Rasmuson Foundation Reorganizes Strategic Leadership
Photo Credit: Rasmuson Foundation
As Rasmuson Foundation celebrates seventy years of investing in Alaska communities, the state’s largest philanthropic organization is combining its core and strategic grantmaking under one leader.
Tasha Pineda
Photo Credit: Rasmuson Foundation
Tasha Pineda, previously Vice President of Strategy, is promoted to the new role of Chief Program Officer. The reorganization unifies all grantmaking programs and partner relations, ensuring that funding decisions are aligned with community needs and long-term goals.
“This role is about listening to communities, building trust, and investing in solutions that reflect Alaska’s diversity and resilience. I’m honored to help carry that work forward,” Pineda says.
Current Issue
September 2026
Pineda holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Alaska Pacific University and a master’s degree in public health from UAA. Her career spans public health, nonprofit leadership, and government service, including leading Anchorage’s response to the November 2018 earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic. She joined Rasmuson Foundation in 2022 and has led major initiatives focused on homelessness, developing young Arctic leaders, and the Grantmakers tour. Pineda was inducted into the Delta Omega Honor Society in Public Health.
“Tasha is a thoughtful leader, a skilled grantmaker, and a trusted voice in community,” says Rasmuson Foundation CEO and President Gretchen Guess. “Those qualities matter as we continue to do more than invest. We connect, we convene, and we listen. Tasha brings the clarity, compassion, and strategic thinking that help us do that well.”
Issa Spatrisano
Photo Credit: Rasmuson Foundation
To support strategic grantmaking, the foundation adds Issa Spatrisano to its strategy group as a Program Officer. In this role, Spatrisano fosters meaningful partnerships and helps implement solutions to empower Alaskans with community-driven solutions.
Spatrisano earned a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Western Michigan University and a master’s degree in teaching and learning from UAA, with a focus on serving diverse adult learners. Spatrisano brings more than a decade of experience in refugee resettlement and community engagement, most recently serving as Alaska’s State Refugee Coordinator, managing more than $20 million in federal grants and overseeing a statewide network of sub-awardees.
Pineda says of Spatrisano, “Her experience working in partnership with diverse communities and her thoughtful approach to statewide collaboration will be a tremendous asset to our team and the Alaskans we serve.”
New PEs Promoted at PND Engineers
Wade Kamkoff and Ben VanderHart, both UAA graduates who’ve been with PND Engineers since 2022, earned their licenses and promotions to Senior Engineer.
New Chief Administrator for Providence Hospital
Jessica Oswald, chief administrator of Providence St. Elias Specialty Hospital in Anchorage, is being reassigned as Chief Administrative Officer of Providence Alaska Medical Center.
Alaska Wealth Advisors Promotes Chief Investment Officer
Alaska Wealth Advisors promoted Kirsten Halpin from Director of Investments to Chief Investment Officer.
What happens when a city with fewer than 300 residents becomes a major freight and tourism hub, despite being accessible only by boat, plane, or a one-lane highway/railroad tunnel managed on a strict schedule?
If you’re in the City of Whittier, you get busy. The city has two separate transportation planning efforts underway, including a safety action plan under the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All initiative, which focuses on improving safety for pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, and emergency responders. The second is Whittier Moves, the city’s transportation master plan, which serves as the long-term roadmap for growth.