The Alaska Native corporation for the Interior named a new leader for its tourism business lines. As the President of Doyon Tourism, Jordan Sanford oversees investment opportunities in the visitor industry, especially transportation, lodging, and cultural tourism. Sanford has been with Doyon, Limited since 2010, most recently as general manager of Kantishna Roadhouse. Before that, she was general manager of Northern Laundry Services since 2016; she has led both subsidiaries jointly since 2021. Doyon’s tourism interests also include the Doyon Aramark Joint Venture and the Na-Dena` Joint Venture with Huna Totem Corporation.

Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI) found a new President at one of its tribal affiliates. The corporation named Tabetha Toloff, a CIRI shareholder, to fill the position left vacant since October when Sarah Lukin stepped down after a year in the role; CIRI separated the president and CEO functions in 2023 upon the retirement of Sophie Minich, who held both positions for a decade. Toloff most recently served as chief administrative officer for Cook Inlet Tribal Council, one of CIRI’s three designated tribal organizations. In her new position, she spearheads stakeholder engagement and provides strategic oversight of shareholder and descendant programs and corporate affairs departments. Toloff holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational management from Alaska Pacific University and a master’s degree in organizational leadership/certificate in servant leadership from Gonzaga University.

Erica Drahozal, the Director of Sustainability at the Icy Strait Point (ISP) cruise ship destination in Hoonah, now serves that role for its parent company, Huna Totem Corporation. Promoted to a newly created position, Drahozal is responsible for environmental, health, and safety policies and procedures across the entire village corporation. Drahozal performed a similar role at ISP for five years. Before joining ISP, she served as the health, safety, and environmental officer for Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island destination Harvest Caye in Belize. Drahozal previously served in a civil affairs brigade for the US Army and deployed to Djibouti.

The law firm of Holland & Hart added new staff to support its Alaska services, including a pair of public policy pros fresh from a term on Capitol Hill.

Former US Representative Mary Peltola joins Holland & Hart as Senior Director of Alaska Affairs. Peltola won the open election for Alaska’s At-Large seat in the US House of Representatives in August 2022 upon the passing of then-US Representative Don Young. She won re-election that November and served one term until she lost re-election last fall. Prior to her federal service, Peltola represented the Bethel area in the Alaska House for ten years, and she served for five years as the executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

Joining Peltola in Holland & Hart’s Federal Affairs team is her former chief of staff, Anton McParland, who plans to split his time between Anchorage and Washington, DC, as Senior Director of Federal Affairs. “Having one foot in the nation’s capital and one foot in Anchorage allows me to help clients effectively maneuver in both political ecosystems while elevating the Alaska model of collaboration and bipartisanship in DC,” he says. McParland has more than fifteen years of experience as a political campaign strategist.

The law firm also gains a new attorney as Of Counsel: Sarah Jane Shine most recently served as senior vice president and general counsel at Arctic Slope Regional Corporation. Shine earned her JD from the University of California Davis School of Law. She is admitted to practice law in Alaska and California.

Law firm Landye Bennett Blumstein (LBB) added a partner and an associate for 2025.

Alexander J. Kubitz became a Partner effective January 1, 2025. He has been with LBB since 2019, serving clients in the areas of Alaska Native law, mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, and real estate development and transactions. Born and raised in Alaska, Kubitz graduated cum laude from Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon in 2018. He clerked for Anchorage Superior Court Judge Yvonne Lamoureux. Prior to pursuing a career in law, Kubitz worked as a legislative aide in the Alaska Legislature.

River E.M. Sterne joins LBB as an Associate Attorney, strengthening legal services in the areas of Alaska Native law, subsistence and natural resources law, transactional, and litigation. Sterne was born and raised in Anchorage and graduated from Lewis & Clark Law School summa cum laude in 2023. As a law student, Sterne served as Submissions Editor of the Lewis & Clark Law Review. Sterne clerked for Alaska Supreme Court Justice Dario Borghesan.

The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority Board of Trustees hired Dr. Mary Wilson as CEO, overseeing advocacy, planning, and funding of services for Alaskans who experience mental illness, intellectual and developmental disabilities, substance use disorders, traumatic brain injuries, Alzheimer’s disease, and related dementia. Wilson grew up in Alaska and, in recent years, returned to the state following her medical career. She originally worked as a licensed pediatrician before advancing into leadership positions at Permanente Medical Group, including executive medical director and president of The Southeast Permanente Medical Group in Atlanta.

Heather Tash joined ConocoPhillips Alaska as Vice President, Asset Development. Tash previously worked for ConocoPhillips in Texas’ Permian Basin. While there, she held roles in process, facilities, production, and reservoir engineering. Tash earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. She began work in the oil and gas industry upon graduation in 2007. Her work in the field has included positions with ExxonMobil and Concho Resources, a Texas oil company acquired by ConocoPhillips in 2021.