ANSI Leadership
Alaska Native Women Guiding Our Universities
These Alaska Native Women lead the Alaska Native Success Initiative at our Universities and System Office:
Action Team Lead: UAA
UAA Executive Director of Alaska Native Education and Outreach
Action Team Lead: UAF
UAF Associate Vice Chancellor for Rural, Community and Native Education
Dr. Jessica Black is Gwich'in, from the villages of Gwichyaa Zhee (Fort Yukon) and Toghotthele (Nenana), and an enrolled member of the Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich'in Tribal Government. She holds a B.S.W. from UAF and an M.S.W. and Ph.D. in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis. Black has been a faculty member in UAF's College of Rural and Community Development since 2014, earning tenure in 2021. In March 2023, she was appointed Associate Vice Chancellor for Rural, Community and Native Education, where she leads UAF's ANSI work and oversees two colleges and five rural campuses. She received the 2023 UA Foundation Bullock Prize, the system's highest service honor.
Action Team Lead: UAS
Associate Vice Chancellor for Alaska Native programs and Director of PITAAS
Jacqueline Tagaban, M.Ed., serves as Associate Vice Chancellor for Alaska Native Programs at the University of Alaska Southeast, where she also directs PITAAS: Preparing Indigenous Teachers and Administrators for Alaska Schools. Since its founding in 2000, PITAAS has supported 172 students in earning 267 degrees, certificates, and endorsements, placing graduates across 30 of Alaska's 54 school districts. Tagaban serves as UAS's lead for the Alaska Native Success Initiative, working across campuses to strengthen pathways for Alaska Native student success.
Senior Director, Alaska Native Success and Partnerships
University of Alaska, System Office
UAA alumna Kristel Komakhuk was selected to serve as the system’s Senior Director of Alaska Native Success and partnerships. Starting December 4, 2023 Komakhuk is based in Anchorage, and committed to annually travels to Fairbanks and other locations around Alaska. In this role, she will help to guide and support the implementation of the Alaska Native Success Initiative (ANSI) Strategic Plan. She will also focus on strengthening relationships between UA and Alaska Native partners.
Kristel is of Alutiiq and Inupiaq descent, and was born and raised in Anchorage on Dena’ina Athabascan land. Her maternal family is from Tatitlek, and her paternal family is from the Nome area; her Grandma would identify from her home fish camp in Solomon. A first-generation graduate on both sides of her family, she is a proud UA alum, holding a B.B.A. in Business Management from UAA.
Prior to joining UA, Kristel worked at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) as the APU Senior Liaison for Development and External Relationships. In that role, she aided APU in its journey toward indigenization by developing and maintaining relationships, and liaising with external entities. She’s also served on Shell Exploration & Production Company’s stakeholder management team, and as the Development Director at First Alaskans Institute. In her spare time, she enjoys spending quality time with family and friends, traveling, reading, cooking, yoga, and appreciating Alaska’s beauty on hikes and walks.