Julie Kitka

As president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, Julie Kitka enhanced and promoted the cultural, economic and political voice of Alaska Natives on the state, national, and international levels. For more than two decades, Kitka served at the pleasure of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce as a commissioner for the Denali Commission. As the longest-serving commissioner, Julie has been involved in critical programs and investments to improve rural Alaska communities through infrastructure investments, and economic development and workforce programs. While Julie’s service to the Alaska Native community and the State of Alaska is long and noteworthy, most of her admirers point to her personal characteristics, principles, and capacity to seek common ground as the things that most distinguish her career and all she has achieved.