91ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ

Dr. Michele Yatchmeneff has worked at the University of Alaska Anchorage since 2007; March 2027 marks her 20th year at 91ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵA. An accomplished scholar and advocate, she leads efforts to expand Indigenous preparation, enrollment, retention, and visibility. As Chief Operating Officer of the Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP), she supports more than 2,000 students each year, from kindergarten through the doctoral level, as they work toward their career goals.

Dr. Jessica Black is Gwich'in, from the villages of Gwichyaa Zhee (Fort Yukon) and Toghotthele (Nenana), and an enrolled member of the Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich'in Tribal Government. She holds a B.S.W. from 91ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵF and an M.S.W. and Ph.D. in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis. Black joined the faculty of 91ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵF's College of Rural and Community Development in 2014 and earned tenure in 2021. In March 2023 she was appointed Associate Vice Chancellor for Rural, Community and Native Education, where she leads 91ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵF's ANSI work and oversees two colleges and five rural campuses. She received the 2023 91ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ Foundation Bullock Prize, the system's highest service honor.

Jacqueline Tagaban, M.Ed., serves as Associate Vice Chancellor for Alaska Native Programs at the University of Alaska Southeast, where she also directs PITAAS: Preparing Indigenous Teachers and Administrators for Alaska Schools. Since its founding in 2000, PITAAS has supported 172 students in earning 267 degrees, certificates, and endorsements, placing graduates across 30 of Alaska's 54 school districts. She works closely with 91ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵS programs that support and perpetuate the values and traditions of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples of this land, and serves as 91ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵS's lead for the Alaska Native Success Initiative, working across campuses to strengthen pathways for Alaska Native student success.

91ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵA alumna Kristel Komakhuk has served as the University of Alaska system's Senior Director of Alaska Native Success and Partnerships since December 2023. Based in Anchorage and traveling regularly to Fairbanks and communities around Alaska, she guides the implementation of the Alaska Native Success Initiative (ANSI) across the system and strengthens relationships between 91ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ and Alaska Native partners.

Kristel is of Alutiiq and Inupiaq descent and was born and raised in Anchorage on Dena'ina Athabascan land. Her maternal family is from Tatitlek, and her paternal family is from the Nome area; her grandmother identified with her home fish camp in Solomon. A first-generation graduate on both sides of her family, she is a proud 91ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ alum, holding a B.B.A. in Business Management from 91ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵA.

Before joining 91ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ, Kristel worked at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) as the APU Senior Liaison for Development and External Relationships, where she helped APU in its journey toward indigenization by building and maintaining relationships with external entities. She has also served on Shell Exploration & Production Company's stakeholder management team and as Development Director at First Alaskans Institute. In her spare time, she enjoys time with family and friends, traveling, reading, cooking, yoga, and appreciating Alaska's beauty on hikes and walks.