Board of Directors
A 15-member Board of Directors, consisting of 11 directors and four officers, governs AASB for the benefit of all member districts. The Board, elected by membership at the Annual Conference, represents all regions of the state. The membership, as a whole, passes the resolutions, which establish the positions taken by the Association before the legislature and other agencies throughout the year.
The 2024-2025 AASB Board of Directors
Back row, left to right:
Tim Doran, Fairbanks North Star Borough; Dana Mock, Delta/Greely; Pete Hoepfner, Cordova; Andy Holleman, Anchorage; Clarence Daniel, Lower Kuskokwim.
Middle Row, left to right:
Penny Vadla, Kenai; Julia Phelan, Delta/Greely; Michael Swain, Bristol Bay; Darlene Trigg, Nome.
Front row, left to right:
Kasaŋnaaluk, Marie Greene, Northwest Arctic Borough; Margo Bellamy, Anchorage; Robyn Burke, North Slope Borough; Annie Weyiouanna, Bering Strait; Melissa Burnett, Fairbanks North Star Borough.
Not pictured: Amber Frommherz, Juneau
Upcoming Meetings
2025
March 29 Spring Board of Directors Meeting – Virtual
Board Goals
Board Goals (2022-2025)
Goal 1: Empower our boards to prioritize equity and transform educational systems to increase the academic achievement and graduation rates of students who are grounded in their cultural identity so they have the ability to successfully pursue their goals.
Goal 2: Support local school boards and districts in engaging families, youth, and their communities in shaping and enriching the education of all Alaska’s children.
Goal 3: Offer a variety of board development opportunities to prepare board members for effective governance.f all Alaska’s children.
Goal 4: AASB will create and sustain partnerships that support and enable Alaskan students to successfully progress from birth to career.
AASB Pathways (Long Range Plan 2022 – 2025)
Board Committees
Policy
Marie Greene – Chair
Michael Swain
Robyn Burke
(open)
(open)
Lon Garrison – AASB Support
JNMS Scholarship
Pete Hoepfner – Chair
Michael Swain
Tim Doran
Penny Vadla
Chrya Sanderson
Wally Gust
Jenni Lefing – AASB Support
Ad Hoc Advocacy
Pete Hoepfner – Chair
Margo Bellamy
Tim Doran
Robyn Burke
(open)
Norm Wooten – AASB Support
Lon Garrison – AASB Support
Constitution & Bylaws
Robyn Burke – Chair
1st Judicial District (TBD)
2nd Judicial District (TBD)
3rd Judicial District (TBD)
4th Judicial District (TBD)
Lon Garrison – AASB Support
Membership
Clarence Daniel – Chair
Dana Mock
Robyn Burke
Annie Weyiouanna
Chrya Sanderson
Tiffany Jackson – AASB Support
Sustainability
Tim Doran – Chair
Margo Bellamy
Annie Weyiouanna
Robyn Burke
(open)
Lori Grassgreen – AASB Support
Alaska School Activities Association
Dana Mock
Suggested Reading and Resources for New School Board Members
Here is a list, developed by AASB’s Board of Directors, for new board members to better familiarize themselves with Alaska Native cultures and education in Alaska.
Becoming a Better Board Member
By National School Boards Association
Yuuyaraq: The Way of the Human Being
By Harold Napoleon
Journey to Wholeness
By Stan DeKoven
Raising Ourselves and Two Old Women
By Velma Wallace
Habits of Mind
By Arthur Costa and Bena Kallick
Blonde Indian
By Ernestine Hayes
Two in the Far North
By Margaret E. Murie
50 Miles from Tomorrow
By William L. Iggiagruk Hensley
Another Culture/Another World
By Father Michael Oleksa
Blessings Bead and My Name is Not Easy
By Debby Dahl Edwardson
The Alaska Pen (An Illustrated History of Unga)
By Thor Lauritzen, Peggy Arness, and Edward Melseth
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
By Carol Dweck
Board Basics: A Primer For Non-Profit Board Members
By Jerry Covey
Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8 (Teaching Kids to Succeed)
By Debbie Silver
Mary’s Wild Winter Feast
By Hannah Lindoff
Attu Boy
By Nick Golodoff
Conflicting Visions in Alaska Education
By Richard Dauenhauer
Chagudax
A Small Window into the Life of An Aleut Bentwood Hat Carver
By Andrew Gronholdt
Reign of Error
By Diane Ravitch
People of the Noatak
By Claire Fejes
Nick Jans books
History of the Iñupiat: Nipaa I!itqusipta/The Voice of Our Spirit
Directed by Rachel Naninaaq Edwardson