Select Bios of Speakers

In order of their participation in the Forum.

Hernando de Soto

Economist, Institute for Liberty & Democracy, Peru

Mr. de Soto is currently President of the Institute for Liberty & Democracy —headquartered in Lima, Peru— considered by The Economist as one of the two most important think tanks in the world.  Time magazine chose him as one of the five leading Latin American innovators of the century in its special May 1999 issue "Leaders for the New Millennium", and included him among the 100 most influential people in the world in 2004.  Mr. de Soto was also listed as one of 15 innovators "who will reinvent your future" according to Forbes magazine’ 85th anniversary edition.  In January 2000, Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit, the German development magazine, described Mr. de Soto as one of the most important development theoreticians of the last millennium.  In October 2005, over 20,000 readers of Prospect magazine of the UK and Foreign Policy of the US ranked him among the top 13 "public intellectuals" in the world from the magazines’ joint list of 100.
 
Mr. de Soto has served as an economist for the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, as President of the Executive Committee of the Copper Exporting Countries Organization (CIPEC), as CEO of Universal Engineering Corporation (Continental Europe’s largest consulting engineering firm), as a principal of the Swiss Bank Corporation Consultant Group, and as a governor of Peru’s Central Reserve Bank.
 
Currently, Mr. de Soto, together with his colleagues at the ILD, is focused on designing and implementing capital formation programs to empower the poor in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and former Soviet Nations.  Some 30 heads of state have invited de Soto to carry out these ILD programs in their countries.  He also co-chairs with former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright the High Level Commission on Legal Empowerment for the Poor.

Mr. de Soto has published two books about economic and political development: The Other Path, in the mid- 1980s, and at the end of 2000, The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else.  Both books have been international bestsellers – translated into some 20 languages.

http://www.ild.org.pe/eng/hsoto.htm

Suzanne (Suzie) Haik Terrell

Deputy Assistant Secretary for External Affairs and Communications, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA).

At EDA, Ms. Terrell oversees the implementation of the Congressional and Inter-Governmental Relations and Public Affairs functions.

Prior to joining EDA, Ms. Terrell practiced law at the New Orleans law firm Chaffe, McCall, following ten years of service in public office. In 1994 she was elected to the New Orleans City Council where she chaired the Cable and Telecommunications Committee and served on the Sanitation, Audit and Utilities Regulatory Committee.  In 1999, Suzanne was elected as Louisiana’s Commissioner of Elections, becoming the first Republican woman ever elected to statewide office in Louisiana. Under her stewardship, Louisiana’s election system received national recognition as the “Best Voter Registration System” in the country and the “Best Elections System” in the south. While in office, she helped to craft Louisiana’s Help America Vote compliance plan. 

Suzanne has served on various Boards and Commissions, has lectured on election law, land use matters, and legislative issues, and has testified before local, state and federal agencies on various regulatory and administrative topics. 

T. Case

Dean, UAA School of Business & Public Policy

Thomas R. Case was born in 1946 in Baker, Oregon and graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1969 with a bachelor of science degree in geography. In 1976, he earned a Master of Science degree in systems management from the University of Southern California. He graduated from the National War College, Washington, D.C., in 1987 and served on the National War College faculty for two years as the Air Force Chief of Staff’s Chair. In 1991, he completed Emory University’s Advanced Management Program.

Gen. Case completed a career of military service in July 2002 as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Chief of Staff, United States Pacific Command. As the second in command of a unified combatant command, he oversaw the combatant and peacetime activities of U.S. military forces of all services numbering more than 300,000 members in a geographic region covering 52 percent of the earth’s surface. As Chief of Staff, he managed a staff of over 1,300 military and civilian members and a headquarters budget of $234 million. In this capacity, he coordinated the activities of the military service components and provided direct oversight of the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies. Gen Case had similar responsibilities while assigned to the United States Central Command, with experience in the Persian Gulf, North Africa and the Middle East.

During his prior assignment he was the senior military commander in Alaska and received the Eugene M. Zuckert Award honoring outstanding management achievements by an Air Force Manager, presented by the Secretary of the Air Force. Gen Case has been actively involved in community service through the Hawaii Business Roundtable, Commonwealth North, Rotary, and the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce. He has been a frequent presenter at national and international conferences and symposia. http://logistics.alaska.edu/deanbiography.asp

Mike Burns

Executive Director, Alaska Permanent Fund

Michael J. Burns joined the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation as Executive Director in August 2004.   Prior to that, he was president of KeyBank, National Association (Alaska), a subsidiary of KeyCorp, a bank-based financial services company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio with assets of $83 billion.

Hired as president of Alaska Pacific Bank in February 1985, Mr. Burns held that position until October 1987.  At that time, Alaska Pacific Bank and its sister bank, First National Bank of Fairbanks, combined to form Key Bank of Alaska and Mike assumed the role of president of the larger bank.  In his role as president and chief executive officer of Key Bank of Alaska, Burns directed its growth from eight to more than twenty branches and moved it into position as the third largest bank in the state.  He retired on January 31, 2002.

Active in numerous community, state and civic organizations, Mr. Burns served three terms as chair of the University of Alaska Board of Regents, of which he remains a member.  He is a member of the University of Alaska Foundation Board of Trustees; the Nature Conservancy of Alaska Board of Trustees; Alaskan Command Civilian Advisory Board; Alaska Airlines Community Advisory Board; Alaska Community Foundation; and United Way Trustee Council.

Mr. Burns was elected to seven terms as chair of the Anchorage Telephone Utility, served as chair of the Governor's Transition Task Force (Administration), served twice as chair of the United Way Campaign, and is a former commissioner of the Public Broadcasting Commission.  He has served various other boards and committees, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Anchorage, Imaginarium, Alaska Children's Trust, Anchorage Concert Association, Fiscal Policy Council of Alaska, the Alaska Bankers Association, and the American Bankers Association. He is a member of YPOA (Young Presidents Organization Alumni).

Mr. Burns received a bachelor's degree in political science from Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois and a law degree from the University of Denver.  He is admitted to the practice of law in Illinois, Colorado and Missouri.  Mike and his wife Rebecca are the parents of three sons and one daughter. http://www.apfc.org/theapfc/ED.cfm?srchhighlight=burns

Byron Mallott

Board member, Native American Bank

Mr. Mallott has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the First Alaskans Institute since January 2000. From 1995 until January 2000, Mr. Mallott served as the Executive Director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. Prior to joining the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, Mr. Mallott served in various capacities, including Director, Chairman and President, and Chief Executive Officer of Sealaska Corporation over a period of nearly 20 years. Mr. Mallott has also served in various political appointments and elected positions and presently serves on the board of directors of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE-ALK) and Native American Bank, N.A. http://www.forbes.com/finance/mktguideapps/personinfo/

Christof Ruehl

Deputy Chief Economist for BP Group

Christof Ruehl is BP’s Deputy Group Chief Economist and is based in London, England, where he analyses global economic developments and energy economics to provide input into BP’s strategy. Mr. Ruehl has a distinguished track record as an economist in academia as well as in economic development and policy advice.

Prior to joining BP in May 2005, he served as a Senior Economist at the World Bank in Washington (1998-2000), before becoming the World Bank’s Chief Economist in Russia (2001-04) and Brazil (2004-05). From 1996-1998, Mr. Ruehl worked as Principal Economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. Prior to this (1991-96), Mr. Ruehl was a Professor of Economics at the University of California in Los Angeles, and earlier held teaching and research positions at German universities.

Matt Krepps

Consultant to NACA

Professor Krepps has been a consultant, program director and workshop leader for many multinational firms and government agencies in North America, Europe and Asia, including : IBM, Siemens, Nokia, NorskHydro, PT Chandra Asri, John F. Kennedy School of Government (Harvard University), PricewaterhouseCoopers, CapGemini, the International Association for Product Development, Conoco, ExxonMobil, SmithKlineBeechan, GlaxoWellcome, Procuritas, New York Mercantile Exchange, British Petroleum, Arthur Anderson, Sonoma WSOY, Sony, Bertelsmann, 31 PLC, Motorola, Lucent and government agencies in the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Australia and Indonesia.

Professor Krepps has worked extensively with tribes throughout the lower 48 states on issues ranging from natural resource rights to the socioeconomic impacts of Indian gaming, and has published a landmark study of the positive economic impacts of tribal self-determination under the auspices of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.

Michael C. Harper

Deputy Director-Rural Energy

Mr. Harper was appointed to this position in June 2001 after spending 10 years as President /CEO of The Kuskokwim Corporation, an ANCSA Village Corporation. Mr. Harper enjoys seeking ways to improve life in rural Alaska especially through job development, education and training. He has pursued these goals throughout his career both in public and private sector. Past work experience includes jobs with Rural Alaska Community Action Program, State of Alaska (DCRA & Governor’s Office) and United Bank Alaska. Harper enjoys serving with community groups such as, Salvation Army Board, Rotary, and UAA Advisory Native Students Steering Committee. Past service includes Doyon LTD Board, Anchorage Chamber of Commerce Board, and Commonwealth North Board. Married to Jane, both enjoy escaping to their cabin in the woods as often as possible for bird watching, boating, and cross-country skiing and reading.

Bernice Joseph

Executive Dean of the College of Rural & Community Development at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks

Bernice Joseph assumed responsibilities as executive dean of the College of Rural Alaska (CRA) in November 2001. She served at UAF from 1995 - 2000 as an assistant professor in the Department of Alaska Native and Rural Development and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from UAF.

Before being named dean of the CRA, Joseph served as the deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development. She was the department's tribal liaison, oversaw rural development programs, served as a member of the management team and was a key advisor to Gov. Tony Knowles. Joseph has also worked for the Doyon Foundation and the Fairbanks Native Association.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks' College of Rural Alaska is home to six rural and community campuses that serve nearly two-thirds of Alaska's total land area, including more than 160 primarily Native communities. The CRA is the center for support and development of distance delivery education throughout the university. http://www.uaf.edu/news/bio/joseph.html

Paul Applegarth

Director, German Marshall Fund of the United States, former President/CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation

Paul V. Applegarth joined the German Marshall Fund in 2005 as a senior transatlantic fellow to look at ways to improve the delivery, efficiency, and impact of development assistance and foreign aid to developing countries. He also examines how the United States and Europe can better coordinate trade and development policies while mobilizing public- and private-sector resources together. Mr Applegarth comes to GMF from distinguished service at the Millennium Challenge Corporation. As its first chief executive officer, he spearheaded a strategy of assistance to countries that rule justly, invest in their people, and promote economic freedom — three prerequisites for sustainable growth and poverty reduction. Prior to that, Mr. Applegarth was managing director of Emerging Markets Partnership, an asset management firm specializing in international private equity and debt investments in emerging markets. He previously served as chief operating officer of the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund and has also held leadership posts at American Express/Lehman Brothers, the United Way of America, and the World Bank.

Mr. Applegarth is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, and earned an M.B.A. with High Distinction from Harvard Business School.http://www.gmfus.org/experts/expert.cfm?id=1699

Sheila Watt-Cloutier

President of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference in Canada

Sheila Watt Cloutier has made it her life's work to preserve the environment and advocate for the people of the circumpolar region. Born in the tiny community of Kuujjuaq in Northern Quebec, Ms. Watt-Cloutier was raised traditionally on the land for ten years, before attending school in Churchill, Manitoba. She currently makes her home in Iqaluit and is the Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, the Inuit organization that represents the interests of the Inuit peoples of northern Canada, Greenland, Alaska and Russia. She was elected president of ICC in 1995 and reelected to this position in 1998. In this capacity, she was successful in persuading states to sign a global agreement to ban the generation and use of persistent organic pollutants, such as DDT and the PCBs that contaminate the Arctic food chain. For this work she received the inaugural global environmental award from the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations. Ms. Watt-Cloutier is currently engaged in climate change initiatives with the aim of persuading states to reduce their emission of greenhouse gases. She visited Chukotka in Northern Russia earlier this year and announced a pilot project with the region's Indigenous peoples to promote international marketing of local arts and crafts. In addition to her work with the environment, Ms. Watt-Cloutier was the Corporate Secretary of Makivik Corporation, the organization that looked after the funds from the 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Land Claims Agreement. She has also worked extensively to improve health conditions and education for Aboriginal communities.

http://www.naaf.ca/rec2004.html

Patricia Cochran

Executive Director, Alaska Native Science Commission

Patricia Cochran, is an Inupiat Eskimo born and raised in Nome, Alaska.  Ms. Cochran serves as Executive Director of the Alaska Native Science Commission (ANSC), a non-profit organization created to bring together research and science in partnership with Alaska Native communities.  ANSC serves as a clearinghouse for proposed research, an information base for ongoing and past research and an archive for significant research involving the Native community.  ANSC provides information, referral and networking services for researchers and Alaska Native communities.

Ms. Cochran previously served as Administrator of the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies at the University of Alaska Anchorage; Executive Director of the Alaska Community Development Corporation; Local Government Program Director with the University of Alaska Fairbanks; and Director of Employment and Training for the North Pacific Rim Native Corporation (Chugachmiut). 

Ms. Cochran has served as Chair of the American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Caucus of the American Public Health Association; Science Advisor to the Arctic Research Commission; Member of the Alaska Global Planning Team, Member of the Science Steering committee for the National Science Foundation Human Dimension of the Arctic System; NSF Office of Polar Programs Advisory Committee Member; Program Chair for the Indigenous Program of the Tenth International Congress on Circumpolar Health; Treasurer and Governing Council Member of the International Union for Circumpolar Health; Member of the National Native Science Education Advisory Council; Member of the National Research Council Committee on Managing Wolf and Bear Populations in Alaska and Committee on Cumulative Environmental Effects of Alaskan North Slope Oil and Gas Activities; board member of the American Society for Circumpolar Health, trustee of the Albrecht-Milan Foundation, board president of the Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis center; member of the Southcentral Native Educators’ Association; and U.S. lead  for  the Youth and Elders Initiative of the Arctic Council.

http://courses.washington.edu/susfish/speakers/cochrane.html

David Hoffman

CEO, Alaska Growth Capital

David founded Alaska Growth Capital in 1997 and has served as President since then.  He has been a leader in economic development and business management in Alaska for over 25 years.   He has also worked as a management consultant for clients throughout the world.  He served as a state cabinet officer as Commissioner of the Department of Community and Regional Affairs.   He also has served as CEO of Sitnasuak Native Corporation in Nome and Chief Operating Officer of UIC Corporation, one of the state’s largest corporations.  David holds a B.A. and Masters degree from Harvard.

David Berge

President and Founder, Underdog Ventures, LLC

David Berge is the President and Founder of Underdog Ventures, LLC and the founding Chairman of the Underdog Foundation. David has 20 years of community development finance experience. Through his previous retainer-based consulting firm, David advised high net worth individuals and social venture institutions, while providing one third of his work on a pro bono basis for community development organizations. Previously, David was the Director of Vermont National Bank’s Socially Responsible Banking Fund, which he grew from $38 million to $203 million in targeted deposits, creating flexible loans in the areas of affordable housing, education, sustainable agriculture, conservation and the environment and socially responsible businesses. David also worked as the Senior Loan Officer at the Institute for Community Economics, a community loan fund providing financial and technical assistance to community land trusts, limited equity cooperatives and other grassroots organizations around the United States.

David is the former chairman and sits on the board of the Board of the Social Investment Forum, the trade association for institutions and professionals involved in the $2.34 trillion socially responsible investment industry in the United States. He is the chairman of the Social Investment Forum Foundation. He is a former member of the Board of the Social Venture Network. He is a former member of the Native Americans in Philanthropy Financial Advisory Committee. He is a former Advisory Board member of the Boston Federal Reserve’s Community Development Advisory Board, the Cooperative Fund of New England Advisory Board, the Equity Trust Advisory Board and the Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility Board of Directors.

David speaks frequently around the United States and Canada on issues of social venture investing and community development lending. His work has been highlighted on NPR’s Marketplace, CBS and NBC news, Entrepreneur Magazine, Nations Business, Fast Company, the book, “Aiming Higher”, by David Bolier and a book titled, “Making a Life, Making a Living”, by Mark Albion.

Originally from Austin, Minnesota, David currently splits his time between Brattleboro, Vermont and Brooklyn, New York. He has worked at a number of non-profit organizations in the area of small business development, alternative secondary markets and community investment. David graduated with a B.A. from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota and an M.A. from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

http://www.underdogventures.com/staff.html

Professor Ian Ayres

Yale Law Professor and co-author of Why Not?

Ian Ayres is a lawyer and an economist. He is the William K. Townsend Professor at Yale Law School and a Professor at Yale's School of Management. He is the editor of the Journal of Law, Economics and Organization. Professor Ayres is a regular commentator on public radio’s Marketplace and a columnist for Forbes magazine and regularly writes opeds for the New York Times.  He was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, received his B.A. (majoring in Russian studies and economics) and J.D. from Yale and his Ph.D in economics from M.I.T. Professor Ayres clerked for the Honorable James K. Logan of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. He has previously taught at Illinois, Northwestern, Stanford and Virginia law schools and has been a research fellow of the American Bar Foundation. With over 8 books published and over 100 articles on a wide range of topics, Professor Ayres has been ranked as one of the most prolific and most-cited law professors of his generation.  He will be talking about his latest book on the theme of innovation entitled Why Not?: How to Use Everyday Ingenuity to Solve Problems Big and Small (2003) (with Barry Nalebuff).

Gloria O’Neill

President/CEO Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc.

Ms. O'Neill is originally from Soldotna and is of Yupik/Irish descent. Gloria began working at Cook Inlet Tribal Council more than ten years ago, holding many different positions in the agency before her 1998 appointment to President/CEO.  Under Gloria's guidance, the organization's annual budget has grown from $8.8 million to nearly $40 million, reflecting the expansion of innovative services to assist people in Anchorage and the Cook Inlet Region to achieve self-sufficiency.

Gloria is very active in civic and community affairs within Anchorage, statewide and on a national basis.  She currently serves as a board member of the Alaska Federation of Natives, Anchorage Community Land Trust , Cook Inlet Housing Authority, BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. Board of Community Advisors, Anchorage Museum Building Committee, University of Alaska Anchorage Advisory Board, Alaska Mental Health Board and the U.S. Census Bureau Advisory Committee on Race and Ethnicity for American Indian and Alaska Native Populations.

Among her accomplishments, Ms. O'Neill received a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Alaska Pacific University in 2000.  Awards include Light of Hope 2003; Athena Society Member 2001 from the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce for her outstanding leadership, excellence, and dedication to promoting women in business; United States President's Environmental Youth Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's for CITC's Summer Youth Camp at Ninilchik; and "Alaska's Top Forty Under 40" from the Alaska Journal of Commerce 1998. Most recently, Gloria was recognized by BP and the YWCA of Anchorage as a Woman of Achievement 2003. 

While Gloria O'Neill has helped to build an organization that embraces modern technology and innovative business practices, she never loses sight of the importance of the traditional values embedded in Alaska Native culture.

http://www.citci.com/page/10

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