Denali State Bank selected Ryan Strong to serve as President and CEO upon the retirement in January of Steve Lundgren. Most recently the chief banking officer at First National Bank Alaska, Strong also chaired the board of the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation. Strong is relocating from Anchorage back to Fairbanks, where he previously lived and earned his MBA from UAF.

Donlin Gold, the company leading Novagold Resources’ development of a gold mine in the Upper Kuskokwim River region, hired Wendy Lindskoog as External Affairs Manager. A veteran of public policy and stakeholder engagement, Lindskoog was previously regional vice president of government relations at Royal Caribbean Group, vice president of communications and external affairs at BP Exploration Alaska, chief administrative officer and corporate board secretary at the Alaska Railroad Corporation, and director of communications at the Alaska Legislature.

After spearheading a rebranding at ASRC Energy Services as director of marketing and proposals, Lauren Hendrix is taking a job in the family business. She becomes Director of Marketing for the HEX family of companies led by her father, John Hendrix. Hendrix earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Mississippi and a master’s degree in corporate public relations from Boston University, and she previously worked for MSI Communications, Brilliant Media Strategies, NANA Management Services, and the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation.

Dezi Robb joins the Anchorage law firm of Landye Bennett Blumstein as an Associate Attorney with a focus on business litigation, employment law, and labor matters. Robb holds a bachelor’s degree from UAA and earned a JD from Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Oregon. She has represented employers and individuals on complex employment disputes, workplace investigations, non-compete and employment agreements, Equal Employment Opportunity matters, and separation negotiations across public and private sectors in Oregon and Alaska.

Staffers at Nortech—an environmental, energy, health, and safety services firm with offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau—earned certifications to expand the firm’s capabilities.

Environmental Staff Professional Janine Way received certification as a Lead-Based Paint Inspector. The credential from the US Environmental Protection Agency allows Way to conduct paint inspections across federally administered sites. Way earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UAF and joined Nortech in 2023.

Environmental Scientist Jacob Ferrill earned state certification as an Alaska Underground Storage Tank Worker. The credential expands Nortech’s capacity to provide compliance services for petroleum storage systems across Alaska. Ferrill holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from UAS and joined the Juneau office of Nortech in 2023, supporting site assessments, contaminated site investigations, and remedial action projects statewide.

Great Alaskan Holidays—the largest RV rental, sales, and service business in the state—promoted Josh Miranda to Shop Foreman, overseeing daily operations of the company’s fleet service shop. Miranda has been with the Great Alaskan Holidays team since 2016, most recently as facilities manager. Miranda is a graduate of Bartlett High School in Anchorage and the UAA automotive diesel technology program. Before joining Great Alaskan Holidays, he worked as a seasonal shop foreman for Holland America Princess, managing operations at the passenger train yard in Healy.

Under the leadership of new President and CEO Esther Pitts, new executives joined the team at Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF), the nonprofit co-owner of Mat-Su Regional Medical Center.

Taking over Pitts’ previous role as Chief Community Impact Officer, MSHF promoted Vandana Ingle to lead the foundation’s programmatic and philanthropic work. Ingle moved to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in 2012 and joined MSHF in 2016 as a program associate. She previously served as executive director of Frontline Mission, a community-based food distribution center. Ingle holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce and finance from the University of Pune (now called Savitribai Phule Pune University) in western India and an additional degree in ministry, and she earned an MBA from Northwest Nazarene University.

MSHF leadership also gained a new Chief Communications Officer, a title granted to Erin Messmer, previously the foundation’s director of public relations. In her new role, Messmer leads strategic communications including marketing, media, and public relations. Born in Juneau and raised in Seward, Messmer was previously the director of client services at a marketing agency in Anchorage. Messmer holds a bachelor’s degree in strategic and corporate communication from Chapman University.

The state’s largest philanthropic organization is combining its core and strategic grantmaking under one leader. The reorganization at the Rasmuson Foundation unifies all grantmaking programs and partner relations.

Tasha Pineda, previously Vice President of Strategy, is promoted to the new role of Chief Program Officer. Pineda joined Rasmuson Foundation in 2022 and has led major initiatives focused on homelessness, developing young Arctic leaders, and the Grantmakers tour. Her career spans public health, nonprofit leadership, and government service. Pineda holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Alaska Pacific University and a master’s degree in public health from UAA.

To support strategic grantmaking, the foundation adds Issa Spatrisano to its strategy group as a Program Officer. Spatrisano earned a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Western Michigan University and a master’s degree in teaching and learning from UAA. Spatrisano previously served as Alaska’s State Refugee Coordinator, managing more than $20 million in federal grants.