09/10/2026
Apply to be a Leadership Anchorage Community Impact Project Champion today!
Each year, LA participants volunteer hundreds of hours toward their Community Impact Projects, which address specific needs brought forth by local nonprofits.
In Fall 2023, LA27 participant Tanisha Gleason (second from right, with her project group members Lillian Maassen, Helena Sarcone & Christina Ranken) worked on the Anchorage District Naming Project, an initiative from the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation to gather input from neighborhoods across Anchorage to highlight what communities say make their areas special. This was one part of a larger project exploring how to make Anchorage more appealing for visitors and residents and boost its economy.
"With my history of working in the CIRI Land and Resources Department, I understand that naming lands is an important tradition - an acknowledgement of identity and culture," said Tanisha in a 2024 interview. Tanisha, who is Haida and Black, saw an opportunity to dig into her passion for Anchorage and explore a perspective she felt didn't get enough airtime - why people stay and thrive here. "We're all conditioned to stick to our little bubbles," she said, and that's why this project was so great - taking in different perspectives but doing so in a safe environment where people understand you're coming from a place of wanting to learn."
Ultimately, Tanisha's project group presented its findings to AEDC and the Anchorage Assembly, and its work was incorporated into AEDC's Quality of Place work, which focuses on reversing outward migration trends.
Is your Anchorage-area nonprofit looking for help with a specific challenge? Apply to be a Community Impact Project Champion through Sept 16 at the link in Comments.
