Category: Press Release

Wasilla, Alaska – The Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) recently welcomed Ahliil Saitanan into the new role of communications manager. Saitanan reports to the foundation’s chief communications officer and will focus on supporting the organization’s mission, vision and values with strategic marketing and communications planning and implementation. She came to the foundation with extensive communication experience including social media, website user experience development, marketing and branding, public relations, journalism, and layout and graphic design. Prior to joining the foundation, Saitanan was a communications coordinator for the University of Alaska, Anchorage College of Health. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the University of Guam and is a resident of Palmer, Alaska.

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About Mat-Su Health Foundation: 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 www.healthymatsu.org

Wasilla, Alaska – The Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) today announced it received a one-time unrestricted gift in the amount of $15 million from philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott.

“This donation came as a huge surprise since it was unsolicited,” said MSHF Board Chair, Lebron McPhail. “We are grateful for this generous gift from Ms. Scott.  It’s meaningful recognition of the work we are doing to improve the way systems work for Mat-Su residents and to eliminate the underlying causes of health inequities. We share this honor with the health and human services nonprofits in Mat-Su that continue to innovate and provide supports to Mat-Su residents and communities so they can thrive.”

“While it’s too soon to identify specific uses for the money, we are committed to regranting these dollars in alignment with our theory of change, which calls for us to be data-driven, strategic, and community-driven,” said MSHF President and CEO Elizabeth Ripley. “The timing of this gift lines up well with the completion of the Mat-Su 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) later this year.” She went on to explain, “The CHNA is a large research project that includes significant community input to help identify and prioritize local health concerns. Our philanthropy team and Board of Directors will use data from the report to inform future spending decisions supported by this large donation.”

In 2021, MSHF awarded $13,462,000 in grants to health and human service organizations and $2 million in academic and vocational scholarships to build Mat-Su’s future healthcare workforce. MSHF plans to award almost $17 million in grants and scholarships in 2022.  MSHF giving is concentrated in five focus areas: Healthy Aging, Healthy Families, Healthy Foundations, Healthy Futures, and Healthy Minds. MSHF also continues to grow programs like Connect Mat-Su, which provides information, referrals, and supports to individual residents, and the R.O.C.K. Mat-Su community partnership, which aims to reduce child maltreatment and promote family resilience.

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About Mat-Su Health Foundation: 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 www.healthymatsu.org

Wasilla, Alaska – The Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) recently welcomed three new staff members: Jessica Clarkson, Lane Gambill and Raegan Pickworth.

Jessica Clarkson was hired to fill a new R.O.C.K. Mat-Su program manager role that will focus on community engagement. R.O.C.K. (Raising Our Children with Kindness) Mat-Su is a collaborative of community members joining together to promote family resilience and reduce child maltreatment. It was developed as a cross-sector partnership of Mat-Su agencies. The Mat-Su Health Foundation provides ongoing staff support to the collaborative. R.O.C.K. Mat-Su works to build social supports, eliminate silos, and influence systems that affect children and families throughout the borough, all in support of achieving the goal of ending child abuse in Mat-Su. In her new position Clarkson is tasked with developing and managing methods to integrate authentic community voice into the work of R.O.C.K. Mat-Su, to ensure that the collective’s strategic direction for systems change is community-informed.

Clarkson has long been an integral part of the R.O.C.K. Mat-Su partnership. She served as the Palmer Families with Infants and Toddlers (FIT) Court program coordinator since its inception in 2017. Prior to that, Jessica’s experience includes serving as a CASA program coordinator, a clinical therapist, and social worker. As the FIT Court is an important initiative of R.O.C.K. Mat-Su, the collective will be providing transition support the FIT Court as they welcome their new program coordinator. Clarkson earned a Master of Social Work degree from Eastern Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Lane Gambill serves as a community resource specialist for Connect Mat-Su, an organization developed by the Mat-Su Health Foundation and community partners to be a comprehensive and innovative health and social services information and referral resource center. He works to develop and maintain a database of health and social services resources in Mat-Su and engages in outreach to develop and strengthen relationships with social service organizations, providers, and programs. He serves as the first point of contact for Connect Mat-Su consumers, assuring a quality end-to-end customer service experience. Gambill previously worked as a recreation therapist manager. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation from Eastern Washington University and an associate’s degree in Fire Science Technology from Spokane Community College and is a veteran of the U.S. Army.

Raegan Pickworth’s new position is grants management specialist. In this role she supports grant applicants and grantees and works with other foundation staff to structure and complete processing of grants and grantmaking requirements and to provide grant administration. She came to the foundation with extensive administrative and customer service experience. Pickworth earned two associate’s degrees at Montana State University, one in Human Resources and the other in Business Administration. She is a graduate of Wasilla High School.

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About Mat-Su Health Foundation: 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 www.healthymatsu.org

Wasilla, Alaska – John Weaver, CEO of Valley Residential Services (VRS) has been recognized with the Mat-Su Health Foundation’s Bert Hall Award for Commitment to the Health of the Community. The “Bertie” is an annual recognition presented to an individual or organization that consistently exemplifies commitment to working at the systems level to improve the health and wellness of Mat-Su residents.

The goal of VRS is to provide safe, quality and affordable housing. John’s responsibilities include planning, developing, implementing, controlling and evaluating VRS housing and maintenance programs and operations. Under John’s leadership, VRS has grown considerably, allowing it to serve more people and families by giving them a place to call home. The organization has gone from five to more than 20 employees and the number of housing units under management has grown from 113 units to 400, with an additional 82 currently under development. VRS has overseen the construction of 310 housing units plus 40 more recently opened on the Wasilla Area Seniors (WASI) campus. This growth has led to an estimated 2,000 Alaskans having the opportunity to settle into safe, stable housing.

“John will say that the success that VRS has is actually a team effort, and he is right, it does take a team, but a team needs a leader to give it direction, to nurture it, and to guide it along a path to success, and John is that leader,” said Mat-Su Health Foundation President and CEO Elizabeth Ripley.

Weaver is well-respected for his ability to network and develop partnerships in order to accomplish goals. He has partnered with the private sector on many of these developments.  His main partners have been Cook Inlet Housing Authority and Pacific Companies. He has leveraged millions of federal, state, and foundation dollars into Mat-Su to complete these housing projects.  These dollars in turn create jobs and improve livelihoods across Mat-Su.

“In addition to his paid position at VRS, John is a tireless volunteer. He has served as president of the Wasilla Area Seniors and Family Promise boards of directors for more than 10 years and been active with the Mat Su Coalition on Housing and Homelessness and State of Alaska Homeless Coalition,” said Ripley.  “John also serves as an elder and trustee for First Presbyterian Church in Anchorage, which is providing supportive housing there as well. He makes a mark on housing systems wherever he goes.  And that is the hallmark of a Bertie award winner.  They make their mark on a system.”

Previous Bert Hall Award recipients include the Mat-Su Borough School  District Health Advisory Team (2021), Kimberly Schlosser (2020), Lt. Tom Dunn (2019), Rachel Greenberg (2018), Bill Hogan (2017), Herman Thompson (2016), Margaret Volz (2015), Craig Thorn (2014) and Bert Hall himself (2013).

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About Mat-Su Health Foundation: 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 www.healthymatsu.org .