Posted by
Ron Devito on Friday, June 26, 2009 7:04:14 AM
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin [on June 25, 2009] made appointments to
the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education and the Alaska Housing
Finance Corporation Board of Directors (Board Appointments, 2009, ¶1).
Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education
Governor
Palin appointed Jennifer Chambers and Jan K. Sieberts, and reappointed
Sharon C. Gherman, David M. Rees and Lydia H. Wirkus to the Alaska
Commission on Postsecondary Education. The 14-member commission
administers state student loan programs, and authorizes new facilities
and programs for higher education in Alaska (Board Appointments, 2009,
¶2).
Biography of Jennifer Chambers
Chambers,
of Anchorage, is a chemistry major at University of Alaska Fairbanks
(UAF). She has been active in student government for more than two
years, and serves as chair of the Associated Students of the University
of Alaska Fairbanks. She has worked for Hope Community Resources as an
individual service specialist in Anchorage and as a resident assistant
at UAF. She graduated from Polaris High School in Anchorage in 2006.
Chambers was selected by the governor from among a slate of students
who were nominated as a result of winning elections at their respective
University of Alaska campuses. She was appointed to a seat representing
full-time college students (Board Appointments, 2009, ¶3).
Biography of Jan K. Sieberts
Sieberts,
of Anchorage, has been Alaska manager of Washington Capital Management
investment bank advisors since 2003, was senior vice president of
National Bank of Alaska/Wells Fargo in Anchorage from 1975-2003, and
has other state and national banking experience. He was a member of the
Anchorage Economic Development Commission from 1987-92, a member of the
Anchorage Neighborhood Housing Services Inc. board from 1990-97 and
again from 2003-05, and serves as chairman or vice-chairman of AHFC’s
budget and housing committee since 2003-05. After serving two years in
the U.S. Army, Sieberts earned a bachelor’s degree in finance
management from the University of Oregon. A member and treasurer of
Alaska Pacific University’s board of trustees, Sieberts was appointed
to a seat representing private higher education (Board Appointments,
2009, ¶4).
Biography of Sharon C. Gherman
Gherman,
of Fairbanks, has been president and chief executive officer of The
Funding Exchange, Inc./Alaska Funding Exchange since 2007. She was
executive director of the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska from
2003-06, outreach administrator for the Alaska Science & Technology
Foundation from 1998-2003, a grant writer or acting district
coordinator for the Alaska Cooperative Extension Service from 1992-96,
and operated a consulting firm from 1995-2007. She has been a member of
the University of Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula College’s College Advisory
Council from 2004-06. Gherman earned an associate’s degree in arts and
sciences from Bellevue Community College in Washington, and a
bachelor’s degree in rural development from UAF. She has been a member
and past chair of the commission since 2005, and was reappointed to a
seat representing community colleges (Board Appointments, 2009, ¶5).
Biography of David M. Rees
Rees,
of Eagle River, retired in April after a career in oil industry
workforce development, safety and training, including the last 11 years
with BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. He has served on numerous educational
and training boards in Alaska, including the Governor's Council on
Vocational Education, Statewide Advisory Council for
Vocational/Technical Education, Alaska Job Training Council, Alaska
Human Resource Investment Council, and the Alaska Business Education
Compact, and was a founding member of the Alaska Process Industry
Careers Consortium board. Rees earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry
from Stanford University, a master’s degree in physics from the
University of Portland, and a master’s degree in secondary education
from the University of Oregon. A member of the Alaska Workforce
Investment Board (AWIB), he was recently elected chair of AWIB’s
Assessment and Evaluation Committee. Rees has represented AWIB on the
commission since 2008, and was reappointed to a seat representing that
board (Board Appointments, 2009, ¶6).
Biography of Lydia H. Wirkus
Wirkus,
of Chugiak, is chair of the Alaska Student Loan Corporation. She
previously had been a high school teacher for the Matanuska-Susitna
Borough School district from 1994-2006. She earned a bachelor’s degree
in arts and international affairs from Florida State University in
1971, a master’s degree in special education from Florida International
University in 1974, and a master of education degree in foods and
nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in1980.
She has been on the commission since 2007, and was reappointed to a
public seat (Board Appointments, 2009, ¶7).
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation Board of Directors
Managed
by a seven-member board, AHFC helps provide safe and sanitary housing
for Alaskans by providing mortgage loan financing, by serving as the
principal source of residential financing and by functioning as a
secondary mortgage market. Under federal programs, AHFC also operates
the state’s public housing programs and subsidizes rents for certain
low-income residents (Board Appointments, 2009, ¶9).
Governor
Palin appointed Brent LeValley and reappointed N. Claiborne Porter Jr.
and Frank Roppel to the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) Board
of Directors (Board Appointments, 2009, ¶8).
Biography of Claiborne Porter, Jr.
Porter,
of Anchorage, has 35 years’ experience in architectural design and
construction of housing and light commercial projects in Alaska. He has
owned NCP Architects & Planners, a solo architectural practice,
since 1972; been president of NCP Construction, Ltd., a design-build
firm, since 1978; and been partial owner of Building Analysis Inc., a
building inspection firm, since 1990. He has been an adjunct member of
the University of Alaska Anchorage’s architectural and engineering
technology faculty since 1980. He received a bachelor’s degree in
architecture from Auburn University, and a master’s degree in
architecture from Catholic University of America. He has served on the
board since 2005, and was reappointed to a seat representing the
energy-efficient home-building or weatherization industry (Board
Appointments, 2009, ¶10).
Biography of Frank Roppel
Roppel,
of Wrangell, retired in 2003 from a career in lumber and pulp mill
management. He was general manager of the Alaska Pulp Corporation from
1983 to 2002, president and chief executive officer of Sealaska Timber
Corp. from 1980-83, and held a number of jobs, including sawmill
manager, at Ketchikan Pulp Co. from 1959-80. He served as director of
the Alaska State Housing Authority from 1975-82. Roppel received a
bachelor’s degree in business and chemistry from Oregon State
University. He served on the AHFC board from 1975-87, has served again
since 2003 and was reappointed to a seat representing the senior or
low-income housing industry (Board Appointments, 2009, ¶11).
Biography of Brent LeValley
LeValley,
of Fairbanks, has been senior vice president of construction loans for
Denali State Bank in Fairbanks since 1994. He had previously been a
branch manager at Farm Credit of Southwest Florida from 1989-93, and
was senior vice president for mortgage lending at Mt. McKinley Bank in
Fairbanks from 1975-88, and assistant branch manager of the Federal
Land Bank Association from 1971-74. LeValley was a member of the
Interior Alaska Building Association board of directors from 1996-2003,
and was named Associate of the Year in 2002 and 2004. He has served on
the Cold Climate Housing Research Center board of directors since 2005.
LeValley received a bachelor’s degree in labor relations and economics
from Michigan State University. He was appointed to a seat reserved for
a representative of the finance or real estate industries (Board
Appointments, 2009, ¶12).
Fishery Council Nominees Approved
Governor
Palin's two top nominees to the North Pacific Fishery Management
Council have been approved by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke
(Fishery, 2009, ¶1).
Robert “Ed” Dersham and Dan Hull will
begin their terms in August. Dersham currently serves on the council
and has been reappointed. Hull has been an active public participant at
council meetings and has served on council committees (Fishery, 2009,
¶2).
North Pacific Fishery Management Council
The
North Pacific Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional
councils established by the 1976 Magnuson Fishery Conservation and
Management Act, later renamed the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act, to oversee management of the nation's marine
fisheries. The council has jurisdiction over 900,000 square miles of
ocean from three to 200 miles off Alaska’s shores, and has primary
responsibility for managing pollock, cod, halibut, sole and other
groundfish (Fishery, 2009, ¶3).
Biography of Robert "Ed" Dersham
Dersham,
of Anchor Point, is a 23-year charter boat operator in Lower Cook Inlet
who served on the Alaska Board of Fisheries for more than eight years,
including three years as chair and two years as vice-chair. He was
involved in developing and chairing the joint protocol committee for
coordination between the fisheries board and the North Pacific council.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the
University of Oregon and is retired from a career as a special agent
with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Dersham has served on the
council since 2008 (Fishery, 2009, ¶4).
Biography of Dan Hull
Hull,
of Anchorage, has been an active fisherman and vessel owner for more
than 25 years, fishing for salmon and halibut out of Cordova. He holds
a master’s degree in marine affairs from the University of Washington
and a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College. Hull is currently a
board member of Cordova District Fishermen United and is a member of
the Alaska Sea Grant Advisory Committee (Fishery, 2009, ¶5).
Commentary
Governor
Palin has made 82 appointments and re-appointments this year, including
two judicial appointments, an attorney general, and one state senate
appointment. In the 176 days that have passed this year, she has
averaged one appointment every two and one third days.
References
Governor Palin's Fishery Council appointments approved. (2009, June 25). State of Alaska, Governor. Retrieved June 26, 2009 from: http://www.gov.state.ak.us/news.php?id=1934
Governor makes board appointments. (2009, June 25).
State of Alaska, Governor. Retrieved June 26, 2009 from:
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/news.php?id=1936