RIGHT MOVES.

Alaska Business

This magazine upgraded its digital staff with a couple of recent hires.

* Carter Damaska is the new Social Media Manager. Originally from Michigan, he earned a degree in history and classical studies from Hope College. He made a living as an events photographer, branching out into videography and web design, skills that help him engage with the Alaska Business audience via social media platforms. He would rather have pursued a career as an auto mechanic, being able to identify makes and models at a glance, but underneath the hood, he says, he's lost beyond checking the oil.

*Taylor Sanders, the new Web Manager, studied in Paris to become a pastry chef and event coordinator. After ten years on that career path, she pivoted from pastry to pixels. She was certified as a web developer after a year-long coding boot camp at the University of Washington and is now pursuing a degree in computer science at UAA. Her responsibilities include juggling all the content on the Alaska Business website and compiling the weekly Monitor e-newsletter. Born and raised in South Carolina, her native accent only emerges when she's been around her family.

Alaska Department of Commerce

*Governor Mike Dunleavy named Julie Sande as his choice to lead the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. She replaces Julie Anderson, who announced her retirement as Commissioner after the new year. Sande was most recently executive director of the Ketchikan Pioneer Home. She earned a bachelor's degree in social work from the University of Montana and a master's degree in healthcare administration from the University of Southern California. She is also a lifelong Alaskan who was primarily raised in remote logging camps of Southeast Alaska.

Providence Alaska

* Upon retiring as the first Black chief of the Anchorage Police Department, Kenneth D. McCoy marks another first. Providence Alaska hired him as its first Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer. In that role, McCoy is responsible for coordinating efforts to promote culturally competent, patient-centered care as well as diversity and inclusion within the Providence Alaska workforce. McCoy earned a bachelor's degree in justice from UAA and a certificate in criminal justice from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. After twenty-seven years in law enforcement, McCoy was named chief of police in 2021, and then in December he announced his retirement. 'After serving the...