A pet project of the late former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), the Denali Commission is a federal agency modeled on the Appalachian Regional Commission, operating as a federal-state partnership, and working in tandem as well with tribal and local governments, and the private sector, to aim to improve the access, effectiveness, and efficiency of services and facilities throughout Alaska. Focusing primarily on the state’s remotest communities, Denali Commission programs so far have extended into more than 200 communities, on issues including domestic violence; elder and teacher housing; energy, health, and job training services; and transportation infrastructure deficiencies.
The Denali Commission had at one point come under scrutiny, including concern that multiple federal programs were funding similar Alaska development activities, and that some of its budget requests did not explain how funding levels were impacting performance. Also, Senator Stevens, who was behind the Commission’s creation, and had been able to continually keep it funded with federal money, was convicted of financial improprieties, though the conviction was thrown out due to prosecutorial misconduct. He died in a plane crash in August 2010. Some believe the future of the Denali Commission may be at risk, while its budget has withstood continuing cuts.
The Denali Commission was created with the passage of the October 21, 1998, Denali Act. The Act mandated the Commission to solve infrastructure and economic development challenges in the most remote communities of Alaska by reducing administrative and overhead costs while at the same time providing targeted job-training programs and modernizing communication, energy, health, and transportation systems.
The Denali Commission is made up of seven people appointed by the Secretary of Commerce:
Among their responsibilities:
Detailed Information on the Denali Commission Assessment
From the Web Site of the Denali Commission
Alaska Rural Directory of Resources (pdf)
Interactive Project Map (pdf)
In FY 2011, the Denali Commission generated $29.34 million from a variety of U.S. government funding sources, and applied those funds toward projects through three areas:
Energy Program $20,901,043
Transportation Program $4,740,500
Administration $2,831,998
George J. Cannelos
Cannelos, who was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez in September 2005, received a BA in Economics from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, in 1969. After that he joined the U.S. Navy, serving as a flight officer in the RA-5C “Vigilante” and then deploying aboard USS America in 1972, flying more than 75 reconnaissance missions over North Vietnam and Laos. Then in 1975 Canellos received an MA of Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and after that began his career in Alaska with the Department of Community & Regional Affairs. In 1978, he also began serving in the Air National Guard, flying throughout Alaska, the Pacific, and around the world on training and operational missions and deployments. In 1987 he graduated from Air Command and Staff College by correspondence and in 1990 graduated from Air War College also by correspondence. Then in 1992 Canellos served as Mission Commander for Alaskan aircrew and maintenance as part of a Task Relief force into Southern and Central Somalia. In 1998 he became a graduate of Naval War College - National Security Decision Making, Strategy and Policy, Newport, Rhode Island, and capped a 32-year year military career as a Brigadier General commanding the Alaska Air National Guard. Canellos has also served as Chief Operating Officer for Chugach Alaska, General Manager for Bethel Native Corporation, President and Chief Operating Officer of KPB Architects, and Director of the Heritage Land Bank for the Municipality of Anchorage.
Karen Rehfeld
Karen Rehfeld was appointed to sit on the Denali Commission by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in March 2007. Rehfeld received a BA in Political Science from the University of Idaho, Moscow, in 1976. She served as Special Assistant to Alaska Governor Jay Hammond, and as the Executive Director for the Reapportionment Board for the 1981 reapportionment plan for state election districts. After that worked as an administrator for Elgee & Rehfeld, Certified Public Accountants, and then as a private consultant and fiscal analyst to the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, and various departments of state government. Rehfeld next served as Administrative Services Director for Alaska’s Department of Education and Early Development, and in June 2003 she was promoted to Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Education & Early Development. Rehfeld currently is Alaska’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Rehfeld comes from a political family. Her father, the late Bob Ward, was Alaska’s Commissioner of Administration, Secretary of State, Lieutenant Governor, and Commissioner of Transportation.
Jeff Staser
1998-2005
A pet project of the late former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), the Denali Commission is a federal agency modeled on the Appalachian Regional Commission, operating as a federal-state partnership, and working in tandem as well with tribal and local governments, and the private sector, to aim to improve the access, effectiveness, and efficiency of services and facilities throughout Alaska. Focusing primarily on the state’s remotest communities, Denali Commission programs so far have extended into more than 200 communities, on issues including domestic violence; elder and teacher housing; energy, health, and job training services; and transportation infrastructure deficiencies.
The Denali Commission had at one point come under scrutiny, including concern that multiple federal programs were funding similar Alaska development activities, and that some of its budget requests did not explain how funding levels were impacting performance. Also, Senator Stevens, who was behind the Commission’s creation, and had been able to continually keep it funded with federal money, was convicted of financial improprieties, though the conviction was thrown out due to prosecutorial misconduct. He died in a plane crash in August 2010. Some believe the future of the Denali Commission may be at risk, while its budget has withstood continuing cuts.
The Denali Commission was created with the passage of the October 21, 1998, Denali Act. The Act mandated the Commission to solve infrastructure and economic development challenges in the most remote communities of Alaska by reducing administrative and overhead costs while at the same time providing targeted job-training programs and modernizing communication, energy, health, and transportation systems.
The Denali Commission is made up of seven people appointed by the Secretary of Commerce:
Among their responsibilities:
Detailed Information on the Denali Commission Assessment
From the Web Site of the Denali Commission
Alaska Rural Directory of Resources (pdf)
Interactive Project Map (pdf)
In FY 2011, the Denali Commission generated $29.34 million from a variety of U.S. government funding sources, and applied those funds toward projects through three areas:
Energy Program $20,901,043
Transportation Program $4,740,500
Administration $2,831,998
George J. Cannelos
Cannelos, who was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez in September 2005, received a BA in Economics from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, in 1969. After that he joined the U.S. Navy, serving as a flight officer in the RA-5C “Vigilante” and then deploying aboard USS America in 1972, flying more than 75 reconnaissance missions over North Vietnam and Laos. Then in 1975 Canellos received an MA of Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and after that began his career in Alaska with the Department of Community & Regional Affairs. In 1978, he also began serving in the Air National Guard, flying throughout Alaska, the Pacific, and around the world on training and operational missions and deployments. In 1987 he graduated from Air Command and Staff College by correspondence and in 1990 graduated from Air War College also by correspondence. Then in 1992 Canellos served as Mission Commander for Alaskan aircrew and maintenance as part of a Task Relief force into Southern and Central Somalia. In 1998 he became a graduate of Naval War College - National Security Decision Making, Strategy and Policy, Newport, Rhode Island, and capped a 32-year year military career as a Brigadier General commanding the Alaska Air National Guard. Canellos has also served as Chief Operating Officer for Chugach Alaska, General Manager for Bethel Native Corporation, President and Chief Operating Officer of KPB Architects, and Director of the Heritage Land Bank for the Municipality of Anchorage.
Karen Rehfeld
Karen Rehfeld was appointed to sit on the Denali Commission by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in March 2007. Rehfeld received a BA in Political Science from the University of Idaho, Moscow, in 1976. She served as Special Assistant to Alaska Governor Jay Hammond, and as the Executive Director for the Reapportionment Board for the 1981 reapportionment plan for state election districts. After that worked as an administrator for Elgee & Rehfeld, Certified Public Accountants, and then as a private consultant and fiscal analyst to the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, and various departments of state government. Rehfeld next served as Administrative Services Director for Alaska’s Department of Education and Early Development, and in June 2003 she was promoted to Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Education & Early Development. Rehfeld currently is Alaska’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Rehfeld comes from a political family. Her father, the late Bob Ward, was Alaska’s Commissioner of Administration, Secretary of State, Lieutenant Governor, and Commissioner of Transportation.
Jeff Staser
1998-2005
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