AUUF Podcasts

Jennifer Brown is currently the development manager for Standing Together Against Rape (STAR). Jennifer is responsible for STAR’s fund development and event management as well as public relations and marketing. Prior to working at STAR, Jennifer spent 15 years at Boys & Girls Clubs – Alaska, managing and training staff at Club locations all over the state, from Nome to Metlakatla and many places in between. She has dedicated most of her adult life to working in the nonprofit sector, doing everything possible to make our community better for future generations. Born and raised in Anchorage, has four grown children—Tayler, Cameron, Triston, and Emily. She enjoys spending her time with family and her part-time job as a singer in various venues throughout Southcentral Alaska.

Website - https://staralaska.com

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/s/zi8g1qgxzf9rkym/AUUF%20Presentation%20Nov%202021.pdf?dl=0

Jennifer Brown is currently the development manager for Standing Together Against Rape (STAR). Jennifer is responsible for STAR’s fund development and event management as well as public relations and marketing. Prior to working at STAR, Jennifer spent 15 years at Boys & Girls Clubs – Alaska, managing and training staff at Club locations all over the state, from Nome to Metlakatla and many places in between. She has dedicated most of her adult life to working in the nonprofit sector, doing everything possible to make our community better for future generations. Born and raised in Anchorage, has four grown children—Tayler, Cameron, Triston, and Emily. She enjoys spending her time with family and her part-time job as a singer in various venues throughout Southcentral Alaska.

Website - https://staralaska.com

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/s/zi8g1qgxzf9rkym/AUUF%20Presentation%20Nov%202021.pdf?dl=0

Andrew Halcro currently hosts a blog on politics, life and entertainment called “With All Due Respect.” He served two terms as a Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives from 1998 to 2002 and was a candidate for governor and mayor. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Avis Rent a Car of Alaska, one of the state’s oldest and most successful family-owned businesses. He became president of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce in 2012, and served as executive director of the Anchorage Community Development Authority from 2015 until earlier this year.

Andrew's podcast - With All Due Respect:

href=https://www.buzzsprout.com/1773395

Andrew Halcro currently hosts a blog on politics, life and entertainment called “With All Due Respect.” He served two terms as a Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives from 1998 to 2002 and was a candidate for governor and mayor. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Avis Rent a Car of Alaska, one of the state’s oldest and most successful family-owned businesses. He became president of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce in 2012, and served as executive director of the Anchorage Community Development Authority from 2015 until earlier this year.

Andrew's podcast - With All Due Respect:

href=https://www.buzzsprout.com/1773395

Celeste Hodge Growden is president and CEO of the Alaska Black Caucus and a long- time civic leader in Anchorage. Hodge Growden’s career includes a three-year stint as a legislative aide for the late Senator Bettye Davis and Community Liaison for U.S. Senator Mark Begich. She worked over 30 years with the Municipality of Anchorage, the last six of those as the city’s Director of Office of Equal Opportunity. After retiring from the Muni, Hodge Growden served as the Executive Director of the nonprofit Shiloh Community Development, Incorporated. Her extensive board service and other volunteer experience includes serving as President of the Anchorage NAACP for nearly a decade and president of Business and Professional Women North to the Future for two terms. She is the recipient of many awards including the 2019 National History Makers Award; Ford Motor Company “Freedom Sister’s Award; YWCA Women of Achievement Award, and Social Worker of the Year.

For more:

https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/celeste-hodge-growden

https://www.thealaskablackcaucus.com/about-abc/board-of-directors/

Celeste Hodge Growden is president and CEO of the Alaska Black Caucus and a long- time civic leader in Anchorage. Hodge Growden’s career includes a three-year stint as a legislative aide for the late Senator Bettye Davis and Community Liaison for U.S. Senator Mark Begich. She worked over 30 years with the Municipality of Anchorage, the last six of those as the city’s Director of Office of Equal Opportunity. After retiring from the Muni, Hodge Growden served as the Executive Director of the nonprofit Shiloh Community Development, Incorporated. Her extensive board service and other volunteer experience includes serving as President of the Anchorage NAACP for nearly a decade and president of Business and Professional Women North to the Future for two terms. She is the recipient of many awards including the 2019 National History Makers Award; Ford Motor Company “Freedom Sister’s Award; YWCA Women of Achievement Award, and Social Worker of the Year.

For more:

https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/celeste-hodge-growden

https://www.thealaskablackcaucus.com/about-abc/board-of-directors/

Attorney Abigail O’Connor, O’Connor Law, LLC Abigail O’Connor is an accomplished attorney with over a decade of experience dedicated to trusts and estates. Her specific practice areas include estate planning, estate, and gift tax strategic planning, Alaska trusts, estate administration, and family business succession planning. Abigail earned her law degree, with a concentration in estate planning, from Albany Law School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in Applied Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and likes to incorporate mathematical and tax modeling into her practice. Abigail practices in both Alaska and Florida. She is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and regularly writes and speaks about estate planning. A more complete bio and list of her publications and presentations can be found on her website, https://alaskatrustlaw.com ​

Elizabeth Miller, Vice-President, Alaska Community Foundation Elizabeth Miller is a Certified Fundraising Executive who has dedicated her career to fund-raising for Alaska nonprofits. After a 30+ year career at United Way of Anchorage, she joined the team at The Alaska Community Foundation in July 2019 as the Vice President of Development and Communications. Elizabeth is a life-long Alaskan. She grew up in Talkeetna, and attended college in Spokane, WA, where she graduated from Gonzaga University with a bachelor’s degree in International Business. She and her husband of over 20 years have one daughter and one dog. Elizabeth enjoys hiking and completed the Camino de Santiago in Spain in the spring/summer of 2019.

Stephenie Wheeler, Member, AUUF Endowment Fund Committee Stephenie Wheeler has been a member of the Anchorage UU Fellowship for a dozen years and has been a member of the Endowment Committee for four years. She’s also volunteered on AUUF’s Nominating and Communications committees and has been an AUUF Religious Exploration teacher for many years. Thanks to the U.S. Air Force, she arrived in Anchorage in 1985 to begin an 8-year stint in the Elmendorf AFB public affairs office. Today, she is a corporate and regulatory communications officer for the Alaska Railroad. In the community, she serves on the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Alaska Chapter board and is a member of the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) Military & Veterans Affairs Commission. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business/ accounting from the University of the State of New York, and an associate’s degree in public affairs from the Community College of the Air Force.

Slides from AUUF Endowment Fund Committee: https://akwebguy.com/AUUF/AUUF_Endowment_Presentation_FINAL

Abigail's slides: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wsv1gc16s2v9ge6/Charitable_Giving_in_the_Estate_Plan_10-31-21.pdf?dl=0

Elizabeth's sides: https://www.dropbox.com/s/05s1fd2cji105ci/2021.10.31%20The%20Alaska%20Community%20Foundation.pdf?dl=0

Attorney Abigail O’Connor, O’Connor Law, LLC Abigail O’Connor is an accomplished attorney with over a decade of experience dedicated to trusts and estates. Her specific practice areas include estate planning, estate, and gift tax strategic planning, Alaska trusts, estate administration, and family business succession planning. Abigail earned her law degree, with a concentration in estate planning, from Albany Law School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in Applied Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and likes to incorporate mathematical and tax modeling into her practice. Abigail practices in both Alaska and Florida. She is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and regularly writes and speaks about estate planning. A more complete bio and list of her publications and presentations can be found on her website, https://alaskatrustlaw.com ​

Elizabeth Miller, Vice-President, Alaska Community Foundation Elizabeth Miller is a Certified Fundraising Executive who has dedicated her career to fund-raising for Alaska nonprofits. After a 30+ year career at United Way of Anchorage, she joined the team at The Alaska Community Foundation in July 2019 as the Vice President of Development and Communications. Elizabeth is a life-long Alaskan. She grew up in Talkeetna, and attended college in Spokane, WA, where she graduated from Gonzaga University with a bachelor’s degree in International Business. She and her husband of over 20 years have one daughter and one dog. Elizabeth enjoys hiking and completed the Camino de Santiago in Spain in the spring/summer of 2019.

Stephenie Wheeler, Member, AUUF Endowment Fund Committee Stephenie Wheeler has been a member of the Anchorage UU Fellowship for a dozen years and has been a member of the Endowment Committee for four years. She’s also volunteered on AUUF’s Nominating and Communications committees and has been an AUUF Religious Exploration teacher for many years. Thanks to the U.S. Air Force, she arrived in Anchorage in 1985 to begin an 8-year stint in the Elmendorf AFB public affairs office. Today, she is a corporate and regulatory communications officer for the Alaska Railroad. In the community, she serves on the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Alaska Chapter board and is a member of the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) Military & Veterans Affairs Commission. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business/ accounting from the University of the State of New York, and an associate’s degree in public affairs from the Community College of the Air Force.

Slides from AUUF Endowment Fund Committee: https://akwebguy.com/AUUF/AUUF_Endowment_Presentation_FINAL

Steve Aufrecht is Professor Emeritus in Public Administration at UAA. He’s been an Anchorage blogger since 2006 covering a wide variety of topics, including some long-term assignments such as various trials, the Anchorage International Film Festival every year, the legislature in 2010, and the Alaska Redistricting Board in both the 2010 and 2020 cycles. He’s lived in Germany as a student, Thailand as a Peace Corps volunteer, and Hong Kong and Beijing as a visiting scholar. He’s always been motivated to work for a better society and planet, but particularly now so that his three grandchildren have a better chance for happy and meaningful lives. ​

You can go to Steve's 2020 Redistricting Post tab here: https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/p/ak-redistricting-2020.htm

Slide presentatio: https://akwebguy.com/AUUF/RedistrictingPresentation/#0

Mark Carr is the Regional Director of Ethics at Providence Health Alaska. He returned home to Alaska in 2015, with a Master of Divinity, and a Ph.D. in Religious Ethics from the University of Virginia, and bringing to his position with Providence over twenty years of experience in academic healthcare institutions. As a professor at Loma Linda University, he directed the Master of Arts degree in Clinical and Biomedical Ethics and served as the Theological Co-Director for the Center for Christian Bioethics. More recently he was the chair and professor of ethics at the Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences at Kettering College where he also served as the co-chair of the Kettering Medical Center’s ethics committee. In his current position, he is responsible for clinical consultation services, ethics education, and ethics-related policy matters for five hospitals across six Alaskan communities. Mark is a 1978 graduate of Bartlett High School, and he and his family fish a set net salmon site in Bristol Bay.

Slides -

https://www.akwebguy.com/AUUF/AnchorageUnitarianUniversalistFellowshipOct2021/index.html