2016 'Top Forty Under 40' includes 12 with UAA ties

by Tracy Kalytiak  |   

The Alaska Journal of Commerce's list of the Top Forty Under 40 in Alaska includes 11 members of the UAA family.

The Alaska Journal of Commerce's list of its Top Forty Under 40 in Alaska includes 12 members of the UAA family.

Twelve people with UAA ties made it into the Alaska Journal of Commerce's 2016 list of the annual "Top Forty Under 40" achievers. We congratulate the following members of our UAA family of faculty, staff, students and alumni:

• Jamie Abordonado, 39, is a program support technician for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, Anchorage.

• Lars Flora, 37, has taken classes at UAA and now works as the university's assistant Nordic ski coach. He has raced on the World Cup circuit, was a six-time national champion and veteran of 15 World Championship races, seven Olympic Games races and 44 World Cup races.

• Tiffany Hall, 34, executive director of Recover Alaska, has attended classes at UAA.

• Kelly Harrell, 34, is the executive director of Alaska Marine Conservation Council. Last spring, she earned a Master of Business Administration in general management.

• Jason Hart, 30, executive business associate for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, director at Ahtna Inc. and board director of Chitina Native Corp. and Food Bank of Alaska, earned a UAA Bachelor of Business Administration degree in management, in fall 2007, and in spring 2010 received a UAA M.B.A. in general management.

• Samuel Johns, 30, founder of Forget Me Not, attended classes at UAA's Prince William Sound Community College campus.

• Michele Parkhurst, 33, chief operating officer of Kaladi Brothers Coffee, received a UAA Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism & Public Communication in the summer of 2007.

• Elizabeth Shea, 37, regional coordinator of the Alaska Nanuuq Commission, received a UAA graduate certificate in advanced human service systems in 2012.

• Dr. Landry Signé, 32, serves as a faculty member in UAA's Department of Political Science.

• Anchorage Fire Capt. Zach Stubbs, 35, earned a UAA Associate of Applied Science degree in fire science, in spring 2006.

• Adrienne Wilkerson, 38, president of Beacon Media + Marketing, attended UAA from 1996-2001, studying communications and business management.

• Stephanie Wonchala, 30, pursued a UAA Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism & Public Communication. She is a former Miss Alaska who founded Pulse Dance Company and now works for UAA as an adjunct professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance.

"We have a tremendous class once again representing the best of Alaska from the private, public and nonprofit sectors featuring diverse backgrounds around the state," Journal Managing Editor Andrew Jensen said, in the announcement. "It's an honor to recognize the people who will be leading influences in the future of Alaska."

Journal management selected the class out of nearly 130 nominations, with members from Anchorage, Dillingham, Fairbanks, Kodiak, Kotzebue, Juneau, Kenai, Seward and North Pole.

Alaska Journal of Commerce will recognize its 2016 Top Forty Under 40 class in a special publication, and honor the members at an awards reception and dinner beginning at 6 p.m. on April 8, at the Hotel Captain Cook.

Compiled by Tracy Kalytiak, UAA Office of University Advancement

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