A portfolio company of Chugach Alaska Corporation has a new General Manager. Shane Jolin was appointed to lead All American Oilfield, overseeing operational performance for oil and gas drilling and professional services contracts across Alaska. Jolin, a veteran of the US Marine Corps, has more than two decades of petroleum experience, including work with Schlumberger and CH2MHill, and is certified as a project management professional.

Bowhead Transport, part of Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation’s UIC Commercial Services division, hired Todd Santangelo as Director of Operations. Santangelo comes to Bowhead Transport after ten years at Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, most recently as procurement and supply chain manager. In his new role, Santangelo manages all operational aspects of Bowhead Transport. Santangelo earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from UAA with a focus on supply chain management and logistics.

Gretchen Meyers is back at R&M Consultants as a Senior Land Surveyor in the firm’s geomatics department. Meyers previously worked at R&M from 2010 to 2014, when she left to raise her children. “Jumping back into a career after taking time off is not easy, but I knew R&M would have the guidance and mentorship I needed,” says Meyers. Meyers has a bachelor’s degree in geomatics from UAA and is a member of the Alaska Society of Professional Land Surveyors.

Among multiple disciplines covered by Coffman Engineers, the firm adds a new capability for control systems at its Anchorage office by hiring Amber Benham. She received double bachelor’s degrees from Montana State University in chemical engineering and biological engineering. Benham has nine years of experience in the refining industry, designing process control automation, instrumentation, and alarms.

Altman, Rogers & Co., Alaska’s largest locally owned certified public accounting firm, expanded its ownership group. Katie Stachow, the senior audit manager at the firm’s Anchorage office, was promoted to Principal and Shareholder, the firm’s eighth. Stachow has been with Altman, Rogers & Co. since 2009. Stachow earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and public administration from Carroll College in Montana and is a certified public accountant. She also serves on the finance council for the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau.

Darren Franz, senior executive officer and chief credit officer at First National Bank Alaska, is now President of the bank’s Lending Division line of business. Franz remains Chief Credit Officer and is also elevated to the bank’s board of directors. Franz earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics and is a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School.

Northrim Bank promoted three officers and added two new employees to its team.

Samrie Canales is now Associate Vice President and Branch Manager at the Eastside Community Branch in Anchorage’s Muldoon neighborhood. Canales started at Northrim in 2021 and has more than ten years of customer service and management experience.

Andrew Heckman joined Northrim in December as Associate Vice President and Branch Manager at the Fairbanks West Community Branch. He holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from UAF. Born and raised in Fairbanks, Heckman recently moved back to Alaska.

Elisa Borcherding is promoted to Assistant Branch Manager, Float Pool. Borcherding has been at Northrim for three years and has six years of banking industry experience. A life-long Alaskan, she is finishing a bachelor’s degree in financial management from Penn State University.

Josh Fuentes joins Northrim as Assistant Branch Manager at the Lake Otis Community Branch. Fuentes started with the bank in December after working for ten years in the financial industry in California and Texas. Fuentes holds a business analyst certification from Purdue University.

Taylor Ladenburger is promoted to Commercial Loan Officer. Ladenburger joined Northrim in 2021 and has three years of financial industry experience. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business economics with a minor in business analytics from the University of South Dakota.

Two officers of Mt. McKinley Bank earned promotions.

Carmen Randle is now Senior Vice President, Finance. Randle serves as the finance officer and audit manager for the bank. Randle joined the Mt. McKinley Bank team in 2019 with more than twenty years of experience in the accounting and finance industry in Fairbanks. She received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from UAF and is a certified public accountant.

Jasmine Pletnikoff is promoted to Vice President, Controller. Pletnikoff joined the Mt. McKinley Bank team in 2020 with more than fifteen years of accounting experience. She worked her way up from teller and loan clerk throughout high school and college. She graduated from UAF in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Anchorage accounting firm Thomas, Head & Greisen appointed Carrie J. Garrity as a Director. Garrity, a certified public accountant licensed to practice in Alaska and Oregon has been with the firm since 2014. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Black Hills State University in South Dakota and her MBA from Cameron University in Oklahoma.

The Anchorage law firm of Landye Bennett Blumstein (LBB) added three new partners and an associate attorney.

Andy Erickson has been with LBB since 2016 and became a Partner in January 2024. His practice focuses on Alaska Native, municipal, natural resources, and appellate law. Erickson earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana, a master’s degree in environmental policy at the University of Oxford, and a JD from Lewis & Clark Law School. Erickson worked as an Alaska Supreme Court clerk and a US Senate policy fellow.

Doug Karet joined LBB as a Partner in November 2023. Karet regularly represents general contractors, subcontractors, owners, and design professionals, and he is a member of the Associated General Contractors of Alaska. Karet earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and his master’s degree and JD from the University of Colorado. Licensed to practice in Alaska and Colorado, he specializes in contracts and litigation.

John Crone also joined LBB as a Partner in November 2023. He works in employment, construction, commercial, and administrative matters. Crone also advocates for clients before Alaska’s Marijuana Control Board. Crone earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College Chicago and a JD from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. He is licensed to practice in Alaska and Colorado.

Suzanne Adler joined LBB as an Associate Attorney in January 2024. Her practice focuses on business litigation, employment law, and natural resources. Adler earned a bachelor’s degree from Stonehill College in Massachusetts and obtained her JD from Boston University School of Law. She moved to Alaska in 2016 and clerked for Superior Court Judge Louis J. Menendez in Juneau and Superior Court Judge Bethany S. Harbinson in Fairbanks.

First Alaskans Institute (FAI), a statewide nonprofit advancing Alaska Native voices, has a new President and CEO. After a nationwide search, FAI selected Apagzuk/Apagruk Roy Agloinga as the successor to La quen náay Liz Medicine Crow, who led FAI for the last twelve years. Apagzuk/Apagruk is the Yup’ik/Iñupiaq spelling of his name, and he goes by both to honor both identities. He comes to FAI with a background in nonprofit management, philanthropy, rural health, government policy, and Iñupiat language preservation. Most recently, he served as an external affairs and granting program officer for the Rasmuson Foundation.