Justin Ruffridgge was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 2022 to serve the Kenai/Soldotna area and was re-elected in November 2024. He expects to serve on the Health and Social Services Committee in the coming session. His parents, both educators, moved their family to Alaska in 1994, where they taught at a small Christian school. Justin graduated from high school in 2001 and Washington State University with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2008. He married his wife Jessie in 2004, and after graduation, they moved back to the Kenai Peninsula to help care for Jessies terminally ill mother. Justin began his pharmacy career at Soldotna Professional Pharmacy. In the years since, he and a business partner acquired the Soldotna Pharmacy, the Juneau Drug Company in downtown Juneau, and the Alpine Apothecary Pharmacy in Girdwood. Justin was briefly on the Soldotna Planning and Zoning Commission before serving on the Soldotna City Council. He has advocated for those struggling to find housing and worked diligently on COVID-19 prevention, mitigation, and treatment efforts during the pandemic. He enjoys coaching Little League.

Andrew Gray was elected to the Alaska State House of Representatives in 2022 to represent the UMED District in Anchorage and was re-elected in November 2024. He is expected to chair the House Judiciary Committee and the Joint Armed Services Committee and to serve as Vice Chair of the Health and Social Services Committee in the new Legislature. During his first term in the Legislature, he brought forward legislation related to housing and homelessness. He carried Senate Bill 119 in the House, which requires the Department of Corrections to provide valid photo ID to all incarcerated people upon their release; the bill passed both chambers unanimously. He also served as co-chair of the Freshmen Caucus with Rep. Justin Ruffridge of Soldotna. That Caucus is not currently active, but the relationships established there remain intact. Outside the Capitol he is a physician assistant at Alaska Urgent Care. He hosts a podcast: the East Anchorage Book Club, which features interviews with Alaskans of political interest. He and his husband Jay and their 11-year-old son Waylon have been members of AUUF since 2017.

Peg Tileston has been active in Alaska public policy and conservation issues since arriving in the state 51 years ago. She is on the board of Alaska Common Ground, a non-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to build coalitions and consensus on matters of importance to Alaskans. She is also on the board of Trustees for Alaska, a non-profit legal organization. Peg spent many years with the Alaska Center for the Environment, co-founded the Alaska Conservation Foundation, and served on the Chugach Electric Association board from 1983 to 1993 and several state and local advisory commissions. Since 1999, Peg has distributed What’s Up, a weekly newsletter listing natural resource and conservation information via email to over 2600 Alaskan addresses. Over the years, she mentored many young women leaders. Peg is married to Jules and has three children and two grandchildren.

Alaska Common Ground website - https://akcommonground.org/

Alaska Humanities Forum sponsored community conversations - https://www.akhf.org/programs/kindling-conversation

NYT article about our challenges with building connections and community - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/13/magazine/robert-putnam-interview.html?unlocked_article_code=1.lE4.vGM2.8s8qagUIRrts&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Rev. Lise Adams Sherry is the settled minister for the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. She grew up in Oregon as part of a blended family. Her main interests growing up were dancing and theatre--she performed a lot! Another highlight was learning French and spending her junior year in France. Lise is married to Nelson, and together, they have two boys (Kennen and Derek) and a daughter-in-law, Maria. They’ve lived in Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon, Illinois and Massachusetts. Lise received her M.Div. from Meadville Lombard in Chicago. Nature, Buddhism, and the Judeo-Christian tradition inform her religious life. Her favorite parts of ministry are social justice, multi-generational worship services, and pastoral care. Lise also enjoys hiking, bicycling, reading, gardening, watching movies, traveling, and learning about other cultures.

Dr. Stephen Haycox is a distinguished professor of history emeritus, a respected author of numerous books and essays, and a columnist for the Anchorage Daily News. In 2003, he was named the Alaska Historical Society's Historian of the Year and received the Alaska Governor's Humanities Award. Before his retirement, Prof. Haycox taught history for over 40 years at the University of Alaska, where he was named a distinguished professor and was awarded the Edith R. Bullock Prize for Excellence. Steve earned his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon in 1970. His books include Frigid Embrace: Politics, Economics, and Environment in Alaska, Battleground Alaska: Fighting Federal Power in America's Last Wilderness, and the recently revised Alaska: An American Colony, which has been called “the finest history of Alaska yet produced.” He was born in the Upper Midwest and attended high school in a suburb of New York. He was a musician in the Navy and served in the Pacific.

Norm Eisen, co-founder of State Democracy Defenders Action - from his speech at the Anti-Autocracy Conference in July 2024

1. Democracy rests on the rule of law. Someone who denies the sanctity of the Constitution and serially violates our laws cannot be president.
2. Democracy cannot survive without truth, facts, science, and evidence.
3. Free and fair elections are the essence of democracy, where power resides in the people.
4. Civil discourse must resolve differences. Compromise is essential to governance.
5. A democratic government cannot operate without an independent, nonpartisan civil service; subject matter expertise is essential to good government.
6. An ethical government free from corruption and self-interest is vital to democracy.
7. The United States is indispensable for international stability, economic prosperity, and democracy. Our military takes an oath to the Constitution, not to a single leader.
8. Democracies require and ensure widespread prosperity. Technologies that deliver economic benefits for citizens require domestic calm, commitment to the rule of law, and opposition to cronyism.
9. A vibrant, independent press is essential to democracy.
10. Equality and civil rights are foundational to the American creed. Men and women are created equal.

Jory Knott is the Executive Director of the Alaska Innocence Project. A lifelong Alaskan, he earned an interdisciplinary degree in art and music at UAA, then moved to Oregon, where he composed music, wrote grants for creative projects, and apprenticed in stone masonry. He became the operations manager for a masonry company with stone-cutting operations and rock quarries across the Pacific Northwest. In 2009, he moved back to Alaska. He changed his career trajectory, teaching music and art to adults with special needs while attending UAA and pursuing legal studies with a minor in civil engagement. He interned with the Alaska Innocence Project in the fall of 2015. He helped manage the office for months while founding Executive Director Bill Oberly attended the trial of the Fairbanks Four, who were exonerated that December. Hooked on innocence work, Jory went to law school at the University of Montana, volunteering with the Montana Innocence Project. He returned to extern with AKIP during his last year of law school and has been working there full-time since his graduation.

Jory's slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/9e3v5ex99629iu6d2j081/AKIP_AUUFPowerpoint.pdf?rlkey=9vho70g1u6nxih6z8il4snza9&dl=0

Forrest Dunbar - - was elected to the Alaska State Senate in 2022 as a Democrat representing District J, the East Anchorage, Campbell Park, UMED, College Gate, Airport Heights, Mountainview, and Russian Jack neighborhoods. After challenging Don Young for Alaska’s Congressional seat in 2014, Forrest served on the Anchorage Assembly from 2016 to 2023, including two stints as Assembly Chair. Forrest is a lifelong Alaskan, originally from Eagle, on the Yukon River, and a graduate of Cordova High School. Growing up, he worked as a commercial fishing deckhand, cannery worker, and wildland firefighter. He earned his bachelor’s in economics and international service from American University and then a dual master’s in public policy and a law degree from the Harvard Kennedy School and Yale Law School. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kazakhstan and is a major and Judge Advocate in the Alaska Army National Guard. Forrest is a member of Congregation Beth Sholom and was married in July of this year to Tasha Boyer.

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/17kgtz0a17dka8k5qsn12/Anchorage-Unitarian-Universalist-Fellowship_11.17.24.pdf?rlkey=iqjj596648c5ia5ohmuqo97xg&dl=0

Daniel Bentle serves the Food Bank of Alaska as its Chief Philanthropy Officer, leading fundraising, donor relations, marketing and communications, and volunteer efforts to support the organization’s mission to eliminate hunger in our state. Daniel came to the Food Bank from the private sector in 2024, having worked in early and growth-stage ventures in agriculture, community and economic development, management consulting, and higher education.

Before moving to Alaska, Daniel taught at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. He served as Director of the Center for Experiential Learning, which provides faculty-guided, student-driven services for public and private sector partners, non-profits, NGOs, and social entrepreneurs worldwide. Born and raised in the Midwest, Daniel and his wife Heidi, a native of Anchorage, have two girls in elementary school at Grace Christian and enjoy ample time on the slopes and trails here on the Last Frontier.

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/17kgtz0a17dka8k5qsn12/Anchorage-Unitarian-Universalist-Fellowship_11.17.24.pdf?rlkey=iqjj596648c5ia5ohmuqo97xg&dl=0

FBA website - https://foodbankofalaska.org

Aaron Legget was born in Anchorage and is Dena’ina Athabascan. He currently serves as the President/Chief of the Native village of Eklutna. Aaron is the Senior Curator of Alaska History and Culture at the Anchorage Museum and serves as an advisor to the Smithsonian’s Arctic Studies Center. He is a member of the Alaska State Museum Collections Committee and the Alaska Native Heritage Centers Program & Policy Committee. Also, he serves on the board of directors for the Cook Inlet Historical Society. In 2014, Aaron was recognized by CIRI as its Shareholder of the Year, by the Alaska Federation of Natives as Cultural Bearer of the Year, and by the Governor of Alaska for distinguished service to the humanities. Building on knowledge obtained from his Dena’ina grandmother and after earning a degree in anthropology from UAA, Aaron set out to change the historical narrative. He has played a vital role in indigenous curation and Tribal governance in Alaska and has authored numerous scholarly articles and co-authored publications about the Dena’ina language and people.

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/phvc6jqsl66h5c9y7o4o4/unitarian_casino.pdf?rlkey=dq9089gr1jsfp4uubm33jbksp&dl=0