At a Glance
Where the Sea Breaks Its Back: The Epic Story of Early Naturalist Georg Steller and the Russian Exploration of Alaska by Corey Ford.
What movie do you recommend to everyone you know?
Well I’m not a movie goer because I get vertigo really bad in the theater, but there’s a TV series I really like and that’s Yellowstone.
What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a long day at work?
I’d say the first thing I do is I receive unconditional love from my dog Gracie… she’s a miniature schnauzer and no matter how the day at work turned out, she’s always overjoyed to see me.
If you couldn’t live in Alaska, what’s your dream locale?
Easy, it would be Maui. I went to college in Hawai’i and have had the luxury of having traveled there many times—it’s like a second home to me.
If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be?
I’d probably say a bear, and you might say, ‘Why on god’s green earth would you do that?’… perhaps it might help me to not be so terrified of them [she laughs].
At a Glance
Where the Sea Breaks Its Back: The Epic Story of Early Naturalist Georg Steller and the Russian Exploration of Alaska by Corey Ford.
What movie do you recommend to everyone you know?
Well I’m not a movie goer because I get vertigo really bad in the theater, but there’s a TV series I really like and that’s Yellowstone.
What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a long day at work?
I’d say the first thing I do is I receive unconditional love from my dog Gracie… she’s a miniature schnauzer and no matter how the day at work turned out, she’s always overjoyed to see me.
If you couldn’t live in Alaska, what’s your dream locale?
Easy, it would be Maui. I went to college in Hawai’i and have had the luxury of having traveled there many times—it’s like a second home to me.
If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be?
I’d probably say a bear, and you might say, ‘Why on god’s green earth would you do that?’… perhaps it might help me to not be so terrified of them [she laughs].
Off the Cuff
ophie Minich is the President and CEO of Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI). Minich has held a variety of executive level positions with CIRI including chief operating officer, chief financial officer, and senior vice president of business development. From Seward and a shareholder of the Alaska Native Corporation herself, Minich is intimately familiar with the values that drive the company’s success.
Sophie Minich: In my free time I spend quality time with my sweetheart and my kids. My kids are teenagers so they’re often doing their own thing as teenagers do. We love to fish and golf, go camping, traveling… 2020 has us exploring Alaska and seeing places we haven’t seen before.
AB: Is there a skill you’re currently developing or have always wanted to learn?
Minich: Oh my gosh, I’d have to say going back to my golf game. And I’d love to learn to hit my irons better—I’m fairly inconsistent [she laughs], but I’m determined to do better.
AB: What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?
Minich: So one time on a trip with my kids… I took them ziplining ‘cause they really wanted to go, and we went up to the first tower and my kids just bailed off, and I stood there absolutely terrified thinking, “What mom would let her kids jump off a 40-foot tower?” And finally, the guy just looked at me and said, “You know, you do have to jump, right?” [she laughs]. And I’d say secondly going fishing with bears nearby—as I’ve said before, I am absolutely terrified of bears.
AB: What’s your go-to comfort food?
Minich: Hmm, this is kind of a tough one. How about tapioca pudding. It reminds me a lot of my youth. I grew up down in Seward. My Grandma used to make it.
AB: Other than your current career, if you were a kid today, what would your dream job be?
Minich: Oh, this is easy. I’d like to be something in the medical field. I’ve always been intrigued by medicine, I think it goes with my personality in genuinely caring and trying to make others feel better.
AB: What’s your favorite way to exercise?
Minich: I’d say going for a long walk or hike with my sweetheart and Gracie our dog. We have a little loop that we do out where we live and it’s a nice 3.5 mile loop—it’s safe, there are no bears [she laughs].
Minich: There’s so many I could choose from—I’m a music person; I much prefer to listen to music than watch TV or anything like that. I’m gonna have to say, I would love to see The Eagles in concert.
AB: What’s your greatest extravagance?
Minich: Oh boy. Well a splurge I have would be my 1969 Camaro.
AB: What are you superstitious about?
Minich: I’m Alaska Native and my mom is where I get that from. She was raised in Fort Yukon and grew up in a time where being an Alaska Native wasn’t a popular thing, she didn’t have warm and fuzzy feelings—she wasn’t proud about it. So, she didn’t really put a lot of our culture on us, she didn’t share a lot of it. But one thing that’s always resonated with me, she told me when I was a young girl to never look an owl in the eye. And if you did that, death was soon to come to somebody close by. So, to this day, I never look an owl in the eye.
AB: What is your best and worst attribute?
Minich: I feel my best attribute is my smile. If I’m smiling you know I’m happy, all is well, and hopefully it brings a smile to your face. My worst attribute… I take on too much and don’t ask others for help. 
