Board of DirectorsThe management and affairs of the Alaska Public Health Association are under the direction of the Board of Directors. The Officers for the organization are the President, President-Elect, Immediate Past President, Affiliate Representative to the APHA Governing Council, Secretary and Treasurer. The President-Elect is elected prior to the annual meeting of the organization. The Secretary and Treasurer are elected from the twelve elective members at the first Board of Directors meeting following the annual meeting. Term of office for the Board Members is three (3) years each. Eve Van Dommelen, Immediate Past President Eve Van Dommelen grew up in an off-grid cabin in Bird Creek, Alaska. She is passionate about spending time outdoors hiking, skiing, or picking berries with her family and friends. She took a non-linear path to public health, getting an undergraduate degree in French Literature, and working in the restaurant industry for many years before leaving to pursue her Master’s in Public Health degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland. She currently works at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Alaska Native Epidemiology Center (ANEC) as a Program Evaluator for the Tribal Epidemiology Centers Public Health Infrastructure (TECPHI) Network Coordinating Center (NCC). Her prior public health work involved working with partners throughout Alaska to advocate for programs and policies that reduce food insecurity, including building many personal and professional relationships with others interested in improving and protecting the health of Alaskans today and into the future. Ingrid Stevens, President Ingrid Stevens is a tribal member of the Yupiit of Andreafski from St. Mary’s, AK. Ingrid works in Anchorage, AK on Dena’ina Athabascan lands for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium as the Assistant Director of the Wellness and Prevention department. Ingrid oversees the Injury Prevention, Substance Misuse Prevention, and Elders and Youth programming and uses a blend of public health principles and Indigenous traditional knowledge. Ingrid has also served as the American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian caucus Chair with the American Public Health Association, and is a previous SAMHSA fellow with the State of Alaska, Division of Prevention and Early Intervention. Ingrid received her undergraduate degrees in Community Health Education and the Health Sciences, and a Masters of Public Health education in Health Promotion from Portland State University [PSU] with an emphasis in Indigenous Mental Health. Julie Cleaton, Secretary Julie Cleaton grew up outside of Atlanta, went to Arizona State University for anthropology and genetics, and transitioned into public health after seeing how the healthcare system is not enough to keep people healthy. She got her Master’s in Public Health at Georgia State University while working as a graduate research and teaching assistant in infectious diseases. Next she became a rabies epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, managing the transition to electronic laboratory reporting surveillance and evaluating potential improvements to dog vaccination campaign methods. She fell for Alaska while dog sledding with a colleague in Fairbanks and moved to Anchorage as soon as she could in 2019, starting as an epidemiologist and later becoming the dementia program manager at the Alaska section of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. There she has supported the implementation and evaluation of evidence-based clinical and community programs to prevent and treat chronic conditions. She currently chairs the ALPHA policy committee, and she lives near Wasilla with her partner, three dogs, and many struggling plants. Katie Cueva, APHA Representative Born and raised in Alaska, Katie is happy to be home to skate, ski, hike, and work in public health research and practice. Dr. Cueva is an Assistant Professor of Health Policy at the Center for Behavioral Health Research and Services (CBHRS), within the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), and Associate Faculty with the Center for American Indian Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research interests include social determinants of health in the circumpolar north, culturally appropriate health promotion, and community-based participatory action research. She currently serves as Alaska’s representative on the governing council of the American Public Health Association (APHA), and on the Council of Affiliates for APHA. She also serves on the executive council of both the American Association for Cancer Education, and of the American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Caucus of the American Public Health Association. Alexandra Edwards, Treasurer Alexandra Edwards is a Research Professional and Project Manager at the UAA Center for Behavioral Health Research & Services (CBHRS), where she has worked since 2008. In 2012 she graduated with an MA in anthropology from UAA and completed her MPH from UAA in 2021. Although she grew up in New Zealand, she has now been in Alaska for more than 20 years and calls it home. At CBHRS she has worked on a variety of public health-related projects, including several focused on the prevention of alcohol-exposed pregnancies and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, the implementation of evidence-based strategies and tools to prevent alcohol misuse, the evaluation of community and youth resilience and suicide prevention programs, and most recently two related to COVID-19. Her final project for her MPH involved developing and implementing an evaluation plan for the Alaska Public Health Misinformation Response Team. Outside of work, she enjoys getting out and about with her husband and son. Carlin Evanoff, Director Carlin grew up in Southwest Alaska, graduated from Bristol Bay High and started her healthcare career in King Salmon Alaska as a volunteer EMT and Community Health Aide. She spent ten years serving Naknek and the Bristol Bay rural health clinics before attending the University of Washington physician assistant program. Since graduating from PA school she has worked primarily with community health centers and has a passion for both serving and improving access to health care. She currently is working with the state health exchange working to improve data equity, quality, and electronic exchange across Alaska. In her free time, she likes to hike, travel, and spend time with friends and family. She is looking forward to this opportunity to serve as a board member, be a part of positive changes for Alaskans and learning from ALPHA members. Travis Hedwig, Director Travis is an applied cultural/medical anthropologist and assistant professor of Health Sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He received his BA in anthropology from SUNY Plattsburgh (minor in music), MA in applied anthropology from the University of Alaska Anchorage, and Ph.D. in medical anthropology from the University of Kentucky. His primary research interests involve impairment/disability and health inequality at the intersections of public policy and everyday lived experience. He received a National Science Foundation dissertation enhancement award for his work on the racial and cultural politics of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in Alaska and continues to examine structural inequalities associated with FASD across the continuum of care. Travis has worked on issues of housing and homelessness, child welfare, adolescent health, family and kinship studies, suicide prevention, community-engaged approaches to alcohol risk prevention and mental health promotion, and health advocacy. He is passionate about teaching and learning and enjoys the challenge of translating research into practice and action in collaboration with communities. Rebekah Morisse, Director Term expires: 2025 Rebekah Morisse is originally from Wisconsin and came to Alaska in 2008. She is the Section Chief for Women’s; Children’s & Family Health located within the Alaska Division of Public Health and also serves as the state’s Maternal Child Health Director. In that role, she oversees public health initiatives such as newborn screening, home visiting, children and youth with special health care needs, school health, women’s health, among others. She has a bachelor’s degree in Nursing and a master’s degree in Public Health. Her professional experience includes working in the hospital, clinic, and public health settings. She is also active in Alaska’s Perinatal Quality Collaborative which aims to provide the highest level of care to mothers and infants across Alaska by collaborating with hospitals, birthing facilities, providers, and key stakeholders to promote the sharing of best practices and advancement of data-driven initiatives. Rebekah enjoys spending time in the outdoors with her dogs hiking, rafting, skiing, biking, and camping. Monica Chase, Director Monica Chase was recently hired as a Program Manager in the Behavioral Health Department with Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, in addition to being a health coach. Monica has a passion for helping at the individual level so it may reach the community and beyond to increase optimal health. She received her B.A. in Rural Development from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and an MBA from Alaska Pacific University. Monica is a tribal member of Holy Cross Tribe and a shareholder of Deloycheet Village Corporation, and the Regional Corporations of Doyon, Ltd., and CIRI.
David Krause, Director
Term expires: 2026
David has extensive experience living and working throughout Alaska. Much of his professional experience has focused on developing solutions that simultaneously achieve public health, community development, and conservation objectives. Prior to joining Audubon, he worked on federal land management and energy policy for The Wilderness Society. David has also worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on remote Yukon River tributaries and for the Wild Salmon Center in Oregon and Alaska. From 2017 – 2020, he served as an appointed member of the BLM Alaska Resource Advisory Council. David earned his undergraduate degree at Cornell University and holds a Master’s of Environmental Management and a Master of Public Health from Yale University. When not working to protect birds and their habitats, David enjoys angling and gardening. Juliana Crandall, Director Juliana (Jewelz) Crandall served previously as a program manager for Alaska Native Medical Center’s Child and Family Developmental Services clinic. She assisted with creating policies and procedures for the launch of the new clinic where she oversaw 40-plus staff and provided administrative and operations support. During that time, she is also a LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities) alumni, where she was able to look at disability experiences and services through a public health lens. Ms. Crandall has a passion for addressing childhood development and worked previously as the SCF RAISE program supervisor to lead a development team to plan, assess, and implement case management for Alaska Native Youth. Currently, Ms. Crandall applies her knowledge of tribal public health and public health administration in her current position as a director at the All Alaska Pediatric Partnership, where she works to connect public policy with pediatric care needs. Ms. Crandall is a board member and current President of the Programs for Infants and Children board, and a previous board member of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Society of Public Health Education. Ms. Crandall received her B.S. in Community Health from Portland State University, and her Master’s in Public Health from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Gloria Burnett, Director Gloria Burnett is the Director of the Alaska Center for Rural Health and Health Workforce and Alaska's AHEC Program. The Center is located at the University of Alaska Anchorage and is composed of a Program Office and 6 regional AHEC Centers located across the State. Gloria has over 14 years of experience in healthcare workforce development, youth career pathway programming and health continuing education. Prior to her current position, Gloria served as the Dean of Students at Ilisagvik College, Alaska’s only tribal college.
Jason Johnson Sr., Director Mr. Jason Johnson Sr. is the Family and Workforce Services Division Director for Tanana Chiefs Conference and has extensive experience working in the fields of Tribal Public Health for the Alaska Tribal Health System. Mr. Johnson is leading TCC's early education and workforce development initiatives to create youth career pathways for the Summer Youth Employment program with both village and city-based leaders. Mr. Johnson also works with other tribal leaders toward enhancing tribal governments’ sovereignty to meet the health and social service needs of TCC by creating healthy, strong, and unified tribes. Mr. Johnson also has worked in the most remote communities including the TCC and Maniilaq (Northwest Arctic) regions to advance communities’ readiness to address weather, travel, emergency services, substance misuse and suicide prevention, tobacco prevention, and especially injury prevention priorities of drowning and transportation safety. Mr. Johnson graduated with honors from the University of Alaska Fairbanks with a B.A. in Social Work and is a UAF TriO and Honors Program alumnus.
Mariah Seater, Director Mariah Seater, born and raised in Alaska, serves as a Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Alaska Department of Family and Community Services focusing on policy and equity projects. She received her BS in kinesiology and MS in educational psychology from University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and MPH degree from UAA after returning to Alaska. With a focus on health equity and disability advocacy, she currently serves as a board member and the Vice President of Stone Soup Group (a non-profit with the mission of supporting Alaskan families who care for children with special needs), is the former President for the Alaska chapter of American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (AADMD) and is a former LEND Fellow through UAA’s Center for Human Development where her research focus was examining the co-occurrence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and trauma. In previous professional roles, she has worked in special education, health equity and communications, non-profit program development, and academic research. Currently, she is pursuing a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree with a focus in Leadership, Advocacy and Equity from Tulane University. Outside of professional pursuits, she enjoys exploring nature with her family and learning American Sign Language (ASL).
Danielle Reed, Director Danielle Reed lives in Palmer and serves as the Director of Data and Impact for the Mat-Su Health Foundation where she supports learning activities across the Foundation’s various programs to advance the mission and inform strategy and decision making. She has 15 years of health and disability related research and evaluation experience in Alaska, with 10 years of experience working on systems change and brain injury specific projects. Danielle holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering and a master’s in business administration.
Fabiola Lugo Vazquez, Student Representative Fabiola Lugo Vazquez was born and raised in San German, Puerto Rico until she moved to Fort Greely, Alaska when she was eleven. She went to middle and high school there and then moved to Anchorage and started her degree at UAA. Fabiola is a Health Science major on the Health Education track and will graduate in Spring 2024. Currently, she is the Health Educator Assistant at the UAA Health Promotion Team. Previously, she worked as a PT Tech at Rebound Sports and Orthopedic Physical Therapy. Fabiola chose a career in public health after seeing how inequitable our healthcare system is, and has since grown a passion for promoting health equity! She hopes to earn her Master's in Public Health and continue to promote the health of all Alaskans. In her free time, Fabiola likes to do yoga, paint, travel, and eat at all the good local restaurants Anchorage has to offer.
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