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Callan Chythlook-Sifsof
Callan is an Olympic Snowboarder and former member of the United States Snowboard Team from 2005-2014. She grew up in Aleknagik, Alaska and began snowboarding on the surrounding mountains of the Wood-Tikchik State Park. After retirement from competition, Callan was a snowboard coach from 2016-2021 for the Park City Snowboard Team and later the US Paralympic Team, assisting elite athletes that’ve gone on to make the USA, South Korean and Australian National teams. She returned home in 2022 and served as City Clerk of Aleknagik before working as staff for Representative McCormick of District 38 in the Alaska State Legislature.
Tim Troll
Tim Troll came to Alaska in 1978 to serve as a VISTA volunteer lawyer in Bethel. Since then, he has been a city manager for two rural villages, CEO for an ANCSA village corporation; a practicing lawyer in Anchorage; a state Rural Business Advisor; and a conservation program director for The Nature Conservancy. He is currently the Executive Director for the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust, a conservation non-profit he helped establish in 2000. While art has not been his career, it has been an avocation. His work has appeared in many statewide exhibits and is represented in the collections of the State of Alaska, several museums, and numerous private individuals. In 2019 his conservation work and promotion of Yup’ik Dance in Southwest Alaska were recognized by the Alaska Federation of Natives with the Denali Award.
Jackie Purcell
Jackie started her career in 1984 at a small radio station in Chickasha, Okla., but decided to move “home” in 1985, working her way through radio and television until becoming the full-time weatherperson for Channel 2 News in December 1990.
“It’s a gratifying experience to work in a job you love, in a town you love, surrounded by people and scenery you love. Wow!” Jackie says.
Although she’s lived in Alaska for much of her life, Jackie had the opportunity to travel all over the world, thanks to a mother who believed travel was one the best educations one could have — plus the fact that she has relatives in Europe and Indonesia — and her father worked in the Middle East for a time. Doing the weather at Channel 2 News keeps Jackie on her toes since Alaska presents some of the most challenging weather situations in the world. “It’s definitely not the same old thing every day.” Jackie married Dannie Pearson, a former Channel 2 photographer, and counts as part of her family two cats … and would have more if it were up to her.
Sen. Kelly Merrick
Senator Kelly Merrick is a lifelong Alaskan serving her third term in the Legislature. She sits on the Senate Finance, Labor & Commerce, and State Affairs Committees, along with the Joint Armed Services Committee. Her interests lie in natural resource development, public safety, fiscal responsibility, and government transparency. Some of Kelly’s goals in the capitol have been to heal divisiveness, foster strong bipartisan relationships, and find solutions to move Alaska forward through tough budgetary times. When not in the office, Kelly can be found at sports games, the ice rink, volunteering in a classroom, or working on her next creative project. Kelly and her husband Joey have three children, Hunter 17, Brodie 16, and Roxie 13.
Jovell Rennie
Jovell Rennie is an Anchorage-based photographer. Rennie’s early photographic work focused on sharing his experiences of Alaska with a global audience through social media, web, and print-based outlets. He has continued to use photography as a means of expression and connection within his community. In 2018, Rennie co-founded Akela Space, a gallery showcasing contemporary Alaska art and developing projects at the intersection of art and social justice. He is also the creative lead for the Black in Alaska storytelling project, a member of the Municipality of Anchorage Arts Advisory Council, and previously served as an advisor for Black Lives in Alaska: Journey, Justice, Joy, an exhibition at the Anchorage Museum.
Rep. Zack Fields
Zack Fields and his wife Khalial live in South Addition with their daughters, Zara and Simone. Zack attended the University of Virginia where he studied economics and history. Zack and his family enjoy skiing, hiking, reading, and gardening. Prior to working in the legislature, Zack was the Workforce Development Coordinator for the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, an outdoors writer, a labor organizer, and a legislative staffer. Zack is honored to serve his third term in the Alaska House as the Representative for House District 17, which includes Downtown, South Addition, Fairview, Forest Park, North Star, and Eastridge.
Anita Laulainen
Anita Laulainen is an artist and designer based in the Mat-Su Valley. She is the winner of the inaugural 2017 Artistic License Plate Competition, with her illustration featuring the northern lights dancing above an Alaskan landscape. With nearly ten years of experience as a professional artist, she currently works as an art director at an Anchorage-based ad agency as well as the artist behind Laulainen Arts, where she shares her other designs, illustrations, and photography.
Callan Chythlook-Sifsof
Callan is an Olympic Snowboarder and former member of the United States Snowboard Team from 2005-2014. She grew up in Aleknagik, Alaska and began snowboarding on the surrounding mountains of the Wood-Tikchik State Park. After retirement from competition, Callan was a snowboard coach from 2016-2021 for the Park City Snowboard Team and later the US Paralympic Team, assisting elite athletes that’ve gone on to make the USA, South Korean and Australian National teams. She returned home in 2022 and served as City Clerk of Aleknagik before working as staff for Representative McCormick of District 38 in the Alaska State Legislature.
Tim Troll
Tim Troll came to Alaska in 1978 to serve as a VISTA volunteer lawyer in Bethel. Since then, he has been a city manager for two rural villages, CEO for an ANCSA village corporation; a practicing lawyer in Anchorage; a state Rural Business Advisor; and a conservation program director for The Nature Conservancy. He is currently the Executive Director for the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust, a conservation non-profit he helped establish in 2000. While art has not been his career, it has been an avocation. His work has appeared in many statewide exhibits and is represented in the collections of the State of Alaska, several museums, and numerous private individuals. In 2019 his conservation work and promotion of Yup’ik Dance in Southwest Alaska were recognized by the Alaska Federation of Natives with the Denali Award.
Jackie Purcell
Jackie started her career in 1984 at a small radio station in Chickasha, Okla., but decided to move “home” in 1985, working her way through radio and television until becoming the full-time weatherperson for Channel 2 News in December 1990.
“It’s a gratifying experience to work in a job you love, in a town you love, surrounded by people and scenery you love. Wow!” Jackie says.
Although she’s lived in Alaska for much of her life, Jackie had the opportunity to travel all over the world, thanks to a mother who believed travel was one the best educations one could have — plus the fact that she has relatives in Europe and Indonesia — and her father worked in the Middle East for a time. Doing the weather at Channel 2 News keeps Jackie on her toes since Alaska presents some of the most challenging weather situations in the world. “It’s definitely not the same old thing every day.” Jackie married Dannie Pearson, a former Channel 2 photographer, and counts as part of her family two cats … and would have more if it were up to her.
Sen. Kelly Merrick
Senator Kelly Merrick is a lifelong Alaskan serving her third term in the Legislature. She sits on the Senate Finance, Labor & Commerce, and State Affairs Committees, along with the Joint Armed Services Committee. Her interests lie in natural resource development, public safety, fiscal responsibility, and government transparency. Some of Kelly’s goals in the capitol have been to heal divisiveness, foster strong bipartisan relationships, and find solutions to move Alaska forward through tough budgetary times. When not in the office, Kelly can be found at sports games, the ice rink, volunteering in a classroom, or working on her next creative project. Kelly and her husband Joey have three children, Hunter 17, Brodie 16, and Roxie 13.
Jovell Rennie
Jovell Rennie is an Anchorage-based photographer. Rennie’s early photographic work focused on sharing his experiences of Alaska with a global audience through social media, web, and print-based outlets. He has continued to use photography as a means of expression and connection within his community. In 2018, Rennie co-founded Akela Space, a gallery showcasing contemporary Alaska art and developing projects at the intersection of art and social justice. He is also the creative lead for the Black in Alaska storytelling project, a member of the Municipality of Anchorage Arts Advisory Council, and previously served as an advisor for Black Lives in Alaska: Journey, Justice, Joy, an exhibition at the Anchorage Museum.
Rep. Zack Fields
Zack Fields and his wife Khalial live in South Addition with their daughters, Zara and Simone. Zack attended the University of Virginia where he studied economics and history. Zack and his family enjoy skiing, hiking, reading, and gardening. Prior to working in the legislature, Zack was the Workforce Development Coordinator for the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, an outdoors writer, a labor organizer, and a legislative staffer. Zack is honored to serve his third term in the Alaska House as the Representative for House District 17, which includes Downtown, South Addition, Fairview, Forest Park, North Star, and Eastridge.
Anita Laulainen
Anita Laulainen is an artist and designer based in the Mat-Su Valley. She is the winner of the inaugural 2017 Artistic License Plate Competition, with her illustration featuring the northern lights dancing above an Alaskan landscape. With nearly ten years of experience as a professional artist, she currently works as an art director at an Anchorage-based ad agency as well as the artist behind Laulainen Arts, where she shares her other designs, illustrations, and photography.
Contact Alaska State Council on the Arts at asca.info@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6610.