Deanna Fitzgerald joins DANSRD as new academic advisor

Sept. 20, 2021

Deanna Fitzgerald is the new academic advisor for the Department of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development. She was raised in the Tanacross Athabascan region in the village of Dot Lake, Alaska. She is the daughter of Cindy Charles and the late Ivan Charles. Her late grandparents were Doris and Peter Charles. She loves spending time with her husband, Eric, as well as her two sons, Chíí and Mason.

An alumna of the Rural Alaska Honors Institute and Dot Lake High School, Fitzgerald earned her Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences at UAF and most recently graduated from the Doyon Leadership Training program.

Fitzgerald has worked the last 15 years in the Office of Human Resources, Biology and Wildlife Department, College of Natural Science and Mathematics Division of Research, and most recently in the Signers' Business Office. Before UAF, she worked for Tanana Chiefs Conference for seven years.

She enjoys outdoor activities such as: hiking, skiing, floating and boating. She also enjoys traditional activities: picking berries and wild rhubarb, fishing, hunting, beading, singing Athabascan songs and attending potlatches.

“It’s my goal to assist with a foundation of preparedness, guidance, hard work, determination, and build up my students’ strengths to succeed in a direct path of their degree and life goals,” Fitzgerald said.

For more information, contact Debbie Mekiana at damekiana@alaska.edu.