Betsy Baker is a board member of In Our Backyard, a new Anchorage nonprofit whose mission is to provide safe interim housing and connections to support services for unhoused senior neighbors. Dr. Baker is an international lawyer whose consulting work on ocean law and Arctic policy builds on 25+ years of experience as an author, consultant, law professor, and most recently as director of an Alaska-based marine science funding organization, the North Pacific Research Board. She is a member of the Polar Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences. Betsy received her J.D. from the University of Michigan and her LL.M. and doctorate in law from Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany, where she was an Alexander von Humboldt Chancellor's Fellow. She has taught at Harvard, Minnesota, and Vermont Law Schools. Betsy attends First Covenant Church of Anchorage, served on the municipality’s 2023 task force on sanctioned camps, and previously served on the board of Facing Foster Care in Alaska.

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2qznqmytgmjemfbtetaby/2024-7-28-In-Our-Backyard.pdf?rlkey=g9di3cu7kahw3zmuv4vc6vdxx&dl=0

In Our Backyard website - https://inourbackyard-ak.org

Text Betsy - 907 787 9496

Kate McClellan was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and spent her youth in the suburbs of Chicago. In 1977, just before she turned 17, she left a traumatic home life and headed for Alaska in a VW bus, moving here permanently in 1986. Kate received a bachelor's degree in Sociology with a minor in History in 2002. During her last year at UAA, in the build-up to the war in Iraq, she became an activist with Alaskans for Peace and Justice, opposing the war, and met a Palestinian man named Khalid, who expanded her perspective on the conflict in Israel/Palestine. As a consequence, she has been avidly following what has transpired there. She lives in Nunaka Valley with her dog Mariah and takes in other dogs for boarding. She is a long-term member of St. Marys Episcopal Church, loves long walks with the dogs, hiking, and gardening, and is something of a compulsive news junkie.

Link to slides that Kate used - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/kosfn2biax5j67kkpjc70/TheSituation.pdf?rlkey=cywafl80uqylkdws06jj8ohi9&dl=0

Link to YouTube video that Kate showed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhI2Rlt3SSc&rco=1 This link is to a video - If you only open the Forum podcast, you will experience the audio of this video. It is well worth accessing the video.

Cindy Chaput is the College, Career, and Life Ready Director for the Anchorage School District. An Alaskan resident for 28 years, Cindy has spent three decades in the education sector, gaining valuable experience in administration and counseling across various schools in the Anchorage School District. In her current role, she supports the expanding technical and real-world opportunities for ALL students, bridging the gap between education and the workforce through the Academies of Anchorage initiative. Beyond her professional life, Cindy and her husband, Dave, enjoy building projects with their four adult children, retreating to their cabin, and hiking in the mountains.

Misha Chakraborty, with over 15 years of experience in academia, brings a wealth of knowledge to her role at United Way, Anchorage. Her personal interests, such as spending time outside and enjoying music, make her more than just a professional. She is a mother of two daughters and a fur baby, and she is excited to be involved in the Academies of Anchorage initiative through United Way, where her role is to connect the schools with the community and business partners.

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ylotzb6nn92a5f7ubyoe0/Community-Partner-AoA-Presentation.pdf?rlkey=b2zsvpdnpae6pdwthfcdadyfj&dl=0

How to get involved - https://www.asdk12.org/domain/6221 Building a Partnership / Partner With Us (asdk12.org)

Academies of Anchorage Pathways link - https://www.asdk12.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=1507&ModuleInstanceID=43761&ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=86054&PageID=2516

Chat - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4jb5jn7k5i6jgvjwmru6a/20240714_chat.pdf?rlkey=ooqg1e2z7nt3tscsem69g40o4&dl=0

Travis’s primary interest areas are star formation, climate change advocacy, and astronomy education research. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Physics from Trinity University in 1992 and his master’s (1995) and Ph.D. (1998) in Astrophysics from the University of Colorado. His UAA Faculty website lists his many publications. He also works with a team to make color astronomical images, which you can see in the NOIRLab image gallery. Paola Banchero is a journalist and Professor of Journalism and Public Communications at UAA. She worked as a reporter and editor at the Kansas City Star, the Kansas City Business Journal, the Wichita Eagle, the Arizona Daily Star, and the Anchorage Daily News, as well as in strategic communications for a large agribusiness. Paola is the chair of JPC and has taught various courses, from Corporate Communications to Documentary Filmmakers and Filmmaking, to Magazines to Media Literacy. She is a faculty adviser to The Northern Light and a member of the UAA Media Board. She serves on the Alaska Public Media Board of Directors. She earned master’s degrees in Journalism (Northwestern) and Business Administration (Benedictine).

Travis and Paola have one daughter and enjoy the outdoors in Alaska.

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ua7t5p0bvcry2y2e1dp6i/AUUFJuly2024.pdf?rlkey=pnpfq0uwt6ca05qfze6u3hz24&dl=0

Some interesting websites -

http://www.citizensclimatelobby.org

http://www.ThirdAct.org

http://www.350.org

https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/05/what-you-need-to-know-about-record-breaking-heat-in-the-atlantic/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1cdf50Zt6ph8l26eXPl8Q80GjHIgHBajfpaQPNjSKcK1IBSikaEAzcw5A_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw

https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2022/10/what-can-you-do-about-climate-change-take-this-quiz-to-find-out/

https://drawdown.org

Travis;s pubs -https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/college-of-arts-and-sciences/departments/physics-and-astronomy/faculty/rector.cshtml

Color astronomical images - https://noirlab.edu/public/images/

Jane Anvik came to Alaska in 1973 as a city planner for the Anchorage Borough. She served in political office as an elected member of the Anchorage Charter Commission and later a six-year member of the Anchorage Assembly, which she chaired. Jane managed the Alaska Public Forum for Governor Hammond, and then worked for the Alaska Federation of Natives, the Alaska Native Foundation and the Alaska Native Heritage Center. She has managed the Alaska Division of Lands and the Department of Commerce and Economic Development. Since 2000, she’s worked on community development projects across Alaska as a consultant. She has served on many Boards of organizations that support women and the development of girls, such as AWAIC, STAR, Planned Parenthood, Girl Scouts of Alaska, Alaska Women Ascend and Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame. She has worked on many campaigns for progressive candidates. Jane was joyfully married to Vic Fischer for 42 years until his death in 2023. They raised their daughter, Ruth, and shared their delight in their four grandchildren. Jane earned a BA in Urban Studies and an MA in Public Administration from Harvard.

A link to some great photos - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/nqtro2n1j8swkectuprfe/PhotCollection.pdf?rlkey=66ftfowg28uoxv7vvn95ng7iv&dl=0

Asia Amini, her husband Abdul, and their one-month-old son, Mohammed, fled Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul in August 2021. In January 2022, the family moved to Anchorage, which now includes their almost 2-year-old daughter, Alina. Afghans who helped the US military in the fight against the Taliban were almost exclusively male. Asia is a rare exception as, in her family, she was the one who helped the US military as a member of the Female Tactical Platoon. 39 members of the Female Tactical Platoon, including Asia, are now living scattered throughout the US. Asia works at Catholic Social Services, helping other refugees in many ways: getting jobs, learning English, and meeting the challenges newcomers face. She is a Peer Navigator with the Alaska Literacy Program. She loves helping people and has a special place in her heart for helping women become more independent.

Dena Doublex was born and spent her first decade in a small, rural, all-white town in Oregon. The next decade was spent as a white student in mostly black schools in Oakland, California, and many decades traveling to different countries as often as possible. Seeing the differences and similarities among people has always fascinated her. As a retired person, she spends a lot of time with friends new to the US, helping in various ways, such as teaching people to drive, sharing meals or tea, and playing with kids.

She views volunteering with newcomers as a fun and cost-effective way to travel without the expense and inconvenience of flying. If you are interested in teaching people to drive, she has a list of people, so contact her at denaldoublex@gmail.com.

If you want to volunteer at Catholic Social Services, Refuge and Immigration Services (RAIS), you can get more info at https://www.cssalaska.org/our-programs/refugee-assistance-immigration-services/.

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7wl1s4ed20cvnsb5tog8x/WorldRefugeeDaySlides.pdf?rlkey=wak504uyiyld21wsl08w4hmma&dl=0

Note that 3 slides have been removed from the podcast slides and replaced by blank pages.

Hal Bernton has worked in journalism for more than four decades. He was a staff reporter for The Seattle Times from 2000 to March 2023 and previously worked in Alaska for more than a decade with the Anchorage Daily News. The Oregonian, The Twin Falls Times News, and columnist Jack Anderson have also employed him. He was part of a reporting team at the Anchorage Daily News that received the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for reporting on Alaska's Native peoples, and a team at the Seattle Times, which received the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News for reporting on a landslide that killed 43 people. He has won numerous other awards, including this year's Alaska Press Club award for best environmental reporting. Hal has written extensively on energy, environment, and fisheries issues, and his overseas reporting includes dispatches from Haiti, China, Indonesia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Photos - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/51k02n9pqnthsrnmo7c8b/2404PressClub.pdf?rlkey=25xfags9gzh7dagfohtvduuew&dl=0

All photos © Loren Holmes, Anchorage Daily News. Thanks to Loren Holmes and Anchorage Daily News for the use of the photos in Hal’s presentation. They are made available here solely for viewing as you listen to the podcast recording of this Forum presentation and should not be copied, distributed, or used in any other way without permission of Loren Holmes, ADN.

Dick Reichman has been a central figure in Alaska theatre for decades as a playwright, actor, director, producer, and more. He was born in 1945 in New York's Garment District. Instead of returning to take over the family store after college, he went to Carnegie-Mellon University on a Schubert Playwrighting Fellowship, then wrote and directed for Theater Workshop Boston. To support his passions for theatre and baroque keyboard instruments, he worked in radio stations and tuning pianos in several states, eventually landing in Valdez. He was the morning man at KCHU for ten years until Jerry and Sandy Harper drew him to Anchorage in the 90s to be an integral part of their new Eccentric Theater Company (later Cyranos), which premiered ten of his plays. More recently he has done plays with RKP Productions, which he co-founded with Audrey and Bruce Kelly and the late Bob Pond. Dick and his wife, Christine, have three children, Nathaniel, Benjamin, and Amanda, who are all involved in the arts.

Link to list of Dick's work - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/sg7kx5k309516hybrjrc9/DickReichman_in_Alaska_theatre-as-actor-playwright-director-producer.pdf?rlkey=nq6ia57yz0wquyuagc2wfhxn0&dl=0