House State Affairs Committee.

Sandi Ryan Sandi is entering her 25th year as a teacher of high school mathematics and computer science in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, and is currently serving as the full-time release president of the Fairbanks Education Association, representing more than 900 teachers, counselors, librarians, therapist, and psychologists in a district of over 12,000 students. She is a dedicated advocate for public schools and believes that educators should be the ones making decisions around education issues and policy, and that they are the leaders in the professions. TimTim ParkerParker is an English teacher from Fairbanks who is currently serving as the president of NEA-Alaska. Parker has taught middle school and high school students in Fairbanks for the past 20 years and is passionate about creating fantastic learning experiences for Alaska students. Parker has served as president of NEA-Alaska since 2016, and will return to his position as a teacher in 2020. Prior to serving as president, Parker has been the association’s vice president and NEA-Alaska’s representative on the NEA board of directors.

DaphneDaphne Rylander Gustafson Gustafson, an Inupiaq from the Bering Straits Region, serves as the Johnson- O’Malley Program Director for Fairbanks Native Association. In her two+ years in that capacity, the JOM staff has grown from 5 to 22 employees committed to supporting academic growth and social-emotional resiliency in our students and working with their families with a culturally relevant approach. Daphne left the Seward Peninsula to study at UAF, eventually transferring to Washington State University, where she received a BA in Business Administration. Her education prepared her for an active life in the local business community, first incorporating a general contracting company then a home heating fuel business. After retirement, Daphne began tutoring at Effie Kokrine. This eventually led to a new and exciting opportunity to do what she loves, creating opportunities for Native student success, at the Fairbanks Native Association.

Dr.Arleigh Arleigh Reynolds Reynolds received his Bachelors of Science in Biology (1983), Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (1986), and PhD (1992) Degrees from Cornell University. He became board certified in clinical nutrition in 1996. He has worked in private practice, (1986-19889), in the private sector as a research scientist for Nestle Purina (1998- 20014) and as a faculty member at Cornell University (1994-1998) and UAF (20014-present). He helped start the veterinary medicine program at UAF where he served as the Associate Dean for 4 years. He is a Principal Investigator on the NIH funded BLaST program which supports Alaska Native and Rural Alaskan students who are interested in careers in biomedical research and is currently the Director of the Center for One Health Research at UAF. His research interests have focused on the relationship between diet and performance in sled dogs, studying sled dogs as sentinel models for people in rural Alaska, and supporting resilience in young people through sled dog training and husbandry. meet the speakers

PatrickPatrick Manning Manning became a permanent resident and educator in Alaska in 2010. Mr. Manning began his Alaskan administrative experience as an itinerate principal serving the villages of Port Heiden, Chignik Lagoon, and Pilot Point in the Lake and Peninsula School District. He then spent two years as the principal of Nunamiut School in the village of Anaktuvuk Pass in the North Slope Borough School District before being asked to return to the Lake and Peninsula School District as the Human Resources Director. Mr. Manning became the Assistant Superintendent of Schools for the Lake and Peninsula School District in August 2016. Mr. Manning became the Superintendent of Nenana City School District in July of 2019. Prior to his most recent Alaska experience, Mr. Manning worked as a principal, counselor, and teacher for nearly twenty years in Idaho and Alaska. Mr. Manning holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Portuguese with a minor in International Relations from Brigham Young University, a Masters of Counseling from Idaho State University, a Masters in Education Administration from the University of Phoenix, and a Superintendent Endorsement from the University of Alaska Southeast.

ConnieConnie NewmanA. Newman, Superintendent for the Iditarod Area School District has proven excellence in academic administration and improving student acheivement as Superintendent and as a building administrator for remote districts with up to 1500 students. With competencies in strategic planning, policy review & updates, faculty recruitment & development, staff & program evaluation, facilities maintenance & capital projects, curriculum development, community partnerships, and bugeting which provides her board with the skills necessary to build for the future of the youth. She is a collaborative education leader who reaches beyond mere competence and sets her sights on student and staff success.

Dr.Dr. KarenKaren Gaborik Gaborik has been an educator in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District since 1995. She was named superintendent in April 2014, and her current contract extends to June 30, 2021. Dr. Gaborik has earned numerous awards throughout her career including Alaska Superintendent of the Year, Alaska Principal of the Year and the Personalized Learning Pioneer Award. She recently earned her National Superintendent Certification from the School Superintendents Association. A lifelong Fairbanks resident, Dr. Gaborik brings a unique and valuable perspective to the position of superintendent, having both attended and worked at multiple district schools. She is committed to creating a system that empowers district educators to meet the individual academic and social-emotional needs of children so that every single student in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District can be a successful learner. ScottScott MacManusMacManus grew up living a subsistence lifestyle on the rivers of Northwestern Alaska. Upon completing high school, he enlisted in the Army and served overseas with the Military Police Corps, after which he attended the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, earning degrees in Political Science and Education, while at the same time completing a four year apprenticeship and working summers in heavy commercial construction. Like most Alaskans, Scott has done a variety of different things to make a living, including being a carpenter, businessman, riverboat pilot, and fisherman, among others. This range of life experiences serve him well in his current position as the Superintendent for Alaska Gateway School District, where he focuses on the needs of the students in his district. Scott and his staff design and fund educational programs that address the cultural, social, and economics of living in rural Alaska, ranging from drop-out prevention and high school completion programs, to one-to-one technology initiatives, preschool for all, residential summer schools, performing arts programs, and vocational- technical programs. Other projects include work in curriculum and evaluation management, and energy efficient school facilities. He and his wife Robbie currently live with their 20 sled dogs in Tok, Alaska.

EdwardEdward Alexander Alexander is a certified teacher, with a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education. He fought wildland fire for 8 seasons across the United States and Alaska to put himself through University undergraduate and graduate schools, his final season was with the Denali Hotshots. He has served as a secondary teacher in Fort Yukon, a principal-teacher in Arctic Village, in K-12 administration for the Yukon Flats, and has worked for the University of Alaska Fairbanks managing the Yukon Flats Campus, where enrollment quadrupled during his tenure. Currently he serves as the Education Manager for the Tanana Chiefs Conference which works for 37 Federally Recognized Tribes, in an area the size of , within .

He has served in a variety of leadership roles over the last twenty years, including as the 2nd Chief of the Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich’in for 7 years, and currently as the Co-Chair of Gwich’in Council International representing the Gwich’in of Alaska, the Yukon and the Northwest Territory i n international diplomacy for the last 6 years. He serves on about a dozen boards and committees around interior Alaska and the state, primarily focused on the issues of Gwich’in language revitalization, K-12 education, teacher education, as well as social and environmental justice, and international relations. He is married to Dr. Alisa Alexander and they have four children: Kaihjinjik, Ch’eelil, Shreevyaa, and Vatsaii Vee and they currently live in Fairbanks, Alaska

BlancheBlanche Murphy Murphy is a lifelong educator who has worked across the state of Alaska and across the spectrum of education. After earning her Bachelor’s Degree and Type A Teaching Certification, she served as an Academic Advisor at UAF coordinating the successful X-CED Program in the 80’s which helped train dozens of new Alaska Native Educators on Bristol Bay. Since then she has worked at different institutions across Alaska on Early Childhood Education and now most recently as the Education Coordinator for the Tanana Chiefs Conference. Her passions include her family, caring for children in need, and sharing her cross-cultural expertise. She is an Aleut, raised by Norwegians in a Yup’ik community, and now works predominantly with the diverse tribes of interior Alaska .She has served on numerous boards across the State. meet the speakers

SenatorClick Bishop Click was Bishop elected in 2012 to the Alaska State Senate and represents parts of Fairbanks and an area that stretches from the eastern Interior to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge – one of the largest state legislative districts in the country. Click moved to Alaska with his family when he was two-years old and graduated in 1974 from Lathrop High School in Fairbanks. Upon entering the workforce, he joined Operating Engineers Local 302 and worked on construction of the Trans Alaska Pipeline, the Red Dog Mine, and various civil and highway projects across the state, including repaving the Alaska Highway. His focus throughout his career has been on creating jobs, workforce development, and working with companies and businesses to hire skilled Alaska workers. Click served as administrator and coordinator for the Alaska Operating Engineers’ Employers Training Trust, 1991- 2006, where he oversaw training programs needed to support a skilled workforce including one that h a s produced more than 1,500 apprentices with experience in many facets of pipeline construction: welding, electrical work, operating heavy equipment, and driving trucks. After that, Click was appointed commissioner of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, a position he held for 5½ years under governors Sarah Palin and Sean Parnell. During his tenure, he helped bring vocational education as well as career and technical education back to public schools and the state university system, advocated for registered apprenticeships, and helped pass legislation to provide funding in perpetuity for STEP – the State Training and Employment Program. In the Alaska Legislature, Click serves on the Senate Finance Committee and a budget subcommittee on transportation; chairs the Senate Community and Regional Affairs Committee; chairs three subcommittees that oversee budgets for labor, environmental conservation, and natural resources agencies; and, co-chairs the Bicameral Permanent Fund Working Group. He also is a member of the Senate Bush Caucus, resources, labor and commerce committees and serves as vice-chair of the legislative budget and audit committee. In 2008, he received the Thomas Cashen Award for lifetime training. He is a member of the Alaska Miners Association, Pioneers of Alaska, and the National Rifle Association. Click enjoys many outdoor activities available to those who call Interior Alaska home: hunting, fishing, trapping, placer mining, dog mushing, boating, and snow machining. He is a voracious reader and student of history. He is a two-time Yukon 800 champion, the longest boat race in the world. Click and his wife Darlene have two daughters and four grandchildren.

StephanieStephanie Alexander Hinz Hinz is the Yeendaa Geenjit Shrideegwirilii-“We Prepare for the Future” Project Manager for the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments (CATG). Prior to this position, she spent the previous 3 and a half years as the CATG Behavioral Health Program Manager and Clinician. Stephanie has a Bachelor’s degree from Gonzaga University and a Master’s degree from North Carolina State University. Stephanie has also worked in university administration, tribal government, and in graphic and web design. As the YGS Project Manager Stephanie oversees a 4 year grant program with annual funding over $800,000. In addition to ensuring the grant project is meeting its goals and objectives, Stephanie supervises a full time assistant, a part time Curriculum Coordinator, and supervised 20 staff at the YGS program’s annual Yukon Flats Indigenous Language Revitalization Institute. AllanAllan grewHayton up in Arctic Village, and is the son of Lena Pauline Hayton from Fort Yukon, Alaska, and James T. Hayton from Natick, Massachusetts. His grandparents are Robert and Lena Albert from Tanana and Fort Yukon, Alaska. His Athabascan name is Diton, given to him by Dorothy Pitka after his great-grandfather Joseph Hunter of Tanana. Allan studied theatre and film at Haskell Indian Nations University and the University of Kansas, finishing his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1992. He continued at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, graduating spring 2013 with a Master of Arts in applied linguistics.

Commissioner D.E.E.D. Dr. Michael Johnson Dr. Michael Johnson was appointed Commissioner on June 17, 2016, and began his service on July 1, 2016. Commissioner Johnson served in the Copper River School District as superintendent, school principal, district curriculum and staff development director, elementary teacher, and special education program assistant. During his tenure as its principal, Glennallen Elementary School was named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Johnson also is a recipient of the prestigious Milken Educator Award. Commissioner Johnson holds a bachelor of arts degree and a master of arts in teaching degree in elementary education from Columbia International University, and a doctorate of philosophy in education and intercultural studies from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

James R. Johnsen, Ed.D. Dr. Johnsen was appointed to serve as the 14th president of the University of Alaska on July 28, 2015. His experience includes executive leadership positions in the private sector with Alaska Communications and with Doyon, Limited, and in higher education between 1996-2008 in several executive roles including vice president of administration and chief of staff. As president, Dr. Johnsen is a commissioner on the Denali Commission and the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education, a member of the Alaska Aerospace Corporation Board, a director on the UA Foundation Board, and a member of the Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council. His education includes a B.A. in politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, master’s in political science from the University of Chicago, and doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania. meet the speakers Michael Kolasa Mike Kolasa has been the Executive Director of the Literacy Council of Alaska since 2007. During his time at LCA he has overseen new programs including the Adult Basic Education/GED program, a low income after school program down town, and a youth program combining education and employment training. Mike was the first Coordinator for Guys Read a nonprofit established in Fairbanks that encourages a passion for books among reluctant readers.

JenniferI am a long Russell time early childhood educator with a strong interest in adult education. I have spent all of my professional experience working in the early childhood field. Through my professional life, I have fortunate enough to teach educators through Head Start, teaching at UAF for the Early Childhood program, as well as helping to certify CDA candidates. My belief for early childhood education is, we are not just teaching children to be ready for school, but we are teaching children to love education and becoming lifelong learners.

GabrielleGabrielle Russell Russell has been working for UAF for the last 25 years and as an Advisor with Rural Student Services (RSS) for 14. She is happy that her longtime friend and mentor Sue McHenry encouraged her to apply at RSS and has found it to be her perfect niche. Gabrielle came to UAF as a freshman by way of Upstate NY and used to tag-along with her friends who had advisors at RSS. She earned a BA in History, minoring in French, and a M.Ed. with a license in Community Counseling. She loves river travel, meeting new people, speaking French and creating art with her daughter. Most importantly, she enjoys problem solving and helping others, skills that have hopefully assisted the students she has come to know over her years at UAF. OfficerMy name Carie is Carie Howard Howard and I am currently the Educational Coordinator for the Fairbanks Correctional Center. I was born and raised here in Alaska and served in the Army right out of High School. I came home to raise a family and as they grew I decided to go back into the work place. First I worked in the Federal Law system them moved to the State. I have been with the Department of Corrections for 7 years, first as a Correctional Officer and now in the Education Department. I received an AA degree from UAF, a BAS from Wayland and I am now pursuing my Masters in Management from Wayland.

LindaLinda SetterbergSetterberg is the Reentry Services Director for Fairbanks Reentry Coalition and The Bridge. The Bridge is linking peers with hope by providing employment and peer support for individuals with Opioid Use Disorder or who are at risk of OUD. Linda has a long history in Fairbanks as a school nurse and the co-founder of Joel’s Place a youth center, Linda was instrumental in program development including an AmeriCorps program and after school program, Raw Joy. She is a graduate of Bakke Graduate University with a MA in Global Urban Leadership. She was a founding board member of Arctic Resource Center for Suicide Prevention and is currently a board member of Anchorage/Fairbanks Community Mental Health Services. Educational Leadership TCC Education Council Region Interior Athabascan Tribal College Nathan Elswick Lower Yukon Margie Walker Alice Dale Upper Kuskokwim Sharon Gurtler-Strick Diane Titus Upper Tanana Gerald Albert Nellie Winer Yukon Flats VACANT Gertie Sam Yukon Koyukuk Jenny Pelkola Phyllis Erhart Yukon Tanana Beverly Kokrine Jolie Murray Student Rep/Board Liason Jolie Murray

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