Two long-time Alaskans on the Council’s staff are moving up the ranks and a former Valdez resident is returning to join the Council’s staff.
In June, staff member Hans Odegard was promoted to the position of director of administration. Odegard was first hired as a project manager assistant in 2019. He was later promoted to information technology coordinator. Odegard replaced KJ Crawford, who resigned in January.
Odegard grew up in Eagle River and attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration.
Jaina Willahan, the Council’s newest project manager assistant, was originally hired as the administrative assistant in 2021. In the intervening time she has also served as office coordinator in Anchorage.
A lifelong Alaskan, Willahan attended the University of Alaska Anchorage.
In early June, Dr. John Guthrie joined the Council to manage projects related to maritime operations. Dr. Guthrie grew up in Valdez and previously worked with Stan Stephens’ Cruises for 10 years, six of those as a captain. He holds a doctorate in physical oceanography and most recently was a senior research scientist at the Polar Science Center at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Dr. Guthrie is replacing Alan Sorum, who has been the maritime operations project manager for the past 13 years.
