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2019-20 Fellows

  • Amanda Allard

    Amanda Allard

    Amanda Allard is an Honors Scholar at the University of Alaska Anchorage double majoring in Business Management and Marketing with a minor in Communication. She plans to graduate in December 2019. Amanda is the former President of UAA’s largest club, Alaska's National Society of Leadership and Success, as well as the former Treasurer and Club Council Representative for the UAA Management and Marketing Club. She presently serves as a student representative for the College of Business and Public Policy Dean’s Student Advisory Board, the Honors College Student Advisory Council, and the UAA Academic Disputes Review Committee. This will be her second year as a Tom Case Leadership Fellow. In addition, she is a current participant in the Women’s Power League of Alaska’s first “20-something” mentorship program.

    Amanda is looking forward to working her way toward achieving her personal goals of becoming a member of the Board of Directors for the Alaska Sealife Center and pursuing a master's degree overseas. Her long-term goal is to use her degrees, skills, and experiences to help her community. Apart from her education, she enjoys salmon fishing, hiking, shooting, and watching movies.

  • Erwin Domingo

    Erwin Domingo

    Erwin Domingo is self-described as extremely ambitious and motivated to succeed by taking on new challenges. He currently holds a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Technology with Cum Laude Honors from the University of Alaska. Domingo is now in his final year of pursuing his Master of Business Administration from the College of Business and Public Policy.

    Domingo’s career began in the Aviation Industry working as a part-time Customer Service Agent for Ravn Alaska. Throughout his 5-year tenure, he quickly assumed increasing responsibilities that ultimately led him to his role as Corporate Training Specialist where his primary task was to evolve the current training program. Upon completion of his final project, Domingo saw an opportunity to work as a Senior Training Officer for the Alaska USA Federal Credit Union in the Special Credits Department.

    In February of 2018, Domingo accepted the position of Special Credits Third Party Relationship Manager for the Credit Union. He now oversees all vendor due diligence and ensures each vendor is in compliance with Federal and State regulations. When Domingo isn’t overseeing the day to day vendor operations, he is managing the Recruiting Program for the 190 employees in the department.

    Aside from his recent career milestones, Domingo and his wife, Grace, also welcomed a baby boy in December 2018.

  • Nicolette Holmes

    Nicolette Holmes

    Nikki Holmes is a lifelong Alaskan who was raised in Girdwood. She is a passionate learner, traveler, and outdoor enthusiast. Holmes graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage with a Bachelor of Nursing in 2009 and has since accumulated 10 years of experience in the healthcare industry as a registered nurse in the areas of neurology, cardiology, stepdown care, and post-anesthesia care. She spent the past two years as a hospital administrator specializing in patient safety.

    Holmes plans to graduate with a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Leadership in this coming spring. She lives by the philosophy that education is a lifelong journey and looks forward to the Tom Case Leadership Fellows Program as an opportunity to hone her leadership skills and cultivate meaningful relationships with her peers, mentor, and community. After graduation, Holmes plans to engage in strategic business planning and healthcare policy. Her goal is to help guide the industry in a positive direction while ensuring that the well-being of the patient is at the heart of all decisions.

  • Jenny McConnel

    Jenny McConnel

    Jenny McConnel is a certified senior human resources professional pursuing a Master of Business Administration at the College of Business and Public Policy. She has four years of labor and employee relations experience, as well as four years of generalized human resources experience. Jenny’s professional mission is to positively impact business through supporting and developing healthy employee relations and positive change management.

    Jenny’s desire to make the MBA program a transformational experience rather than a transactional one brought her to the Tom Case Leadership Fellowship Program. Since beginning the program, she has written a whitepaper outlining a blueprint that human resources professionals can use to project the impact of emerging technologies on their workforces and also developed a student employment model which transforms the undergraduate on-campus student employment experience into a high-impact practice. Over the course of the fellowship program, Jenny plans to focus on her own leadership growth.

    Outside of her education at the University of Alaska, Jenny is a certified mountain bike instructor and coaches both downhill mountain biking and cross country mountain biking.

  • Emily Raines

    Emily Raines

    Emily Raines has had the pleasure of calling Anchorage, Alaska her home for 22 years. Though she’s lived here nearly all of her life, she was born in Kentucky and spent her first two weeks there before her move to the 49th state.

    Raines graduated in 2016 from Service High School where she was actively involved in the Seminar school, track, and cross country running. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and in her senior year at the College of Business and Public Policy.

    When not at the library studying, you can find Raines out on the trails or in the gym lifting. She looks forward to graduating from UAA in May and also getting married in the same month. Raines plans to begin her journey into a career in marketing after that and hopes to enter into the advertising side of the industry. Her goal is to work for a firm where I can boost sales for new clients.

  • Veronica Smith

    Veronica Smith

    Veronica Smith is in her senior year at the College of Business and Public Policy pursuing a major in business management and minor in economics. She is a lifelong Alaskan who loves to take advantage of the midnight sun summers by hiking, fishing, and kayaking.

    Like many of her peers, Smith works while attending school. She worked for six years at McDonald’s and during five out of those six held a management position. Ultimately, Smith’s time at McDonald’s prepared her to pursue other career paths by giving her the chance to learn and apply different management styles while working with varying age groups. This past summer, she earned the opportunity to intern for Matson Navigation Company and was offered to stay on as their intern for the fall semester. Smith’s time at Matson piqued her interest in the logistics field which she is now exploring as a graduate studies option.

    When not at work, doing schoolwork, or spending her summers outside, she spends much of her time with her other passion: cooking. As Smith approaches graduation in the spring of 2020, she looks forward to exploring career opportunities in Alaska.

  • Valerie Westdahl

    Valerie Westdahl

    Valerie Westdahl is currently dually admitted at the University of Alaska Anchorage pursing both her Associate of Applied Science in Small Business Administration and Bachelor of Business Administration in Management, along with a minor in Psychology. She has lived in Alaska since 1993 and has worked in the transportation industry since 2000. Her career began when her family launched a local moving company in Anchorage, Alisons Relocations, Inc. Growing up in a military family provided Valerie with a unique insight into the complexity of relocating and that experience prepared her for a career in transportation where she aims to contribute compassion, dedication, and commitment. She is a member of Soroptimist International of Anchorage on Cook Inlet, 40 Below AMSAs Young Professionals Group, and YP-35 with International Association of Movers. Valerie is a Certified Moving Consultant and a Registered International Mover. She resides in Chugiak with her husband, three boys and Great Dane, Summit. Together, they enjoy the Alaskan outdoors through various activities such as camping, hiking, fishing, traveling, community volunteer work, and baseball.