June 2000 - Page 3

Pathway Home Clears Key Hurdle

Southcentral Foundation's Pathway Home project cleared an important hurdle in May when the Anchorage Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved the addendum to Southcentral's conditional use permit for the new Dena A Coy facility to allow the Pathway Home to be built on the same site.

The Pathway Home is a comprehensive approach to providing services for at-risk and severely emotionally disturbed Alaska Native adolescents who are at the highest risk for a number of behavioral problems, including academic failure, delinquency, substance abuse and homelessness. The new program will serve Native youth from throughout Alaska, but will focus on the massive unmet need for services for Native youth in Anchorage.

Special thanks go to Russian Jack Community Council Chair Kathleen Plunkett and the other council members for their support of the project. Council and community members spoke unanimously in support of the non-profit SCF pathway home

Pathway Home, making it clear that the community shares Southcentral Foundation's commitment to this important project.

Members of SCF's adolescent intern program painted the Pathway Home's interim facility where the program will be housed until the new facility is complete in May 2001.

Koahnic Broadcast Corporation Benefits Morris Thompson Fund

Koahnic Broadcast Corporation will make a donation of $6,000 raised during its annual Native Art Auction to the Morris Thompson Fellowship Fund of the Doyon Foundation.

"We are humbled to give a portion of the proceeds from our annual art auction to this fellowship fund," said Jaclyn Sallee, KBC president and chief executive officer. "Morris was a driving force behind the creation of KBC and believed strongly in having a Native voice in the media."

"Morris was generous with his time and effort, and helped make the Native Art Auction, KBC's largest annual fundraising event, a success. KBC wants to honor his contributions to the organization and to Alaska Natives by continuing his spirit of giving."

Before Thompson's death in an Alaska Airlines crash in January, Thompson served as the master of ceremonies for each of Koahnic's Native Art Auctions. A portion of the proceeds from this year's auction was designated for the foundation, which provides educational scholarships for deserving students from the Doyon region.

Thompson, who retired last winter as president of Doyon Ltd., had a distinguished career in public service. He served as director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Juneau office, special assistant to the Secretary of the Interior, and commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. Thompson took the helm of a struggling Doyon, Ltd. in 1988 and transformed it into one of the more profitable Native corporations in Alaska.

The CIRI Foundation On-line with New Web Site
ciri foundation home

The CIRI Foundation is now on-line with its own web site at www.ciri.com/tcf. Browsers have the ability to access scholarship and grant opportunities, applications and deadlines, and other financial aid resources. Also available for sale on The CIRI Foundation web site is a variety of publications, such as Growing Up Native in Alaska; A Place for Winter: Paul Tiulana's Story; and A Dena'ina Legacy, K'tl'egh'i Sukdu: The Collected Writings of Peter Kalifornsky.

"Our new web site helps us achieve our mission to promote self-development and economic self-sufficiency through education for Alaska Natives, while we also strive to enhance the heritage of our Native people," said Susan Anderson, president and CEO of The CIRI Foundation.

The CIRI Foundation Education Awards Committee awards nearly 400 scholarships and grants to CIRI enrollees and their descendants annually. Kathy Graves, Gary Sherwood, John Pina and Beverly McCord are among appreciative recipients of grants and scholarships helping them move closer to their educational and career goals.

Kathy Graves, a shareholder of both CIRI and Ninilchik Native Association, was born in Seward, Alaska and raised in both Ninilchik and Kodiak. She received her bachelor of arts degree in psychology from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 1991 and her master's degree in social work from George Warren Brown in St. Louis, Mo. She is now working on her doctorate in social work, with a clinical focus, at Smith College School of Social Work. Graves believes having a doctorate in social work will allow her to be a stronger advocate for Alaska Native people in the social services arena.

Beverly McCord, the daughter of Emil Sr. and Florence McCord, is a shareholder of both CIRI and Tyonek Native Corporation. She recently received a vocational training grant from The CIRI Foundation and completed her associate of applied science degree in business management practice at Charter College.

CIRI Foundation grant recipient Beverly McCord with her family.

Currently, she is working for the state of Alaska. In the near future, she intends to work towards a bachelor of arts degree in business at UAA. McCord credits The CIRI Foundation, Job Partnership, Tyonek Native Corporation and Tyonek Tribal Operations for helping her reach her career goals.

John Pina is a CIRI descendant of Athabascan heritage raised in California. He earned an associates of applied science degree in biological science from Contra Costa College, while completing internships at Lawrence Livermore National Lab and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Pina, whose biography was published in the 19th Edition,

National Dean's List, is currently studying optical engineering at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Optical engineering is a diverse, groundbreaking science that studies the uses of light, as in laser beams, cyber optics, quantum physics and other related areas. Pina feels very fortunate to have the opportunity to study and do research in this innovative area of science.

Born in Homer, Alaska and raised in Anchorage, CIRI descendant Gary Sherwood moved outside to attend the Seattle Institute of Art, where he earned an associate of applied arts degree in audio engineering in 1998. He went on to complete his training and certification for Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and as a computer technician. Sherwood, who believes education is key to personal and professional fulfillment, works as a head computer technician in the Seattle computer industry. Looking to the future, he hopes to build a recording studio and work as a recording engineer or music producer.