A Message from CIRI Board Chair Douglas Fifer
We had a great turnout at our 2025 Annual Meeting, held June 7 in Lynnwood, Washington. Thank you to everyone who voted in the election of Directors! Voting is both a Shareholder right and a responsibility, as it determines who we choose to lead our Company.
Five CIRI Shareholders have been elected to serve three-year terms on our Board of Directors: Margaret L. Brown (Yup’ik), Gregory L. Craig (Inupiaq), Thomas P. Huhndorf (Yup’ik), Cale V. Tolbert (Athabascan) and Kaarlo K. Wik (Aleut). I would like to extend a special welcome to Cale and Kaarlo, both of whom are new to the Board this year.
Cale is originally from King Salmon, Alaska, where he spent 16 years commercial fishing with his family. He resides in the Seattle area and serves as senior legal counsel for SoundHound AI, an artificial intelligence voice technology company. Cale is familiar with the CIRI family of socially driven enterprises, having served on the board of CITC Enterprises Inc. since 2021. His diverse background, including not only commercial fishing but engineering, law and corporate governance, makes him an excellent addition to the Board. As AI revolutionizes businesses and opens new avenues for growth, his first-hand knowledge of this emerging technology will be essential.
Kaarlo is a life-long Alaskan who calls Nikiski home. He is deeply involved with Salamatof Native Association Inc. (SNAI) and the Kenaitze Indian Tribe, serving on several boards and commissions. He also serves as board vice chair of Cook Inlet Tribal Council and as chair of Teya Technologies, an SNAI-owned software and IT services company. Kaarlo is a 20-year small-business owner and an avid subsistence hunter and fisherman. His strong connection with our Cook Inlet region lands and Tribes will make him a valuable asset to our Board.
I invite you to visit with our Board members at our upcoming Friendship Potlatches, to be held Oct. 11 in Anchorage; Oct. 19 in Kenai, Alaska; and Nov. 1 in the Pacific Northwest. As always, our line of communication is open! If you have questions or thoughts about how we can better serve our more than 9,500 Shareholders and their Descendants, I invite you to email board@ciri.com.
Warm regards,
Douglas Fifer
Chair, CIRI Board of Directors
