The council recently hired Valdez resident Nelli Vanderburg to fill the vacant project manager assistant position. Vanderburg began working for the council in October 2013.
Vanderburg was born and raised in Valdez. She has a degree in English from Southern Oregon University and a degree in web design from Kaplan University. She moved to the Lower 48, but wound up coming back, because she says she missed the scenery and the waters of Prince William Sound.
She worked previously as a library assistant at the Valdez Consortium Library and as a board operator and all-around gopher at Valdez’s KVAK radio.
She now provides support to the council’s project managers and the Terminal Operations and Environmental Monitoring, Port Operations and Vessel Traffic System, Legislative Affairs, Board Governance and Long Range Planning committee volunteers and their projects.
Vanderburg took over the position left vacant by Anna Carey, who joined the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s staff in September.