Juneau, Alaska – Governor Sean Parnell yesterday announced appointments to the Board of Agriculture and Conservation, Alaska Commission on Aging, Statewide Independent Living Council, Alaska Public Broadcasting Commission, and Alaska Workers’ Compensation Board.

Board of Agriculture and Conservation

Governor Parnell reappointed Deidre Berberich, Christopher Flickinger, and Troy Shelden to the Agriculture and Conservation Board. The board approves and administers agricultural loans and handles the disposal of agricultural lands.

Berberich, of Palmer, is a self-employed accountant. Formerly the accounting manager at Diversified Tire, Berberich has been the operations manager of the Alaska State Fair for 10 years. She currently teaches accounting at Matanuska-Susitna College and is a former board member of The Children’s Place. Berberich is appointed to a general business seat.

Flickinger, of Kodiak, operates a cattle farm in Kodiak. He is chair of the Kodiak Soil and Water Conservation District and participates on the Kodiak Rodeo and State Fair board of directors. He is appointed to a seat representing commercial livestock producers.

Shelden, of Wasilla, is currently the senior vice president of accounting at Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, where he’s worked since 2003. Prior to taking on his current role, he worked as a staff auditor for KPMG LLP, an accounting firm. Active in the farming community, Shelden is the treasurer of the board of directors of a farmland management group. He holds a master’s degree in accountancy from the University of Montana and a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of North Dakota. He is reappointed to a seat reserved for a representative of a statewide agriculture promotion organization.

Alaska Commission on Aging

Governor Parnell appointed Albert Ningeulook and Ralph Swap, and reappointed Eleanor Dementi to the Alaska Commission on Aging. The commission approves a comprehensive statewide plan that identifies the concerns and needs of older Alaskans and prepares an annual analysis of the services that are provided to older Alaskans.

Born and raised in Shishmaref, Ningeulook served for 15 years in the Army National Guard. Active in his community, Ningeulook serves as the Vice chair of the Shismaref Elders’ Committee, and is the Shismaref Delegate to the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative. A former member of the Alaska Humanities Forum, he has worked extensively in cultural, language, and writing efforts in his region, and he is appointed to a seat reserved for a member of the public.

Swap, of Juneau, retired from state service with the Alaska Department of Labor. He served as a page in the first Alaska State Senate in 1959 and as a page with the territorial senate before that. He is a graduate of the University of Alaska. Swap, who has written several published articles on Captain James Cook, is appointed to a seat reserved for a member of the public.

Dementi, of Cantwell, has extensive executive leadership experience in Alaska businesses and organizations. She has served on the board of directors of Ahtna, Incorporated since 2008, after earlier serving from 1973-1981. Dementi has also served on the board of the Alaska Federation of Natives from 1999-2007; the board of the Copper River Native Association from 1999-2003; and the board of regents for the Haskell Indian National University in Kansas from 1999-2002. She served as president of the Cantwell Village Council from 1994-1999, and was president of the Denali Borough School Board from 1989-2007. Dementi is appointed to a public seat on the commission.Statewide Independent Living Council

Governor Parnell reappointed Irma Goodwine, Elizabeth Lee, and Courtney Westman to the Statewide Independent Living Council. The council oversees delivery of independent living services to Alaskans with disabilities. It develops, monitors and evaluates the federally-funded state plan for independent living in Alaska; promotes the independent living philosophy statewide; and provides support and technical assistance to the statewide network of Centers for Independent Living.

Goodwine, of Bethel, has been director of the Association of Village Council Presidents’ (AVCP) vocational rehabilitation program since 2000. She previously worked as a program manager for AVCP’s Receiving Home, and as a social worker for the state Division of Family and Youth Services and the Lower Kuskokwim School District. She has served on the Governor’s Committee on Employment and Rehabilitation of People with Disabilities and the Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Board. Goodwine earned a bachelor’s degree in social work and Yup’ik language from the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Bethel campus. She is reappointed to a seat reserved for a representative of a community vocational rehabilitation program.

Lee, of Bethel, has extensive experience providing care for aging and disabled Alaskans in rural Alaska. She has worked for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation since 1997 as director of home care, administrator of senior and disabilities services, senior and disabled care coordinator and medical social worker. She has also worked as a social worker for the Lower Kuskokwim School District. Lee earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and social work from George Fox College. She is appointed to a seat reserved for an advocate for consumers of vocational rehabilitation services.

Westman, of Anchorage, is currently the counselor at the Alaska State School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She previously worked as a teacher’s assistant at the Alaska State School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing and as an individual service provider at The Arc of Anchorage. She earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from Gallaudet University in Washington D.C., and a master’s degree in guidance and school counseling at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She is appointed to a seat reserved for an advocate for consumers of vocational rehabilitation services.Alaska Public Broadcasting Commission

Governor Parnell reappointed Leo Luczak and Joette Storm to the Alaska Public Broadcasting Commission. The commission encourages and support public broadcasting in the state through the provision of operating and capital grants in support of the delivery of noncommercial programs by locally-controlled nonprofit broadcast stations or telecommunications entities.

Luczak has been director of community development for the City of Petersburg since 1991, and was the city’s building maintenance specialist from 1986-1991. He previously worked as a contractor in Petersburg and as a carpenter in Michigan. He is a member of the Alaska Municipal League and the Southeast Conference. He served on the board of Coast Alaska, a consortium of five Southeast Alaska public radio stations, from 2001-2007, and served on the board of KFSK-FM from 2000-2008. Luczak attended Michigan State University, and is reappointed to an at-large seat.

Storm, of Anchorage, has been a partner with the public relations firm Wordwright LLC since 2007. Previously, she worked as the community relations manager for the Federal Aviation Administration. She also served as the public affairs officer for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and later with the Chugach National Forest. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and communications from the University of Illinois, Storm worked as a reporter with the Chicago Tribune and the Anchorage Times. She has also been a member of the Susitna Girl Scout Council Board of Directors and the Alaska chapter president of the Public Relations Society of America. Storm is reappointed to an at-large seat.

Alaska Workers’ Compensation Board

Governor Parnell appointed Pam Cline and Mark Talbert to the Alaska Workers’ Compensation Board. The board hears and resolves disputed benefits claims as part of the workers’ compensation system.

Cline, of Wasilla, is the business representative for the IBEW Local 1547, a certified pharmacy technician, and was the chief shop steward at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. She has been a pharmacy technician since earning her certification in 1999. Active in her community, Cline has been the president of her PTA and a youth hockey treasurer and manager. She is appointed to a seat reserved for a labor representative from the 3rd Judicial District.

Talbert, of Wasilla, is currently the President of the Plumbers/Pipefitters Local 367. He worked until his retirement as a plumber and pipefitter with Superior Plumbing and Heating, where he spent 19 years as retired as a general foreman. He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps. Talbert is appointed to a seat reserved for a labor representative from the 3rd Judicial District.