Board of Directors

A 15-member Board of Directors, consisting of 11 directors and four officers, governs AASB. 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 2023-2024 AASB Board of Directors

Back row, left to right:

Chrya Sanderson, Fairbanks North Star Borough; Tim Doran, Fairbanks North Star Borough; Clarence Daniel, Lower Kuskokwim; Michael Swain Jr., Bristol Bay; Annie Weyiouanna, Bering Strait; Pete Hoepfner, Cordova.

Front row, left to right:

Wassillie Gust, Southwest Region; Kasaŋnaaluk, Marie Greene, Northwest Arctic Borough; Margo Bellamy, Anchorage; Dana Mock, Delta/Greely; Robyn Burke, North Slope Borough; Penny Vadla, Kenai.

Not pictured: Andy Holleman, Anchorage.

Upcoming Meetings

2024

Spring Meeting: April 19, 2024 – Clarion Suites Downtown, Anchorage

Summer Meeting: July 18-21, 2024 – Kotzebue

Annual Conference Meeting: November 11, 2024 – Hilton, Anchorage

Previous Meetings

Previous AASB and partner meetings listed by date, with links to meeting minutes.

2023

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 Liaison Network Contacts

Margo Bellamy (Anchorage)

  • Chatham
  • Haines
  • Juneau
  • Sitka

Robyn Burke (North Slope)

  • Lower Kuskokwim
  • Yakutat
  • Bering Strait

Tim Doran (Fairbanks)

  • Aleutians East
  • Lake & Peninsula
  • Pribilof

Clarence Daniel (Lower Kuskokwim)

  • Kenai
  • North Slope
  • Northwest Arctic

Marie Greene (Northwest Arctic)

  • Tanana
  • Skagway
  • Yupiit

Vacant

  • Pelican
  • Petersburg
  • Wrangell

Peter Hoepfner (Cordova)

  • Bristol Bay
  • Kashunamiut
  • Lower Yukon
  • Valdez City Schools

Vacant

  • Copper River
  • Iditarod
  • Kuspuk
  • Hydaburg

Andy Holleman (Anchorage)

  • Fairbanks
  • Kodiak
  • Yukon Flats

Dana Mock (Delta/Greely)

  • Alaska Gateway
  • Cordova
  • Yukon Koyukuk
  • Galena

Chrya Sanderson (Fairbanks)

  • Nome
  • St. Mary’s
  • Southeast Island

Michael Swain (Bristol Bay)

  • Craig
  • Dillingham
  • Southwest Region
  • Unalaska

Penny Vadla (Kenai)

  • Anchorage
  • Denali
  • Nenana

Annie Weyiouanna (Bering Strait)

  • Annette Island
  • Chugach
  • Delta/Greely

Wally Gust (Southwest Region)

  • Hoonah
  • Kake
  • Ketchikan
  • Klawock
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

Alaska School Board Handbook

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

Bully (documentary) (watch on veoh)
Directed by Lee Hirsch