The Juneau Arts & Humanities Council has released a public statement addressing recent federal advice to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion language from its materials. The Trump Administration will be cutting off funding for race-based or other inherently discriminatory programs.
The move comes one month after the Alaska Humanities Forum lost its federal funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
In the press release, the JAHC emphasized its long-standing commitment to inclusive practices and cultural safety, noting that its efforts are informed by the strength and resilience of leaders, staff, and beneficiaries from across the Juneau community.
The Council says it draws inspiration from the core cultural values of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples—Haa Latseení (Strength of Mind, Body, and Spirit) and Wooch.Yáx (Social and Spiritual Balance)—to guide its mission and work. Its executive director appears to be a white binary-gender-identifying male.
In February 2025, the JAHC was notified by a federal funding agency that maintaining public DEI statements could put funding at risk. In response, the board convened an emergency meeting, attended by trustees and executive leadership. While the board could not reach a unanimous decision on how to proceed, it agreed to form a committee tasked with revising the language in a more strategic and culturally responsive manner.
That committee, operating under the JAHC’s Arts and Cultural Safety Committee, included local arts leaders and trustees.
The Council’s May 7 statement said it was responding to a real-time attack on inclusive practices by the Trump Administration and was making a difficult choice between complying with federal guidance or risking funding vital to its programming and strategic goals.
“The very purpose of these directives from a federal level is to create lateral conflict,” the statement reads. “We understand experiencing anger surrounding these decisions, but do not want this to pit the JAHC against the communities we serve.”
Anger is apparently what has made the executive director decide to resign in response.
Phil Huebschen, who lists his gender pronouns as “he/she/they” on his LinkedIn profile, told the Juneau Empire he will be leaving the organization on May 14. He has only been the executive director for two years and three months. If there’s no DEI focus, he said he just can’t be part of the council.
The council’s operations manager, Reggie Schapp, will take over as interim executive director.
Looking ahead, the board is encouraging residents to share their perspectives via email at [email protected].
