SPRING 2010
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Even though it SNOWED gobs here recently, we're greeting you with the frenzied, friendly high-fives of springtime. Yep, it happens every year: The sun comes back. That helps us turn over new leaves: newly acquired tools for the trade, renewed energy to volunteer or run a race for a good cause, new hope for bountiful salmon runs. And in our case, a new Senior Associate to welcome to the A::B team. Hooray for spring (technically speaking).
TURNING OVER NEW LEAVES
Welcome Heidi!
Our new Senior Associate is a certified project manager with valuable experience in strategic planning and business process analysis. Heidi Wailand grew up in rural Maine, served as an Amazon River tour guide, graduated from Harvard and Cornell. She then took her skills to Southeast Alaska where she facilitated five-year strategic planning efforts with watershed councils. After that she lived in New York City serving as executive director of a consulting team at the NYC Dept. of Small Business Services. Lucky for us, she missed Alaska enough to return to make a home in Anchorage with her husband and newly adopted Husky puppy. Who knew one could move so deftly through the rainforest, subway system, the Inside Passage and now Anchorage’s trail network? Welcome, Heidi!
New Tools for our Team
Four A::Bers went to PSMJ’s “Project Management Boot Camp” in Seattle where we added some new project management tools to our belts and flexed some project-management muscle. Chris, Ellen, Shelly and Heather brought back some exciting insights and resources for project planning and management. These practical yet innovative tools mesh well with our projects and are being implemented to greater efficiency with happy results.
Going Green: Saving Cash, Ink + Trees
A::B is purchasing 100 percent recycled paper at cost thanks to Alaska Center for the Environment and National Wildlife Federation. They’ve teamed up to offer 100 percent post-consumer waste paper (acid-free and chlorine-free): only $55 per case ($5.50/ream). Local stores rarely offer this product and if they do, it’s pretty expensive ($9.75/ream). ACE and NWF hope to encourage local demand for this eco-friendly product so retailers might find it worthwhile to carry it at a reasonable price. To purchase totally recycled paper, totally contact Valerie at ACE: 274.3662. (And to cut down on ink, A::B uses the classic serif font “Garamond,” a light and lovely lettering that’s easy on the eye, the printer and the environment.)
new Exhibit: The Way We Genuinely Live
Our own Thea Agnew Bemben and son Noah, 4, venture to the Smithsonian this weekend to tour the exhibit “Yuungnaqpiallerput (The Way We Genuinely Live): Masterworks of Yup'ik Science and Survival,” where they’ll also visit with friends from the Calista Elders Council. The exhibit is based on knowledge shared by Yup’ik elders and showcases a legacy of intelligence and ingenuity. At the museum, Thea and Noah will explore tools, clothing, containers, hunting weapons and watercraft —objects which demonstrate deep knowledge of the scientific principles and physical processes that have allowed countless generations of Yup’ik people to thrive (on display in Washington DC at the Smithsonian April 17-July 25, 2010).
Seasons of Subsistence
A new documentary photo project, Seasons of Subsistence, explores the subsistence culture of people in Bristol Bay. By following several families and communities, the team is creating an audio-visual archive that examines a way of life and a group of people who remain intimately bound to the seasonal flux of natural resources. The project highlights the growing concern among elders that subsistence culture and traditional knowledge are being lost. Prints are up in Juneau’s Silverbow Gallery until May 1.
Well-trained workers = high-quality salmon
We applaud Copper River Seafood for investing in local economic development in a way that communities can really connect to! The Tundra Drums newspaper reports that Copper River Seafood plans to offer seafood industry training in Anchorage. "You have to develop the community while you're developing the market," said Joe Egemo, chief executive officer and Naknek fisherman. The goal is to boost the value of Alaska's seafood while training hundreds of village residents in a wide variety of seafood industry jobs (office positions to technical and management jobs). The firm set the gold standard for quality in Alaska's wild sockeye salmon and is serious about finding buyers and fostering the consumer’s connection to this sustainable wild resource.
a new way Forward
The Alaska Forward final report, an important analysis of Alaska’s economy, was released last month by the Alaska Partnership for Economic Development and it ain’t pretty. Main themes include Alaska’s:
- Poor relative economic performance compared to the rest of the country.
- Weak linkages to rapidly expanding global market opportunities.
- Ignoring opportunities for diversification and inability to optimize the needs and linkages within and among the state's existing portfolio of export-oriented industry "clusters."
- Weak culture of entrepreneurship.
- Sub-par support from the state's economic foundations compared to other peer states in the area of transportation and other infrastructure, quality of workforce/education, and technology.
Ultimately, the goal is to provide a good environment for innovation – for new companies to start-up and grow and for new thinking and new behavior within and among development organizations. To that end, the Alaska Partnership for Economic Development is planning a Statewide Economic Summit in the near future to develop action initiatives to be led by the private sector. Stay tuned.
Run with the Falcon
All proceeds go directly to the Mountain View Boys & Girls Club and you get a prize for being faster than the falcon, who usually flies through the 5k course within 25 minutes. The club is theee positive place to play in the neighborhood with dedicated staff, pertinent programs, meals and school shuttles serving more than 1,000 young members. Programs include homework tutoring, drug and alcohol prevention, job readiness training, a music recording studio, and programs promoting healthy, active lifestyles. (Race registration fee is $15 before April 25).
fresh starts for old stuff
If you’re in that sunny, spring-cleaning mood, share your extra household items with someone making a new home in Anchorage. Refugees from countries like Bhutan and Iraq arrive here in April to start fresh. So share unneeded items like irons, tea kettles, winter gear, pillows, blankets and vacuum cleaners. Your old treasures will live a second life in the home of a refugee.
Volunteer Online
If you find yourself at your desk daydreaming about putting your skills to use on the international scene, rest assured that you can fulfill your dream without leaving your desk. The United Nations hosts a user-friendly, international online volunteer opportunity that connects volunteers with overseas organizations. So, for instance, there are international development agencies that need help with things like grant writing, report editing or graphic design. Just browse by needed task, development topic or region and lend your expertise to the cause!
Visioning and Visualization
The Lincoln Institute website is thick with resources and tools, including a database with everything you need to know about the property tax, a collection of visual tools to communicate planning concepts and 700 case studies about implementing plans in urban neighborhoods. That’s what Planetizen’s judges said when the public-interest info-exchange added it to their Top 10 Websites for 2010 list, identifying the best planning, design, and development websites. And we think it’s pretty cool too!
