Board Members

Jason Graham

President

Jason Graham is a lifelong Alaskan. He graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Alaska – Fairbanks after spending two years at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Jason has worked as an engineer, project manager and estimator for a number of the larger civil construction firms in Alaska over the course of his career. Having been raised in Alaska, he has spent a lot of time skiing in Girdwood, boating in Prince William Sound and Resurrection Bay, and hunting across the State. Jason has his pilots license, and enjoys sharing the State with his three daughters and wife Jessica. They currently split their time between Anchorage and Girdwood.

Toni Walker

Vice President

Toni has been a player in the Alaska tourism industry for years. She owns and operates Logistics LLC, a successful meeting and event planning company in Anchorage. She is known in the industry as the go-to person when an event needs to be done right and brings with her incredible partnerships in the worldwide event planning business. Toni lives in Anchorage and is often spotted at the Center with clients, or on a day out with her daughter, Taylor.

Dylan Faber

Secretary 

Dylan grew up in Alaska and is the community affairs manager for Matson in the state. Prior to joining Matson, Dylan worked as an account executive at MSI Communications serving clients from a variety of industries and non-profits across the state. Before MSI Communications, Dylan served as a special assistant to U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski. As the senator’s special assistant, he assisted with in-state communications and community outreach and connected constituents to federal-grant opportunities. Dylan holds a Bachelor of Science in political science, public policy and administration from Northeastern University, where he was an NCAA division one soccer player. Outside of work, Dylan coaches a youth soccer team and goalkeepers for local non-profit Cook Inlet Soccer Club and serves on its board. Dylan is also on the Foraker Group’s operation board and various committees for chambers and industry trade groups. In his free time, Dylan enjoys going on walks around Anchorage with his wife, Melissa, and two boxers, Chuck and Norris.

Barbara Donatelli

Treasurer

Barbara Donatelli joined CIRI in 1980 and has been a Vice President of the company since 1987. In her current position as Senior Vice President, Donatelli is responsible for government relations, shareholder services, public relations, human resources, information technology and serves as the company’s Chief Administrative Officer. Donatelli is Yup’ik, a shareholder of CIRI and Doyon, Limited and grew up in Anchorage. Prior to joining CIRI in 1980, Donatelli studied Economics at George Washington University and the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Chad Schleusner

Chad is the President and co-founder of Steel-N-Iron Equipment, LLC, Steel-N-Iron Construction, Inc., Far East Pile Driving (Russia) and Far East Pile Driving (Canada) each of which provide oilfield support for clients in Alaska, Canada and Far East Russia. Prior to working for himself, Chad worked as a Project Manager for Arctic Slope Regional Corporation completing oil and gas, telecommunications, power and missile defense projects statewide.
An Alaskan since age 3, Chad graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage with a degree in Biology. His greatest joy is sharing his love of Alaska’s beauty and wildlife with his wife, young daughter, family and friends — particularly skiing the Chugach Mountains, including Alyeska, and fishing the Kenai Peninsula and southwest Alaska. Chad and his family also enjoy extensive world travel, with favorite spots including Punta Gorda (Belize), Des Roches Island (Seychelles), Ndutu Lodge (Tanzania), and Koh Lao Liang (Thailand).

Lana Johnson

A 40+year resident of Alaska, Lana Johnson is a former journalist who worked her way through the ranks at the Anchorage Times to become the newspaper’s first female managing editor. After leaving the Times, Lana performed corporate communications for Chugach Electric Association and later became a public relations professional. She currently is senior vice president at MSI Communications. Active in the community, she is a founding board member of Girdwood 2020 and sits on the board for the Alaska Council for Economic Education. Lana is the author of Alaska’s Perfect Mountain, a history of the gold rush community of Girdwood where she has lived since 2003. She also was instrumental in development of the Roundhouse at Alyeska, Alaska’s only ski museum. She is a political science graduate of the University of Wyoming where she was a member of the ski team.

Bruce Bustamante

Bruce Bustamante is the President & CEO of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce and has lived and worked in Alaska for 28 years. Previously, Bruce was Vice President of Community and Public Affairs for Princess Cruises where he served for 8 years. Prior to that Bruce was President and CEO of the Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau, now known as Visit Anchorage, where he served in that capacity for seven years. During that time Bruce was directly involved with two campaigns to build a new convention center in Anchorage, which passed voter approval in 2005. Bruce also worked for Alaska Airlines as Regional Sales Director where he managed three sales offices in the state from 1992 – 2000. Bruce worked for Alaska Airlines for 17 years and lived and worked in Seattle, Tucson, and Los Angeles before moving to Alaska. Bruce has served as chair of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, and continues to serve on the Alaska Sea Grant Advisory Board, the Alaska Department of Labor’s Workforce Investment Board and the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center board. Bruce holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration/Marketing from the University of Alaska Anchorage.

John Binkley

A life-long Alaskan from Fairbanks, John Binkley is president of CLIA Alaska, which represents the large cruise lines that call on Alaska. Binkley served as chairman and CEO of the Riverboat Discovery for 14 years and as president of the El Dorado Gold Mine for 12 years. Both are popular visitor attractions in the Fairbanks area. In 1977, John and his wife, Judy, moved to Bethel, where they started Northwest Navigation, which hauled freight on the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers. It was there that he started his public service career, first as a member of the Bethel City Council from 1982 to 1985 and then representing the region in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1985 to 1986. John ran for the Alaska State Senate in 1986 and represented District M until 1990. John has an extensive record of civic service, including serving as chairman of the Alaska Railroad Corporation from 1997 to 2011. He serves on many other corporate and nonprofit boards and was named the president of CLIA Alaska in 2007. One of four recipients to be selected by his business peers for into the Alaska Business Hall of Fame. John Binkley, one of four peers recently selected for outstanding Alaska leaders to join the Alaska Business Hall of Fame.

Mandy Hawes

Mandy Hawes was born and raised in Kenai, Alaska. She has undergraduate degrees in marketing and management from Abilene Christian University and an MBA from the University of Texas. She started her career as a client financial manager for Accenture and later joined Alyeska Resort. In her almost 20 year career with Alyeska Resort, she held the titles of Controller, VP of Finance, Owner Representative and Resort General Manager. She joined The Aleut Corporation in 2022 and is the Chief Operating Officer. She and her husband Darren live in Girdwood and have three very active sons, Ely, Carson and Max. In her free time she enjoys recreational triathlon, trail running, skiing, reading and spending time with her giant yellow lab Ace.

Dr. Maggie Trefney

Maggie moved up to Alaska after graduating from veterinary school at Kansas State in 2013 to work at a small animal hospital. She has always been passionate about wildlife medicine and has had opportunities at various wildlife centers through internships during vet school. After moving to Alaska she has had the opportunity to volunteer her veterinary services to the bird treatment and learning center and the wildlife center and she is very excited to now serve on the board for the wildlife center. She spends her spare time with her family cross country skiing, paddle boarding, hiking, and fishing on their ocean boat Salmonella.

Emily Accipiter Stewart

Emily Accipiter Stewart is a Sales and Community Marketing Manager for Alaska Airlines in the state of Alaska. She is responsible for corporate account management, outreach, and community relations in her territory, covering Anchorage, Kodiak, and the Kenai Peninsula. Originally from North Carolina, Emily first moved to Anchorage in 2013. She has been in professional sales her entire career, with strong expertise in business development, analytics, and relationship building. A graduate of Clemson University in South Carolina, Emily holds a Bachelors of Science in International Marketing, with a minor in Travel and Tourism. She also serves on the board of directors for the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, Kodiak Chamber of Commerce and GeocacheAlaska! In her free time, Emily enjoys hiking, kayaking, cross-country skiing and traveling with her family.

Dr. Herb Schroeder

Honorary Board Member

Dr. Schroeder created the Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP) in 1995 with a single Alaska Native engineering undergraduate. ANSEP has evolved into a longitudinal education model that provides a continuous string of components with 2,500 currently enrolled students beginning in sixth grade, continuing through high school, into engineering and science undergraduate majors, and through graduate school to the Ph.D. The Urban Institute has found that ANSEP students outperform national averages for all students at every education level. Dr. Schroeder has been recognized by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) with a 2004 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM), the 2005 Alaska Federation of Natives Denali Award, the greatest honor presented by the Federation to a non-Native. He has also been awarded the 2009 National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) and Reginald H. Jones Distinguished Service Award (Founders Award) created to honor individuals whose efforts and accomplishments have resulted in increased underrepresented minority participation in the nation’s engineering workforce.

Chris Von Imhof

Honorary Board Member

Chris H. von Imhof, born and raised in Germany immigrated as a young ( 19 years ) man to the USA. The first 5 years he worked in the Hotel and Airline business in Beverly Hills, California. In 1963 he moved to Anchorage, AK and was Sales Manager for SAS, Scandinavian Airlines System. In 1965 Governor Egan appointed him as Alaska State Director of Tourism. Chris married Nina Whaley, Miss Alaska and they had 3 sons, Rudi, Chris Jr. and Fabian. In 1967 the CEO of Alaska Airlines, Charlie Willis, Jr, hired Chris as General Manager of Alyeska Resort. For over 40 years he managed and developed Alaska’s premier Summer and Winter Resort. In 1980 he sold the Resort to Seibu/Prince Hotels of Japan and continued as CEO & GM of Alyeska. From 1985 to 1995 Chris was transferred to Hawaii and built and managed Prince Hotels in Maui and Honolulu. Chris was very active in the tourism industry, including President of the Alaska Visitor Association. While at Alyeska Resort, Chris got involved with the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and was its first President.

Laura McLaughlin

Honorary Board Member

Laura McLaughlin is a 15-year resident of Alaska. She received her degree in Elementary Education at Boston College and also ran a sheep and chicken farm in Massachusetts for 15 years. Laura is the proud mother of ten children and is a 4th-grade teacher in Anchorage. In her spare time, she enjoys kayaking and fishing on the Kenai River near her Cooper Landing cabin.