The Doyon, Limited board will have four seats up for election at the March 2021 annual meeting. Each director’s seat is for a term of three years. Current directors whose terms expire at the March 2021 annual meeting are Walter “Wally” Carlo, Jennifer Fate Velaise, Erica Frankson, and Christopher Simon.
For more information, please contact the Doyon Legal Department at legal@doyon.com, 907-459-2177 (Fairbanks), or 1-888-478-4755 ext. 2177 (toll-free).
Kids Voting – Vote here!
1st Prize: Nintendo Switch Console
2nd Prize: iPod Touch
3rd Prize: $100 Visa Gift Card
Deadline to enter: Friday, March 19, 2021 @ 11 a.m. AKDT
Meet the 2021 Board Candidates
* = incumbent
Christopher Simon* (urban), 55, lives in Fairbanks, Alaska. He serves as Chief Executive Officer for K’oyitl’ots’ina, Limited, the village corporation for Alatna, Allakaket, Hughes, and Huslia. He previously served as Deputy Director of Health Services for Tanana Chiefs Conference, statewide Rural Education Coordinator for the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, Superintendent of Schools for Yukon Koyukuk School District, and as a principal in Huslia and Hughes, Alaska. He has served on the Doyon, Limited Board of Directors since 2009. Simon serves as Chair of the Doyon Board and chairs the Executive Committee. He also chairs the Boards of Doyon Oil Field Services, Inc., Doyon Government Contracting, Inc., and Doyon Natural Resources Development Corporation.
Simon has a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education and a Master’s Degree in Education Leadership from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, as well as a Post-graduate Education Leadership Certificate from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Simon previously served as a Director and President of K’oyitl’ots’ina, Limited, as a RurAL CAP Board Member, as a Member of the Alaska Rural Subcabinet Advisory Group, and as a Director of the Boys and Girls Home of Alaska, Inc.
Erica L. Frankson* (rural), 42, of Galena, Alaska, is the co-owner of Frankson Services, providing lodging and rentals. She previously worked as a Customer Service Agent for Ravn Alaska. Frankson received her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2002 and her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis in 2005. She received a Certificate as a Certified Nurse’s Assistant from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2012. Frankson serves on the Doyon Shareholder Relations Committee and as a Board Member and Treasurer on the Doyon Oil Field Services, Inc. Board. She previously served on the Board of Directors for Gana-A‘Yoo, Limited, the village corporation for Galena, Koyukuk, Nulato, and Kaltag; as a Director and President of the Gana-A‘Yoo Foundation; as a Louden Tribal Council Member; and as a City of Galena Council Member. Frankson is related (sister) to Doyon, Limited Board Member Shirley Cleaver.
Darrell Kaase (rural), 64, lives in Northway, Alaska, where he is the Tribal Administrator for the Northway Village Council. He previously worked as a janitor for Doyon Universal Services. Kaase received his GED from the State of Alaska. He received a Certificate in Forestry from the Alaska Vocational Technical Center in Seward, Alaska. He is a graduate of Doyon Management Training.
Esther M. McCarty (rural), 72, lives in Ruby, Alaska, where she is co-owner and co-manager of McCarty’s Services Store. She works as the Finance Director for the Ruby Tribal Council. McCarty was previously employed as the Office Manager and Accountant for the Dineega Corporation. McCarty served on the Board of K’oyitl’ots’ina, Limited, the village corporation for Alatna, Allakaket, Hughes, and Huslia, from 1980 to 2007 and from 2010 to present. She is Chair/President of SOOS Holding Company, LLC, and Vice-Chair of Yukon Fire Protection Services, Inc. McCarty served on the Doyon Board of Directors from 2011 to 2020.
McCarty previously served as President/Chair and Secretary of K’oyitl’ots’ina, Limited; on the Control Contractors, Inc. Board as Secretary; as Vice President and Secretary/Treasurer of Brooks Range Contract Services, Inc.; as Chair/President of KCORP Support Services, Inc.; and as Vice-Chair of KCORP Technology Services, Inc.
McCarty received an Associate Degree in Accounting in 1986 from a Scranton, Pennsylvania, correspondence school. She earned a Certificate as a Native Language Teacher in 2004 and an Associate Degree in Applied Science – Native Language Education in 2006, both from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She was named an “Athabascan Treasure” in the Doyon Region in 2010 by the Alaska State Council on the Arts for her efforts in teaching the Koyukon Athabascan (Denaakk’e) language and for making memorial potlatch songs.
Dewey Kk’ołeyo Hoffman (urban), 35, lives in Fairbanks, Alaska. He is the owner and principal consultant of Hoozoonh, which offers professional services in education, training, and Indigenous language revival. Throughout his 15 years of professional experience in Alaska and across the Circumpolar North, Hoffman has worked to strengthen communities and families through resource sharing, Indigenous values-based decision making, and increasing local control. Within the Interior region, he has served at the Doyon Foundation and Fairbanks Native Association, while at the statewide region he has served at the First Alaskans Institute and the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Additionally, his experience volunteering with various boards and working groups has prepared him to serve on the Doyon Board.
A Native Village of Ruby Tribal member, his parents are Dee Olin and David Hoffman. He has one child, Telele Iŋmaġana, with his wife, Marjorie Kunaq Nekkon’ Tahbone of Nome.
Hoffman was convicted in 2011 of DUI. (Disclosure required under 3 AAC 08.345 Board Solicitations.)
Jennifer Fate* (urban), 59, spends her time in both Fairbanks, Alaska, and Los Angeles, California. She was elected to the Doyon, Limited Board of Directors in 2006. She serves as Corporate Secretary, Chair of the Finance Committee, and member of the Executive Committee. She serves as President and Director of the Doyon Foundation Board. Fate is past Chair of the Doyon Budget and Audit Committee. She currently works in private investment and has worked in business consulting and acquisitions for multinational corporations and media companies.
Fate also has been an independent documentary producer, working on projects for Bravo, Travel Channel, and the British Broadcasting Corporation. Fate previously served as a Director for Foster Care Counts in Los Angeles and as a Trustee for the Pine Ridge School for Girls on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Fate currently serves as Co-Chair of the Stanford Business School Race Equity Task Force. Fate received her MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and her Bachelor’s Degree from Princeton University. She practices Athabascan traditions at her family’s fish camp on the Yukon River each summer. Her full legal name is Jennifer Fate Velaise.
Charleen C. Fisher (urban), 51, of Fairbanks, Alaska, works as the Director of Federal Programs for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. She serves as a Project Evaluator for Evaluation Research Associates LLC. Fisher previously served as the Executive Director and Project Director for Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments. She serves as Interim Chairperson of the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute of Alaska. She previously served as Chief of the Beaver Village Council and on the Regional Board of Education for the Yukon Flats School District.
Fisher has a Doctorate in Indigenous Studies, a Master’s Degree in Education, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Education Leadership from the University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Type A Teaching and Type B Administrative Certificates.
Nicole R. Gregory (rural), 39, of Galena, Alaska, is a Community Health Aide for Tanana Chiefs Conference and has worked as a health aide in Interior Alaska for a decade. She holds an Associate Degree in Applied Science and a Certificate in Tribal Management. Gregory serves as a Board Member for Louden Tribal Council, Galena Sports Authority, and Yukon Jamboree. She previously served as a Board Member for the Galena Dog Mushers Association and Louden Tribal Council. Gregory is a recent graduate of Doyon Leadership Training.
Walter “Wally” Carlo* (urban), 74, of Fairbanks, Alaska, is retired from the International Union of Operating Engineers. He serves on the Doyon Government Contracting, Inc. Board and on the Doyon Finance Committee. Carlo currently serves as an Emeritus Trustee for the Greater Fairbanks Memorial Hospital Foundation. Carlo is past President, past Chair, and current Board Member of Fairbanks Resource Foundation, a nonprofit that designs, builds, and operates homes for the disabled.
Carlo served as Doyon, Limited’s Property Manager from 1989 to 1998. He served on the Doyon, Limited Board of Directors from 1980 to 1989, 1999 to 2008, and 2009 to present. Carlo previously served as Chair of the Doyon Board, Chair of the Executive Committee, and Chair of the boards of Doyon Oil Field Services, Inc., Doyon Government Contracting, Inc., and Doyon Natural Resources Development Corporation
