Crystal Koeneman: After serving for 18 legislative sessions as a legislative aide, Crystal Koeneman is now the legislative liaison for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. She worked for lawmakers such as Senators Lyman Hoffman, Donny Olson, Bert Stedman, and Gary Stevens. She also worked for Representatives Nancy Dahlstrom, Mary Peltola, Sara Rasmussen, and Steve Thompson, among others. Her new boss is the commissioner of DEC, Jason Brune.
Gretchen Guess: Former State Rep. and Sen. Gretchen Guess is returning to Alaska to head up the Rasmuson Foundation, upon the retirement of longtime CEO Diane Kaplan. Guess is a born-and-raised Alaskan. Her father (Rep. Gene Guess) was a Speaker of the Alaska State House, and her mother was on the Regulatory Commission of Alaska. Guess worked in the Knowles administration, for Alaska Communications, and for Providence Alaska. She served on the Anchorage School Board before moving out of Alaska in 2013 to join St. Vincent’s HealthCare in Jacksonville, Fla. She starts at the foundation on Feb. 28.
Laura Bess Stidolph: Longtime legislative aide Laura Bess Stidolph is the new legislative director for Gov. Mike Dunleavy. She started her legislative career as front desk for Rep. Kurt Olson, serving the Kenai Peninsula. She also worked as a Transportation Committee Aide and bill runner for Representative Adam Wool of Fairbanks, Rep. Colleen Sullivan-Leonard of Wasilla, and House Speaker Bryce Edgmon of Dillingham. She then moved to the Governor’s Office as deputy legislative director, and then over to GCI.
Anna Dieterich: After seven years with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Anna Dieterich has left the building, joining Covenant House International as the associate vice president of advocacy and policy. Covenant House is dedicated to ending child trafficking.
Lauren Noland: Another departure from Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office is Lauren Noland. She worked for Murkowski for five months, and for Congressman Don Young for nine months and is a U.S. Army veteran.
Jim Matherly: Gov. Mike Dunleavy has appointed Jim Matherly to be his regional director in Fairbanks-Interior Alaska for the Office of the Governor. He was mayor of Fairbanks since 2016 and ran for Senate in 2022, but that seat went to a Democrat in a split-ticket situation. Matherly began working for the governor on Dec. 12.
Shareen Crosby: McKinley Management has a new chief of staff — Shareen Crosby, who worked as chief of staff to state Sen. Natasha von Imhof for the past seven years. She is working with McKinley’s executive team to develop Alaska business opportunities and provide project management, research, and writing support.
Jill McLeod: The new general counsel to McKinley Capital is Jill McLeod, who was previously a partner with Dorsey & Whitney, where she managed the law partnership’s Anchorage office. McLeod was in-house counsel for ConocoPhillips in Anchorage. She has over 25 years of international legal experience with expertise in finance, risk and compliance, and general corporate law in portfolios that include oil and gas, mining, telecommunications, and numerous other business concerns.
Ian Walser: Formerly with Alaska Growth Capital, Ian Walser is now the chief financial officer. He was Vice President of Alaska Growth Capital, as well as controller and compliance director. That company was bought from Arctic Slope Regional Corporation in September and is now one of McKinley’s business units.
Photo: Reywas92, Wikimedia
