With the retirement of Bal Dreyfus from Matson, effective July 1, the shipping company named Vic Angoco to succeed him as Senior Vice President, Alaska. Currently responsible for Matson’s Hawaii, Guam, Micronesia, and South Pacific operations as senior vice president, Pacific, Angoco joined Matson in 1996 as operations manager on Guam and quickly rose through the ranks in sales, customer service, and operations management positions. He was promoted to his current position in 2010.
Matson also promoted the director of Alaska terminal operations, Jennifer Tungul, to Vice President, Operations for Alaska. In her new position, Tungul has primary management responsibility for Matson’s terminal operations in Anchorage, Kodiak, and Dutch Harbor. Tungul joined Matson’s Alaska operations in 2002 and has served in a series of finance and operations leadership roles, including terminal manager in Dutch Harbor. She was promoted to general manager for Dutch Harbor in 2019 and to her current position later that same year.
Mike Pfeffer can take the “interim” away from the CEO title he’s held at Kodiak Area Native Association (KANA) for the last year. The nonprofit healthcare affiliate of Koniag regional corporation chose Pfeffer for the position after a nationwide search. Prior to becoming interim CEO last year, Pfeffer served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer during his sixteen years with KANA. Pfeffer earned a master’s degree in business administration from UAS and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Colorado Technical University.
A former Alaska Communications manager returns to the Anchorage-based telecom as Chief Operating Officer. Sandy Knechtel most recently served as area manager for Alaska and Hawaii for Gartner, a global research and advisory company. Prior to Gartner, Knechtel served in various management roles for Alaska Communications, spanning sales operations, workforce development, and marketing and analytics. Knechtel has an MBA in marketing and strategy from Indiana University Bloomington. He also has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Western University.
McKinley Research Group named Katie Berry as its Director of Economics and Research. Berry has been with the firm for five years. Berry holds a master’s degree in economics and finance from the University of Wyoming. She was raised in Anchorage and returned to the state after working with Union Pacific Railroad. She is especially interested in issues that affect Alaska, such as transportation, infrastructure, public health, tourism, and natural resources.
McKinley Capital Management made Martino Boffa its Director of Sustainability, Portfolio Manager. Boffa joined McKinley Capital in 2009 as director of alternative investments, portfolio manager. He has almost thirty years of investment industry experience. Prior to McKinley, Boffa worked as the senior director of arbitrage strategies with Credit Suisse and managed a market neutral investment portfolio. Prior to that, he worked at Société Générale where he was managing director of hedge fund sales, specializing in European equities.
A twenty-year veteran of Alaska nonprofits is joining United Way of Anchorage’s senior executive leadership team. As Senior Vice President, Rachel Morse works to align United Way’s different sections—fundraising, community advancement, and marketing and communications—into a more unified, complementary, and effective force. She also works closely with donors, volunteers, and partner organizations. Morse holds master’s degrees in business administration from UAA and in forestry and natural resources from Purdue University. For the last four years she has been a consultant for The Foraker Group. She previously worked for UAA, RurAlCAP, and the Bird Treatment and Learning Center.
The Anchorage office of civil and structural engineering firm DCI Engineers has a new Associate Principal. John Oldfield received the promotion, adding to his portfolio of commercial buildings of all construction types. Oldfield’s past engineering work includes the Homer Police Station, KANA Marketplace in Kodiak, and the Medline warehouse in Anchorage. He also co-chairs the in-house steel and aluminum technical committee.
A licensed chemical engineer at Coffman Engineers in Anchorage has earned his Alaska Professional Engineering (PE) license in mechanical engineering. Clayton Krueger graduated from Montana State University in Bozeman with degrees in both Chemical and Biological Engineering. He joined Coffman in 2015 as a process engineer working in the oil and gas industry. Krueger currently serves as a facility engineer. Coffman principal mechanical engineer Trevor Buron says, “Clayton’s experience both as a process and mechanical engineer brings great value to our clients as he’s able to draw from the two disciplines and provide a unique perspective and skillset to a variety of roles and projects.”
The Anchorage Assembly unanimously confirmed Uluao “Junior” Aumavae as the Municipality of Anchorage’s Chief Equity Officer. He becomes the highest serving government official of Polynesian descent in Anchorage history. The Assembly created the position last year to ensure that municipal hiring and contracting is fair and represents diverse perspectives.
A nationwide search ended up giving the job of Provost and Dean of Research and Sponsored Programs to Dr. Maren Haavig, who held the position on an interim basis since July 2020. As Provost, Haavig collaborates with faculty to support the teaching, research, and service missions of UAS. Haavig, who was born and raised in Sitka, earned her doctor of business administration degree with an emphasis in accounting from Walden University. She also holds a master of business administration and bachelor of business administration degrees from UAS as well as a bachelor of arts with an interdisciplinary concentration from Western Washington University, Fairhaven College. She is an active Certified Public Accountant in Alaska.
Another UAS alumna returns as Alaska Native Student Success Specialist. Dannielle Carlson graduated from UAS in 2017 with a bachelor of liberal arts in social science and communications. She has been a rural admissions counselor for UAS. In her new position, Carlson, who describes herself as Unangax from Sand Point, engages with students, counselors and advisors, and communities to attract and retain Alaska Native students.
Sara Longan assumed duties as the Deputy Chief of the Regulatory Division for the US Army Corps of Engineers–Alaska District in January. In her new position, Longan administers and enforces the Corps’ regulatory program in Alaska. Originally from California, Longan earned a doctorate in epidemiology and public health as well as a master’s degree in environmental toxicology and a bachelor’s degree in pre-veterinary medicine at Oklahoma State University. Prior to joining the Alaska District, she was the deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources in charge of the Division of Oil and Gas, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, Office of Project Management and Permitting, and Trust Land Office.
For the first time in two decades, the Alaska region of NOAA Fisheries has a new boss. Jon Kurland becomes Regional Administrator, replacing Jim Balsiger, who led the agency in Alaska since 2002. Kurland has been with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration since 1990, serving as assistant regional administrator for protected resources since 2012. Kurland earned a bachelor’s degree in government from Hamilton College and a master’s degree in marine affairs from the University of Rhode Island. He resides in Juneau, where the NOAA Fisheries regional office is located.