Leadership Anchorage

08/22/2026

Going out on a high note this week, thanks to the inspiring work of mother-daughter power duo Mere and Lorna-Lei Sua'ava! Both graduates of Leadership Anchorage, Mere and Lorna-Lei recently started Pasifika Pathways to empower Pasifika youth and families through culture, education, community and opportunities to thrive.

Earlier this month, Pasifika Pathways hosted its first-ever Woven Worlds Summit, welcoming speakers, performers, cultural practitioners, volunteers, partners - and AKHF staff! "Ultimately, it was about weaving our stories together and creating something that can inspire and uplift the next generation," says Mere, who is also an AKHF Board member.

Excited to see what Mere and Lorna-Lei will build next! 🙌

08/11/2026

Leadership Anchorage is accepting proposals for Community Impact Projects!

Learn more, sign-up for an info session, and submit a proposal here:

Since its founding in 1997, Leadership Anchorage participants have connected with a wide range of organizations and community champions to meet real needs. Each year, community organizations pitch concepts to the cohort and the cohort selects the projects they want to work on in teams of up to 5 pe...

06/16/2026

"I don’t know if I would have gone out of my way to say yes to things, or try harder to make change if it wasn’t for my time in Leadership Anchorage and the support I have gotten from it. The program itself taught me that every single person has leadership qualities and has the ability to be a leader no matter their job title or status."

In our latest G*ther Round blog post, LA28 alum (and Forum Storytelling Fellow) Elizabeth Pantaleone describes how her participation in Leadership Anchorage inspired her to become an advocate, pushed her to apply for a job she never thought she'd get (she did!), and most of all, changed what she thinks of when she imagines a leader. Read about her journey at https://tinyurl.com/2jx2v5dk

06/05/2026

05/26/2026

Congratulations to JJ Jackson (LA 26) on earning his GED through the Alaska Literacy Program!

Last week my heart is full celebrating our GED graduates. 🎓

Many students worked very hard while taking care of family, jobs, and many responsibilities. This achievement is not easy, and we are so proud of every one of you.

Thank you for believing in yourself and continuing your education. Your courage and determination inspire all of us every day.

Congratulations graduates! Your future is bright and this is only the beginning. ❤️

05/26/2026

A business owner, executive coach, and auctioneer, Jen Motyka is a true force of nature - and force for good - in Anchorage and beyond, and we love working with her on our Celebrating Leadership event every year.

Jen is the owner of Blitz Solutions and a partner at AK Promo Co, where she gets to deepen her relationships with local nonprofits and her own community involvement. She's a part of too many boards and initiatives to name here - just know that if we were all as involved, informed and connected as Jen, the world would be a better place!

Jen has been a mentor for the Alaska Literacy Program and our own Leadership Anchorage program, and is the first Korean-American Benefit Auction Specialist in the U.S. Each year, Jen runs the Fund the Forum part of Celebrating Leadership with deep love for the community in the room, an inspiring commitment of our mission, and a zing of energy that gets the whole room participating.

Jen, we appreciate you! ✨Thank you for another great year of partnership.

04/30/2026

Congratulations to this year's Leadership Anchorage Alumni Award winner, Nyabony G*t! ✨

Nyabony (LA25) is the Peer Leader Navigators Program Director at the Alaska Literacy Program, where she focuses on health outreach, advocacy, and helping individuals connect to and navigate healthcare and social services. She supports and trains individuals in building language skills at ALP and collaboratively works on developing integrated career pathways for limited-English-proficient (LEP) and multilingual populations. She also co-leads an ESL-focused pre-apprenticeship training program in healthcare and contributes to coalition efforts addressing health literacy gaps and Community Health Worker (CHW) workforce development.

Nyabony is South Sudanese, born in Ethiopia, and immigrated to Alaska with her family as a youth. Her work is shaped by memories of the challenges her parents and family members faced accessing critical services across language barriers. Drawing from her lived experience, she also serves her community as a lay CHW and is an Advisor for the Alaska CHW Network.

“Nyabony shows time and again that empathy, respect, and understanding come from love for our community and a belief in our collective future,” wrote her nominator. “May we all be lucky enough to have a Nyabony in our lives!”

Nyabony’s recognitions include Alaska’s Top 40 Under 40 and a fellowship with Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences from the University of Alaska Anchorage and is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®).

We are thrilled to recognize Nyabony next week at Celebrating Leadership!

04/23/2026

Leadership Anchorage 29 got into a fierce, full bodied rock-paper-scissors battle on Saturday! Mac Lyons was crowned champion.