Wasilla, Alaska – The Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) has welcomed four new members to its Board of Directors: Raelynn Danielowksi, Greg Jones, Philip Licht and Lisa Smayda.

Danielowski is a lifelong Alaskan with 23 years in the Mat-Su. She has a wealth of finance experience in the energy sector and currently works as the assistant financial controller at Matanuska Telephone Association (MTA). She is a current member of the MTA Investment Committee. She graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance.

Jones’ previous work experience has ranged across entrepreneurship, organization building, management of both large and small organizations, and public policy. More recently, Greg served as the interim CEO for the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority and was subsequently appointed a trustee. Greg is currently a member of the Connect Mat-Su Steering Committee and has previously served on the boards of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, Anchorage Planning and Zoning Commission, Anchorage Board of Examiners and Appeals, Special Olympics of Alaska, Alaska Academic Decathlon, Anchorage Home Builders Association, Great Land Trust and the Covenant House Site Selection Committee. He attended the University of Alaska for a time and graduated from Western Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1970.

Smayda has lived in Alaska since 1978 and became a resident of the Mat-Su in 1991. The majority of her 44-year career was spent working in the medical field as a registered nurse in the Mat-Su and rural Alaska. Lisa is on the Mat-Su Senior Services Board of Directors and previously served on the board for the Denali Kid Care pilot program, as well as on the advisory boards for Holy Family Catholic Church and Saint Michael’s Catholic Church. Lisa earned a nursing diploma in 1976 from the Charity Hospital School of Nursing in New Orleans and went on to complete a Pastoral Leadership Program at Gonzaga University in 1997.

Licht is a lifelong Mat-Su resident who has devoted his life and skills toward improving the health and wellness within the community for the past 20 years and presently works as the executive director of Set Free Alaska. Licht currently serves on the steering committee for ROCK Mat-Su, as well as the board of Recover Alaska and Governor Dunleavy’s Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. In the past, he has served on the boards of Thrive Mat-Su, Mat-Su Agency Partnership, Northgate Alaska and Mat-Su Health and Social Services. He holds a Six Sigma Black Belt certification from Villanova University, and is a licensed and ordained minister.

At the same board meeting where the new members were elected, board officers were named. Lebron McPhail was chosen as chair and Mary Olson as vice-chair. Ken Kincaid was selected to continue in his role of secretary-treasurer.

Service on the Mat-Su Health Foundation Board of Directors is on a volunteer basis. Interested Mat-Su residents may apply through a process that includes a written application and interview. Board members serve an initial three-year term, and each term may be renewed for two additional three-year terms. More information is available at healthymatsu.org/about/board-of-directors.

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Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) is the official business name of Valley Hospital Association, Inc., which shares ownership in Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. In this capacity, MSHF board members and representatives actively participate in the governance of Mat-Su’s community hospital to protect the community’s interest in this important healthcare institution. The MSHF mission is to improve the health and wellness of Alaskans living in the Mat-Su and the tools it uses include grantmaking, convening of local partners, and policy change. The foundation’s work has resulted in significant improvements in systems that support the health of Mat-Su residents in areas such as behavioral health, child welfare, crisis response, community connections, workforce development, transportation, housing, and senior services. More information is available at healthymatsu.org .