The holding company for Ahtna, Inc. regional corporation, Ahtna Netiye’, has a new CEO. Chief Operating Officer Roy Tansy Jr. is promoted to CEO, succeeding Tom Maloney, who is retiring after eight years with the company. As CEO, Tansy is responsible for providing strategic leadership for Ahtna subsidiaries. An Ahtna shareholder, Tansy is originally from the Ahtna village of Cantwell and a member of the Caribou (Udzisyu) clan. His professional background includes management in facilities, security, oil and gas, and construction. He has held positions with the Ahtna family of companies for thirty years. Tansy currently sits on the boards of the Alaska Native Heritage Center and the Alaska Chamber of Commerce.

The executive board of the Alaska World Affairs Council (AKWorld) named Lisa Eyler as its new President and CEO. She succeeds Lise Kristiansen, who led AKWorld for sixteen years. Eyler has been with AKWorld for fourteen years as a volunteer and board member, sharing its mission to advance international understanding and engagement, “bringing the world to Alaska” by stimulating interest in world affairs and inspiring members to be involved in world events. Eyler brings more than twenty years of executive leadership in nonprofit, natural resources, and cross-cultural communications fields. She holds a JD from the University of Oregon Law School and has consulted for nonprofits, industry, and governmental entities. She served as Alaska program director of the Conservation Lands Foundation, senior project manager of Environmental Resources Management, and executive director of The Great Land Trust.

Denali State Bank named Myron Dosch its Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. As the CFO, Dosch oversees the bank’s assets and liabilities, securities portfolio, and finance department. Dosch has extensive experience with accounting, finance, and management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Gonzaga University and an MBA in capital markets from UAF. He is also a certified public accountant.

The oldest and largest full-service local community bank in Fairbanks, Mt. McKinley Bank, promoted several team members to executive positions.

Kaye Kingkade is now Executive Vice President and COO. Kingkade joined the Mt. McKinley Bank team thirty-five years ago as a teller and has worked her way up through the department to become its newest leader. Having worked side-by-side with the previous COO for many years, Kingkade brings invaluable knowledge and experience to the position.

Stephanie Smith is promoted to Vice President, Operations Development Officer. Smith has been an integral part of the Operations Department since joining the bank in 2009. She has proven herself as a “go-to” person, willing to fill any role asked of her, and excels at her primary responsibilities within the New Accounts area. Smith holds an associate degree in business administration and is very active in the Fairbanks/North Pole communities.

Linda Benson becomes Mt. McKinley Bank’s Assistant Vice President, Mortgage Lending. Benson has been a key member of the Mortgage Loans Department since she joined the bank in 2012. Her unique background in law and her degrees in political science and business administration have proven their value to the team, and her keen eye for detail and vast knowledge of bank regulations provides borrowers with top-of-the-line customer service.

Matt Bradbury is now Assistant Vice President, Branch Manager. Bradbury has been an important member of the Operations team since coming to Alaska and starting his career at Mt. McKinley Bank in 2014. He has been a key person at the North Pole branch for many years and is active in the North Pole Rotary Club and North Pole Chamber of Commerce. Bradbury also serves on the employee wellness committee, encouraging coworkers to enjoy the great outdoors with summer hikes.

Employees at engineering firm R&M Consultants have been promoted to senior level positions, reflecting years of experience and expertise in their respective fields.

Ryan Goentzel is now a Senior Project Engineer. Goentzel has been with R&M since 2007, starting as an intern in the firm’s Engineering Department. His most recent position is Surface Transportation Project Engineer. With seventeen years of experience, his focus has been leading and coordinating the design of highways, roundabouts, pathways, culverts, grading, drainage, and signing and striping plans. Goentzel has worked on projects for clients at the local, regional, and state level across Alaska.

Josh Chaney is promoted to Senior Project Engineer in R&M’s Structural Engineering Group. Chaney has been with R&M for two years. He has sixteen years of structural engineering experience, with thirteen years in Alaska’s oilfield services industry. Chaney’s engineering responsibilities have included producing engineering calculations, creating design drawings, providing budget estimates, generating scopes of work, creating material requisitions, reviewing fabrication drawings, conducting field visits and preparing reports, building inspection, and providing construction support.

Lisa Morris is now a Senior Graphic Designer. Morris has twenty-two years of professional design experience, eighteen of those in Alaska’s A/E/C sector. She has been with R&M since 2020 and specializes in developing custom graphics that persuade and inform end user audiences. Morris’s skills include corporate and project branding, collateral design, project visual identities, report design, infographics, historical displays, copywriting, and editing. She has a proven ability to efficiently execute simple or complex ideas in graphic form and enjoys collaborating on projects from concept to completion.

Courtney Maillet has been promoted to Senior Project Accountant. Maillet has sixteen years of financial experience and has been with R&M for twelve years. She is knowledgeable in all aspects of business accounting. Maillet’s responsibilities include maintaining contract compliance, managing and reporting project financials and budgets, managing accounts receivable and payable, and assisting with database configuration.

The founder of an Anchorage aerospace firm is lending his business acumen to aspiring entrepreneurs. The University of Alaska Center for Economic Development at UAA signed Ben Kellie to serve as Entrepreneur-in-Residence. In this role, the CEO of The Launch Company can apply his years of experience to coaching, mentoring, and broader entrepreneurial ecosystem building. Kellie has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UAF and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from The Ohio State University. Kellie worked in rocketry at SpaceX, designing and operating launch sites. His startup, The Launch Company, was acquired by Voyager Space in 2021, and he remains its CEO.

The Juneau Arts & Humanities Council (JAHC) began 2023 with new leadership.

Phil Huebschen is the organization’s new Executive Director, responsible for fund development, grant and fiscal management, program management, community relations, advocacy, strategic planning, and supervising JAHC staff. Huebschen returns to his hometown after working as associate director of the UCLA Chancellor’s Society in Los Angeles. He succeeds the organization’s longtime leader, Nancy DeCherney, who retired in May 2022, and interim executive directors Reggie Schapp and Jennifer Quinto.

Another Juneau native with experience in the Lower 48 is JAHC’s new Technical Director. Zachary Pease is responsible for mounting events at Centennial Hall and the Juneau Arts and Culture Center, such as maintaining equipment, ensuring safety of the facilities, and supervising the event crew. Pease has experience in event productions from freelancing at numerous festivals, such as running event technology for Anime Expo 2022, Burning Man, and D23 Disney Convention 2022.