AUUF Podcasts

Robin Lutz is the new Executive Director of Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association.  Four A’s is Alaska’s largest HIV/AIDS-focused agency, serving 91% of the state. Its mission is to support and empower people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS and to work toward the elimination of HIV infection and its stigma in all Alaska communities.

Robin is returning to Alaska with her family after working most recently with the New York State Department of Health, AIDS Institute on HIV. With over 15 years of experience in HIV community-based organizations, she brings a comprehensive understanding of the changing climate for AIDS service organizations, and recognition of the life-saving benefits of harm reduction. Ms. Lutz earned a Master of Public Health from Hunter College in New York, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Ohio University.

Robin Lutz is the new Executive Director of Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association.  Four A’s is Alaska’s largest HIV/AIDS-focused agency, serving 91% of the state. Its mission is to support and empower people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS and to work toward the elimination of HIV infection and its stigma in all Alaska communities.

Robin is returning to Alaska with her family after working most recently with the New York State Department of Health, AIDS Institute on HIV. With over 15 years of experience in HIV community-based organizations, she brings a comprehensive understanding of the changing climate for AIDS service organizations, and recognition of the life-saving benefits of harm reduction. Ms. Lutz earned a Master of Public Health from Hunter College in New York, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Ohio University.

Tiffany Hall, executive director of Recovery Alaska, was born and raised in Anchorage and graduated from Bartlett High School. She came to Recover Alaska with 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector in fundraising, program development, public relations, and government affairs, including Providence Health and Services. She was honored as the Diverse Communities Scholar in 2013 and volunteers for Story Works Alaska, ChildFirst Alaska, and the Pride Foundation.  She chairs the Anchorage Women’s Commission and is on the board of directors of the YWCA Alaska. Tiffany earned her Bachelor’s from Pomona College, and a Master of Public Administration and Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Oregon. She is an alumna of Leadership Anchorage and was selected as one of Alaska’s Top 40 Under 40. Her personal story of recovery can be seen in Recover Alaska’s Day 001 video series.

Bede Trantina retired as morning show host and programming director for Anchorage public radio station KSKA in 2018.   She was born in Omaha, raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and graduated with a BFA from Northern Arizona University. Bede became a volunteer at KSKA when she moved to Alaska in 1979. She was hired as a  “temporary vacation relief” that summer, and then “had the great fortune to bloom where she was planted” for the next 39 years until her retirement from Alaska Public Media.  Former Alaska Public Media GM Steve Lindbeck wrote, “...she taught me by example, day in and day out, that our community was the only reason for our existence.”  Since 2002, Bede has been a member of “her church”—the Providence Hospital’s Cuddle Corps, holding babies in their Newborn Intensive Care Unit.  

Mary Jo Torgeson is the Anchorage Public Library Director. She is passionate in her belief that libraries are an essential part of a vibrant and cohesive community, both in developing strong partnerships with businesses, schools, and community agencies and in creating services that transform people’s lives. She has been in Anchorage for almost eight years and brings a wide range of experience in developing user-centered services that make libraries easier to use and understand. She has been a leader in developing library services to diverse communities, including non-English-speaking communities. Ms. Torgeson earned her Master’s of Library Science at the University of Washington and her Master’s of Public Administration at Seattle University.  She does what librarians do for fun:  READ…and cooks, walks dogs, goes to indie films and enjoys beautiful Alaska outdoors.

Robin Kornfield is the founder and executive director of Skiku, the rural Alaska village cross-country skiing program. Skiku has grown from serving four villages in 2012 to a statewide project that will serve 8,000 Alaska youth this winter in more than 50 remote villages. Robin is of Iñupiaq descent, born in Nome, and from the village of Kiana. She has served as vice president of NANA Development Corporation, president of its film production subsidiary, and executive director of the Alaska Broadcasters Association. Robin earned her bachelor’s in music from Northwestern University, her MBA from UAA, and a certificate of French language from the University of Grenoble. Robin has served on many boards, including Alaska SeaLife Center, Alaska Ski for Women, Breast Cancer Focus, Inc., Alaska Public Telecommunications, and Alaska Chamber Singers. She is a parent of elite-level cross-country skiers and an avid recreational skier.

George Bryson is a journalist and educator who’s lived in Alaska for 40 years. Over three decades at the Anchorage Daily News, he worked as a reporter, a Washington correspondent, a feature writer, and editor of We Alaskans. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing and has taught courses in journalism and literary nonfiction at both UAA and UAF.  George and his wife Ann are the parents of three grown daughters and have both been active at AUUF, where George currently serves as a member of the Ministerial Search Committee.

We welcome back the sun with a story, song and ritual--and special solstice experiences for people of all ages. We'll start in the sanctuary, disperse for our celebrations around the building (and outside) and then return to bring back the sun with great energy and joy!

Shawna Larson is the Regional Director of the Native Movement. She is Ahtna from Nay'dini'aa Na' (Chickaloon Village) on her father’s side and Supiaq from the Village of Port Graham on her mother’s side. Her work experience includes 13 years with non-profits working on Indigenous issues at an international and local level, focusing on human rights and environmental policies. She currently serves as Vice-Chair for the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council and has served on the Council for 10 years. She was selected by the Utne Reader magazine as a young visionary and she has worked extensively in community organizing at a local, national and international level. Shawna and her husband and two children live in Palmer, Alaska. She has volunteered countless hours at the only tribally owned and operated school in Alaska, in Chickaloon Village. 

Justina Beagnyam has been organizing in Alaska since 2018 for the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Justina formerly served as the Client Services Program Manager for Bean’s Café. She is a self-proclaimed "wild child in perpetuity," and social and environmental activist. From the early age of five, she wanted to uplift the poor by opening a rehabilitative homeless shelter. Justina holds a degree in Entrepreneurship from the University of North Texas where she graduated with honors. After college, she worked as the regional manager for a bakery and café in her hometown of Houston, TX. In 2016 she decided to move to Alaska to embark on a new journey. In Fairbanks she volunteered for several grassroots organizations, gaining first-hand experience in “movement building,” before relocating to Anchorage to work at Bean’s Cafe.