Partnerships
Bering Strait School District
The Bering Strait School District (BSSD) serves the communities of Brevig Mission, Diomede, Elim, Gambell, Golovin, Koyuk, Savoonga, Shaktoolik, Shishmaref, Saint Michael, Stebbins, Teller, Unalakleet, Wales, and White Mountain.
Bering Straits Native Corporation
Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) was formed in 1972 as the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act regional Alaska Native Corporation for the Bering Strait region. BSNC began with 6,333 original shareholders. Today, BSNC owns and manages nearly two million acres of subsurface land selected by 17 village corporations. The headquarter is located in Nome, Alaska.
Bering Straits Regional Housing Authority
Bering Straits Regional Housing Authority (BSRHA) headquartered in Nome, Alaska, is a primary service provider of affordable housing projects including new construction, modernization, rehabilitation of current homes, and the acquisition of homes throughout the Bering Straits Region.
BSRHA is a Tribally Designated Housing Entity (TDHE) charged with the creation of safe, decent, sanitary, affordable housing, economic development, and community revitalization. Founded upon a commitment to excellence, BSRHA subscribes to a person-centered service standard that treats each individual with dignity, respect, and cultural sensitivity. Through the development of those programs and services envisioned by residents and other key stakeholders, subject to local control, and sensitive to our residents’ changing needs, BSRHA demonstrates a firm commitment to building a better future for our communities.
City of Nome
Set at the tip of the Seward Peninsula and overlooking the Bering Sea, Nome is Alaska’s
most exciting destination for independent adventurers. It’s about as far away as you
can get in Alaska while still enjoying the conveniences of the modern world. It offers
an incredible mix of Native culture, rugged Alaskan adventure, dramatic scenery, world-class
sporting events, and rich history.
Nome is the most famous gold rush town in Alaska—home of the last great gold stampede
in the history of the American West. In the early 1900s, Nome drew people to its shores
from all over the world. They are still coming today, especially in March for the
finish of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, and in late spring for the annual migration
of dozens of bird species. Wildlife like the muskoxen can often be seen within minutes
of picking up a rental car and fastening your seat belt.
Kawerak, Inc.
The Bering Straits Native Association (BSNA) was formed in 1967 as an association of the Native Villages in the Bering Straits Region. The Association was created to advocate for the passage of a Native Land Claims bill. During this time, BSNA received their first grant from the Office of Economic Opportunity within the Johnson Administration. After the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971, BSNA organized Kawerak as the regional non-profit corporation (incorporated under State Law in 1973) to provide services throughout the Bering Straits Region.
Today, Kawerak contracts with the state and federal government to provide services to residents of the Bering Strait Region, 75% of whom are Alaska Native Inupiat, Yup’ik, and St. Lawrence Island Yupik peoples. Kawerak’s organizational goal is to assist Alaska Native people and their governing bodies to take control of their future. With programs ranging from education to transportation, and natural resource management to economic development, Kawerak seeks to improve the Region’s social, economic, educational, cultural and political conditions. Kawerak is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of the president (or designee) of the IRA or Traditional Councils, two Elder representatives and a representative from the regional health care provider.
Northwestern Alaska Career and Technical Center
Together the Bering Strait School District (BSSD) and Nome Public Schools (NPS) developed the Northwestern Alaska Career and Technical Center (NACTEC), as a joint-venture Regional Training Center located in Nome. NACTEC provides high school students with the resources and skills for independent living success leading to employment opportunities and the pursuit of postsecondary education.
Nome Chamber of Commerce
Set at the tip of the Seward Peninsula and overlooking the Bering Sea, Nome is Alaska’s
most exciting destination for independent adventurers. It’s about as far away as you
can get in Alaska while still enjoying the conveniences of the modern world. It offers
an incredible mix of Native culture, rugged Alaskan adventure, dramatic scenery, world-class
sporting events, and rich history.
Nome is the most famous gold rush town in Alaska—home of the last great gold stampede
in the history of the American West. In the early 1900s, Nome drew people to its shores
from all over the world. They are still coming today, especially in March for the
finish of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, and in late spring for the annual migration
of dozens of bird species. Wildlife like the muskoxen can often be seen within minutes
of picking up a rental car and fastening your seat belt.
Nome Eskimo Community
As an organization, Nome Eskimo Community’s origins date back to 1939 when it was
formed under the Indian Reorganization Act as a federally recognized tribe. NEC’s
members, however, have roots in the region that extends back over millenia.
Initially, NEC operated in a political manner, functioning as the tribal governing
body for the area. As we have grown, our focus has expanded to provide social services
and programs to improve the quality of life for our tribal members, Alaska Natives,
and Native Americans who reside in Nome.
NEC now offers a multitude of services organized under the following service programs:
Family Services, Tribal Services, Youth Services, Tribal Resources, and Housing Program.
Learn more about these programs and their specific offerings.
Nome Public Schools
Nome Public Schools, also known as the Nome City School District, is the school district serving the city of Nome, Alaska. Though public schools have existed in Nome since 1902, the present-day school district exists mostly to fulfill the obligation that first-class cities in the Unorganized Borough have under state law to provide education and planning/zoning functions within their cities. As such, it is separate from the Bering Strait School District which serves the smaller communities of the surrounding area. Nome Public Schools oversee five schools: two traditional grade-based schools (one for elementary grades and one for junior and senior high school grades), plus a charter magnet school, a correspondence school, and a school program located in Nome Youth Facility.
Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation
Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation (NSEDC) is a private 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation representing 15 member communities and more than 8,700 people in the Bering Strait region of Northwestern Alaska. NSEDC is one of six Community Development Quota (CDQ ) organizations in Alaska.
NSEDC maintains a balance between local economic development oriented toward residents of the Norton Sound region and active participation in the distant-water fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. Key to that balance is the establishment of programs designed to provide immediate benefits to the residents of the region along with the continued pursuit of longer-term investments that provide a stable source of economic strength.
Norton Sound Health Corporation
In 1969, the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) sought a demonstration project to give Alaska Natives greater power in health care decisions. Norton Sound was selected for development of a model for community-based health care services as an alternative to regional, hospital-based care. Norton Sound Health Corporation (NSHC) was incorporated November 27, 1970. The first board had just three directors: William Takak of Shaktoolik, president; Winfred James of Gambell, treasurer; and Dorothy Isabell of Teller, secretary.
In 1975, NSHC became the first Native health corporation to become independent of AFN and contract directly with the Indian Health Service. The following year, the board assumed responsibility for regional environmental health services through assignment of a federal Public Health Service sanitarian.
Over the years, NSHC’s board focused on expanding patient care in the Bering Strait region of Alaska, adding basic services in 15 villages throughout the Norton Sound area as well as specialty clinics in Nome. Areas of specialty care include the Infant Learning Program, Rainbow Services for patients with developmental disabilities, the Injury Prevention Program, WIC, the “Waiting Place” home for expectant mothers and the Chronic Care Active Management and Prevention Program (CAMP), established to focus on lifestyle changes including diabetes prevention and smoking cessation.
Sitnasuak Native Corporation
Overlooking the Bering Sea is a place we call Sitnasuak or Nome, Alaska. Sitnasuak Native Corporation is proudly headquartered in Nome as an Alaska Native village corporation created in 1971 under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). Today, we are a successful corporation comprised of a family of businesses operating in Alaska, California, Virginia and Puerto Rico.
Sitnasuak is a unique for-profit company — an Alaska Native Village Corporation created by our Natives peoples with the U.S. Congress in 1971 under the provisions of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA).
Our services and products include: fuel storage, sales & reliable delivery services; residential apartments; commercial office buildings (office & retail); title, closing & escrow services; property management & development; retail stores; and tactical apparel & gear products, manufacture & sales.
Sitnasuak is led by an 11-member Board of Directors. We employ nearly 1,500 people through our Corporation and Subsidiaries across Alaska and the U.S.
Unalakleet Native Corporation
Unalakleet Native Corporation (UNC) is a for-profit corporation owned by shareholders awarded stock in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. We are located in Unalakleet, Alaska; on the Iditarod Trail between Anchorage and Nome. Unalakleet Native Corporation is an organization in the Alaskan Native corporation (ANC). UNC has a nine-member board holding elections for two-year terms.
Unalakleet Native Corporation (UNC) provides many supplies and needs to the small village of Unalakleet. The small village strives to be more efficient in supplying the community with its growing facilities, rental buildings, offices, grocery stores, restaurant, mechanics shop, etc. Providing many jobs in different areas of the village’s economy, and helping many homes with the supplies needed.
Today Unalakleet is a traditional town with a history of diverse culture and trade activity, the local economy is the most active in Norton Sound, and the traditional subsistence lifestyle uses its natural resources to survive utilizing fish, seal, caribou, moose, and bear
Alaska Area Health Education Centers
The Alaska Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) are academic and community-based partnerships engaged in primary care workforce engagement, training and recruiting, and retaining activities to improve the distribution, diversity, supply and quality of healthcare personnel in Alaska. The Alaska AHEC program office (at UAA) contracts with six regional Centers to implement educational activities involving health professions and to expose students to primary care delivery in rural and/or underserved settings. In addition, AHECs work closely with state and local workforce investment boards to identify and address healthcare needs and shortages.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game manages approximately 750 active fisheries, 26 game management units, and 32 special areas. Our operating budget is approximately $200 million annually. We work to foster the highest standards of scientific integrity and promote innovative sustainable fish and wildlife management programs to optimize public uses and economic benefits. From making policy and management decisions to providing education and outreach programs, interacting with and involving the public is vital to our mission and goals.
Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development
In 2000, legislation was enacted establishing the Alaska Technical Vocational Education Program. Recipients of TVEP non-competitive grant funds are part of a statewide vocational training system, working together with industry and state agencies to provide a comprehensive and unified response to Alaska's training needs.
TVEP funds must be used for technical and vocational training programs that align with workforce regional demands and the Alaska Workforce Investment Board’s industry priorities. The AWIB’s policy on vocational and technical education entitled "Alaska's Future Workforce Strategic Policies and Investment Blueprint” describes Alaska’s framework and guiding principles for development of technical and vocational education within Alaska’s workforce development system.
Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program
The Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program (MAP) is a university-based statewide program helping Alaskans with the practical use and conservation of the state’s marine and freshwater resources.
MAP is based at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and offers technical assistance, marine education, applied research and other expert advice on how Alaskans can sustain healthy coastal economies, communities and ecosystems, through classes, workshops, trainings and other resources.
MAP has UAF faculty and staff living in coastal communities from Ketchikan to Nome. MAP agents are considered honest brokers of scientific information to support communities. Agents translate complex information for non-scientific audiences while providing information—free of advocacy— to address local needs.
Association of Alaska School Boards
The mission of the Association of Alaska School Boards (AASB) is to advocate for children and youth by assisting school boards in providing quality public education, focused on student achievement, through effective local governance.
The Association of Alaska School Boards is an organization representing school boards in Alaska. Our membership consists of more than 330 individual board members, responsible for students who attend Alaska’s public schools. Associate members include school superintendents, advisory school boards, charter school APC’s, the State Board of Education, the Commissioner of Education and the Special Education Service Agency.
International Arctic Research Center
The International Arctic Research Center (IARC) has the purpose to understand the Arctic to make a difference.
By the 1990s, climate change had become an important subject that urgently needed international study.
IARC was founded in 1999 at UAF through an agreement between Japan and the United States “to demonstrate our ability to solve, jointly, problems that are beyond what any one nation can address” as outlined in the agreement signed by President Clinton and Prime Minister Hashimoto in 1997.
Nanook Diversity and Action Center
The Nanook Diversity and Action Center (NDAC) provides a welcoming space, educational programming, and opportunities to transform social concerns into action.
We believe all people have the right to live free of violence, discrimination, and the fear of violence. We recognize that intimate partner violence, harassment, discrimination, and hate crimes are not isolated incidents, but rather individual expressions of a cultural attitude that tolerates violence and hate. We understand that these behaviors demonstrate issues of power, control, and inequality; and we believe that the folks targeted by these behaviors are not to be blamed for the violence and discrimination perpetrated against them.
NDAC’s philosophy to address these pervasive social problems is informed by multidisciplinary research and data. We seek to increase awareness of these issues and establish positive community norms. We accomplish our goals through student-led efforts such as educational programming and staff-led training. In these efforts we address that barriers exist for all people. We challenge our community members to consider how they might overcome or work around these barriers to support a community free of discrimination, harassment, and violence.
R/V Sikuliaq
R/V Sikuliaq, pronounced [see-KOO-lee-auk], is a 261-foot oceanographic research ship capable of bringing scientists to the ice-choked waters of Alaska and the polar regions. Sikuliaq, one of the most advanced university research vessels in the world, is able to break ice up to 2.5 feet thick. Constructed at Marinette Marine Corporation, a shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin, Sikuliaq is homeported in Seward, Alaska, at UAF's Seward Marine Center.
The vessel is owned by the National Science Foundation and operated by the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, as part of the U.S. academic research fleet. It is used by scientists in the U.S. and international oceanographic community through the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System. UAF's Sikuliaq Ship Committee provides scientific oversight of Sikuliaq.
The need for a more capable ship to operate in the coastal and open ocean waters of the Alaska region was first recognized by marine scientists in the United States in 1973. In 2001, Congress appropriated $1 million for a design study. After 36 years of development and the consideration of multiple vessel designs, construction began on the ship in December 2009. The vessel was designed by The Glosten Associates, a marine architecture and engineering firm in Seattle. Sufficient ice strengthening allows Sikuliaq to work safely in moderate seasonal ice, operating over a longer period than formerly possible in the North Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Alaska, and the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas. The design is based on science mission requirements developed by the University–National Oceanographic Laboratory System community.
Sikuliaq has accommodations for up to 24 scientists and students per cruise, including those with disabilities, to conduct multidisciplinary studies and to facilitate broadband real-time virtual participation of classroom students in expeditions, including remotely operated underwater vehicles. Sikuliaq supports the collection of sediment samples from the seafloor, remotely operated vehicles, the use of a flexible suite of winches to raise and lower scientific equipment, and surveys throughout the water column and sea bottom using an extensive set of research instrumentation. The vessel is designed to have the lowest possible environmental impact, including a low underwater radiated noise signature for marine mammal and fisheries work.
University of Alaska Anchorage College of Health
The University of Alaska Anchorage is the primary engine of health care workforce development for the state, graduating over 650 health care professionals annually, across 15 campuses throughout Alaska, including many rural and remote communities. The largest of these academic programs is nursing, which enrolls over 550 students annually, and graduates more than 250 nurses each year. Health care providers say more workers are needed across many professions now. Alaska’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development estimates 5,000 new, additional healthcare practitioners will be needed by 2028.
With more than 45 certificate or degree program options to choose from, the College of Health will help you launch your career, or find continuing education opportunities in Alaska's Healthcare industry.
University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Native Language Center
The Alaska Native Language Center (ANLC) was established by state legislation in 1972 as a center for research and documentation of the twenty Native languages of Alaska. It is internationally known and recognized as the major center in the United States for the study of Eskimo and Northern Athabascan languages. The mission of the Alaska Native Language Center and Program is to cultivate and promote Alaska’s twenty Native languages.
ANLC publishes its research in story collections, dictionaries, grammars, and research papers. In early 2019, ANLC was able to open an online store to make publications available for purchase worldwide. The center houses an archival collection of more than 10,000 items, virtually everything written in or about Alaska Native languages, including copies of most of the earliest linguistic documentation, along with significant collections about related languages outside Alaska.
Faculty & Staff members provide materials for bilingual teachers and other language workers throughout the state, assist social scientists and others who work with Native languages, and provide consulting and training services to teachers, school districts, and state agencies involved in bilingual education.
The ANLC faculty & staff also participates in teaching through the Alaska Native Language Program, which offers major and minor degrees in Central Yup'ik and Inupiaq at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. An AAS degree or a Certificate in Native Language Education is also available.
The center strives to raise public awareness of the gravity of language loss worldwide but particularly in the North. Of the state's twenty Native languages, only one (Central Yup'ik in southwestern Alaska) is spoken by children as the first language of the home.
Like every language in the world, each of those twenty is of inestimable human value and is worthy of preservation. ANLC, therefore, continues to document, cultivate, and promote those languages as much as possible and thus contribute to their future and to the heritage of all Alaskans.
University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service (CES) serves as the
state's gateway to its university system. Extension serves some 50,000 Alaskans annually,
providing a link between Alaska's diverse people and communities by interpreting and
extending relevant university, research-based knowledge in an understandable and usable
form to the public.
Extension was created in 1930 as a department within the Alaska Agricultural College
and School of Mines. Our relationship with the university continues today within the
Office of the Provost. UAF's public service and community engagement role is filled
in part by Extension educators, faculty and staff located in Anchorage, Bethel, Delta
Junction, Dillingham, Fairbanks, Juneau, Kodiak, Nome, Palmer, Sitka, Soldotna and
affiliate offices with the Tanana Chiefs Conference and Eielson Air Force Base.
UAF's Extension is part of the largest informal education system in the world, connecting
Extension programs at land-grant colleges and universities in every U.S. territory
and state. Extension offers hundreds of publications, written and produced by university
specialists, which contain practical information of interest to Alaska residents.
Many publications are free and available online.
University of Alaska Fairbanks Office of Rights, Compliance and Accountability
The University of Alaska Fairbanks strives to be a place where all people are treated with common courtesy, compassion, dignity and respect.
The UAF Office of Rights, Compliance and Accountability promotes a working and learning environment free of discrimination, including harassment and violence, and leads a focused effort to build inclusive systems at UAF by ensuring compliance with civil rights laws; providing advice and direction to administration, faculty, staff, supervisors and students; and institutionalizing processes to eradicate discrimination and build equity.
The department works with many other groups and programs to reach these goals.
National Park Service
Since 1916, the National Park Service has been entrusted with the care of our national parks. With the help of volunteers and partners, we safeguard these special places and share their stories with more than 318 million visitors every year. But our work doesn't stop there.
We are proud that tribes, local governments, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individual citizens ask for our help in revitalizing their communities, preserving local history, celebrating local heritage, and creating close-to-home opportunities for kids and families to get outside, be active, and have fun.
Taking care of the national parks and helping Americans take care of their communities is a job we love, and we need—and welcome—your help and support.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) delivers scientific discoveries and technical breakthroughs needed to realize solutions in energy and national security and provide economic benefit to the nation. We address national needs through impactful research and world-leading research centers. Our wide range of partnerships with other US Department of Energy laboratories and programs, universities, and industry allows us to pair our strengths with others for outstanding contributions to science.
ORNL researchers apply unique facilities, sophisticated tools, and signature strengths in neutron science, high-performance computing, advanced materials, biology and environmental science, nuclear science and engineering, isotopes, and national security research to benefit science and society, making it possible for us to:
- Advance understanding, design, and use of new materials and chemical processes
- Reveal unmatched insights through computing and data
- Ensure safe, clean nuclear power and secure nuclear materials
- Produce rare isotopes for medicine, industry, security, research, and space exploration
- Increase and exploit understanding of biological and environmental systems, from genes to ecosystems
Established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project, ORNL is building on a legacy of discovery and innovation to continually address our most urgent R&D needs.
- The Proton Power Upgrade and Second Target Station will open new frontiers in materials research at the Spallation Neutron Source
- Frontier, ORNL’s exascale computer, will deliver world-leading performance in 2022
- ORNL assets are being focused on national artificial intelligence and quantum initiatives
- New materials, software, and systems for advanced manufacturing developed at ORNL are transforming nuclear energy technology
- Cybersecurity technologies developed by ORNL are improving the resilience of the nation’s electric grid and other critical infrastructure
- Researchers are advancing biotechnology to convert plastics into valuable chemicals.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
On May 15, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation to establish the United States Department of Agriculture and two and a half years later in his final message to Congress, Lincoln called USDA "The People's Department." Through our work on food, agriculture, economic development, science, natural resource conservation and other issues, USDA has impacted the lives of generations of Americans.
U.S. Department of Education
ED's mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.
ED was created in 1980 by combining offices from several federal agencies. ED's 4,400 employees and $68 billion budget are dedicated to:
- Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education, and distributing as well as monitoring those funds.
- Collecting data on America's schools and disseminating research.
- Focusing national attention on key educational issues.
- Prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education.
Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI)
The Antarctic and the Arctic, or collectively referred to as the polar regions, may seem disconnected from our daily lives due to the remoteness, as well as the harsh and extreme environment.
The polar regions, however, are an indispensable part of the Earth’s system as a modulator of Earth’s climate. When discussing global warming, the Antarctic and the Arctic are the most frequently discussed regions which reflects the scientific importance of the polar regions regarding climate change.
This immense, clean natural environment, located on the Earth's polar regions, has a unique environmental system composed of lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and cryosphere. Furthermore, it is the most optimal place to observe and predict future climate change due to the sensitive and responsive nature of the polar regions.
Increasing importance of the polar region from policy and business perspectives reflects the urgency of better scientific understanding of these regions. This is the reason why we, with our excellent polar research infrastructure - two Antarctic year-round stations, one Arctic station and the IBRV Araon - strive to make progress in Arctic and Antarctic sciences.
The global health crisis has substantially affected international polar research efforts and hindered many multi-national field works and operations. Facing these obstacles, KOPRI has had meaningful successes during the 2020 Arctic summer and 2020-2021 Austral summer seasons with creative approaches such as one-leg scientific research voyages with no re-supply, no port call, and zero-interaction during the research cruises except only from the mother port of IBRV Araon.
Embracing change and innovation, will be key for us to actively address climate change and create future values from polar sciences. We will continue to pursue excellence in polar sciences.
We hope you will join our journey to the polar regions, where you will find the answer to the secrets and mysteries of the Earth.
Sámi Education Institute
The Sámi Education Institute (SAKK) is a vocational college with a central role in
developing the needs of its people and the Arctic region. It is the only indigenous
people's institute of post-secondary trade school education in Finland, located above
the Arctic Circle, with three campuses in the homeland of the Sámi. The institution
organizes multidisciplinary contact-based and distance virtual education classes,
workshops, and degree programs for young adults and mature students. The core curriculum
supports the livelihoods of the Sámi with emphasis on the development of the Sámi
languages and Sámi cultures, to promote nature-based occupations and employment.
The Sámi Education Institute encourages partnerships with national and international
networks in preserving and developing the education of indigenous cultures and livelihoods
in the circumpolar north. Prospective foreign colleagues are invited to contact us
to discuss how we may assist in the advancement of study trips and research projects.
Our administration staff are available to guide you in logistics and other invoiceable
services that the institute may offer.
All educational programs, courses, and workshops are taught in Finnish and/or Sámi.
Occasionally, other languages of instruction may be used.