ARTS AWARD
Emily Johnston
Congratulations to CIRI Shareholder and basket weaver Emily Johnston (Cup’ik) for receiving a 2025 Rasmuson Project Award in Folk and Traditional Arts! Originally from Mekoryuk, a village on the north shore of Nunivak Island in Southwest Alaska, Emily learned the art of grass weaving from her mother and grandmother. The award will enable Emily to travel to bring her Alaskan family together to teach them traditional weaving methods. Rasmuson Foundation 2025 Individual Artist awardees and 2026 sabbatical recipients were announced in December.
HONORARY DOCTORATE
Sophie Minich
Congratulations to former CIRI President and CEO Sophie Minich (Athabascan) for being awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Alaska Anchorage! The award, conferred in December, recognizes Sophie’s professional achievements and dedication to expanding opportunity and advancing the well-being of CIRI Shareholders, Descendants and other Alaska Native people. Sophie worked for CIRI for 30 years, serving as the Company’s president and CEO from 2013 to 2023. In addition to being a CIRI Shareholder, she is a shareholder of Doyon Limited, the Alaska Native regional corporation for Alaska’s Interior. Sophie holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from UAA.
EXECUTIVE M&A CERTIFICATE
Darla Graham
Congratulations to CIRI Shareholder and Yah Executive Darla Graham (Yup’ik), who recently completed the Wharton Executive Education Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) program, an intensive certificate course covering strategic assessment, valuation, integration, negotiations, due diligence and 2026 market perspectives. Insights from the course have already been shared with the CIRI M&A team, reinforcing the alignment between CIRI’s processes and the best practices taught by Wharton’s highly experienced faculty. A CIRI employee since 2014, Darla has served Shareholders and Descendants in a variety of roles, most recently as the director of stakeholder engagement, before being selected for the 2026 Yah Executive cohort.
COMMUNITY ENRICHMENT AWARD
Wendy Wiltfong
The Anchorage Board of Realtors recently honored CIRI Shareholder Wendy Wiltfong with the Mark A. Korting Realtor Community Enrichment Award, recognizing her outstanding service and leadership within the community. Wendy is known for spotlighting local small businesses through her “Where’s Wendy” livestream series and for championing local causes, including annual fundraising and clothing drives benefiting neighbors experiencing homelessness. Congratulations, Wendy!
