Staff, Board & Steering Committee
#WarriorUp
Meet The Team
Together we #WarriorUp with love for our people and our homelands.
Staff
Laureli Ivanoff – Inupiaq & Yup’ik
Executive Director
laureli@nativepeoplesaction.org
Laureli Ivanoff, Inupiaq and Yup’ik, was raised in Unalakleet by her parents, Herb and the late Lena Ivanoff. Laureli previously worked in communications in the fisheries realm where she came to understand management processes, affirming her desire to write about and advocate for a way of life living in a direct relationship with the land and waters surrounding her home. A former radio journalist, Laureli has a regular column with High Country News that explores “the seasonality of living in direct relationship with the land, water, plants, and animals in and around Uŋalaqłiq (Unalakleet).” She has been published in The New York Times, Anchorage Daily News, Outside Magazine, and various publications with the intent to bring representation to a way of life integral to who we are as Native peoples. Laureli received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and her Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts. She enjoys being out on every nice day with her extended family, harvesting and eating good food.
Craig K. Chythlook – Yup’ik
Fisheries Policy Director
Craig Chythlook is Yup’ik, originally from the Bristol Bay region in southwest Alaska. Craig’s parents are Joe and Molly Chythlook from Dillingham, AK. Craig has spent his life fishing for salmon on the waters of Bristol Bay. Craig’s current work is looking at what evaluation criteria are used to measure success while observing salmon, salmon management, and how to utilize Indigenous values and place-based knowledge into resource management decision-making. Craig graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks with a business administration degree and a minor in rural development. While attending UAF, Craig spent three and a half years participating in undergraduate research studying how better access to water utility services impact subsistence activities. Craig’s research interests include how Western fisheries policy and management can better include Indigenous and place-based knowledge into state and federal decision-making spaces, regarding salmon/resource management.
Krissa Huston – Tlingit
Voter & Community Engagement Manager
krissa@nativepeoplesaction.org
Krissa Huston, Tlingit/Filipina/White, is originally from Petersburg (Séet Ká Kwáan) where she was raised by her mother Tiana Duke and late father Steven Davis (Norwegian). She is the great granddaughter of Marie James and granddaughter of Pauline Young of the Thunderbird House, Wooshkeetaan Yadi clan. In May of 2024 she graduated from the University of Maine with her masters in Marine Policy. During her program she focused on the role of the global seafood market, fisheries policy, and community-well being in fisheries management decisions for Pacific Herring. Krissa is passionate about protecting Indigenous foodways through localized food systems that support equitable access, Alaskan Native culture, and community well-being. She is an avid learner who enjoys spending her time harvesting with her family on the beach and connecting with the land and waters through hiking, climbing, and swimming.
Elizabeth Ahkivgak – Iñupiaq
Accounting & Grants Manager
elizabeth@nativepeoplesaction.org
Elizabeth Aqpaluk Ahkivgak, an Iñupiaq from Utqiagvik, Alaska, grew up in a whaling crew family. Her parents are Ethel Ahkivgak and Fernando Ortega, and her maternal grandparents are Jennie (Ekolook) and Herbert Ahkivgak. She also honors her foster parents, Rosie and Eben Hopson, Jr., for their lifelong mentorship. Now residing in Anchorage, Alaska, Elizabeth is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Energy and Sustainability Policy from Pennsylvania State University. She has gained diverse experience across public, private, and non-profit sectors, with a focus on Alaska Native issues. Her career includes roles at Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, as an Al Adams Young Political Leader Fellow in Washington, D.C., office of U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, and as a legislative aide to Representative John Lincoln in the Alaska State Legislature. Inspired by her foster parents’ commitment to public health, Elizabeth has volunteered for organizations like Friends in Serving Humanity to deliver food to high risk neighborhoods, aiming to deliver the same sense of humanity as her foster parents. Elizabeth is passionate about food sovereignty, energy independence, and access to language. Aqpaluk enjoys hiking, fishing, gathering, practicing the Iñupiaq language, and lifelong learning.
Kelsi Ivanoff – Iñupiaq / Yup’ik / Athabascan
Communications & Indigenous Engagement Manager
Kelsi Ivanoff–Kasaŋnaaluk (Iñupiaq)/Abuzunaq (Yup’ik)–is from Unalakleet, Alaska, where she returned in 2018 to raise her daughter as she was, rooted in culture, family, and harvesting. She acknowledges her parents, Steve and the late Zoe Ivanoff (of Unalakleet and Kotzebue), and many grandparents for their generational knowledge and encouragement to find balance between our two worlds. While studying engineering, she found a program that aligned more closely with her objectives and graduated from Portland State University with a degree in community development. Kelsi comes from a diverse background in fisheries, marketing, engineering, non-profit, and government, having most recently served as the city administrator and formerly the mayor of her hometown. She has experience working and advocating at the local, regional, state, and international levels, and currently sits on the Southern Norton Sound Fish & Game Advisory Committee. Through various fields of work, Kelsi has stayed true to her intention to work for the benefit and advancement of our people.