President Joe Biden awarded Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl with a 2023 National Humanities Medal at the White House. The award, from the National Endowment for the Humanities, honors an individual or organization whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the human experience, broadened citizen engagement with history and literature or helped preserve and expand Americans' access to cultural resources.

We hope you are as excited for fall as we are. Spruce Root is offering a Business Basics for Artists workshop for all Southeast Alaska residents and Sealaska shareholders. The Sustainable Southeast Partnership catalysts connect through virtual culture camp and Lingít traditions. Some of our team members presented at U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola's forum on solutions to Alaska's outmigration crisis.

As fall descends upon us here in Southeast Alaska, the rain and fog settles in for the season and things start slowing down. We’re also celebrating the addition of Haley Goodman, who joins us through the Alaska Fellows Program. We also say thank you to our Path to Prosperity Business Competition facilitators, sponsors and partners for helping us host another in-person intensive with this year’s finalists cohort.  

Learn how to deliver exceptional customer experiences with Spruce Root and the Disney Institute’s proven approach to service excellence. Celebrate with us as the Seacoast Trust reaches a significant $25 million milestone. Don’t miss out on the first-ever Southeast Alaska Emerging Leaders Summit in Sitka — a chance for young professionals to connect, learn and grow. 

In this issue, we celebrate a year of remarkable achievements as detailed in our 2023 Annual Report, spotlight the inspiring entrepreneurial journey of Edith Johnson, and share opportunities to empower artists and future construction professionals in Southeast Alaska.