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Gayle Schuh has lived in Alaska since 2003, after retiring from education in Illinois, where she taught middle school physical education and later served as an assistant principal. A desire to connect with the LGBTQ+ community drew Gayle and her wife, Julie Schmidt, to volunteer with Identity, eventually serving on the board from 2006 until the early 2020s. Gayle worked on the speakers bureau, staffed vendor tables, planned with the PrideFest and Pride Conference committees, and was part of the Alaska Rainbow Elders from their inception. As visible members of the LGBTQ+ community, Julie and Gayle were approached by the ACLU of Alaska to join a lawsuit against the state, Schmidt v Alaska. In April 2014, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled in their favor and ordered the state to begin providing the property tax exemption to all loving, committed couples. This year, Gayle and Julie (who are celebrating 49 years of marriage) have been asked to raise the Pride flag behind City Hall to kick off Pride Week, and the Alaska Rainbow Elders have been designated as the Grand Marshals of the Pride Parade on June 27.

Phyllis Rhodes left Texas and arrived in Anchorage in 1967. Her first job here was with the Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, assisting in the Committee's landmark 1968 study, Alaska Natives and the Land, which became a pivotal resource document for the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act passed in 1971. After working as secretary to the U.S. Attorney for Alaska, Phyllis moved to the federal court and served as Clerk of the U.S. District Court for Alaska from 1989-1996, during a period when the court was knee-deep in lawsuits following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. As that litigation wound down, she tried retiring for the first of three times. She became a mediator, and upon retiring from that career, she found a volunteer opportunity to work with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community through Identity in 2002. When the Identity Executive Director position opened in 2005, she served in that capacity by her choice, without pay, for the next decade, before retiring to spend more time with her wife, Pam Richter, and her two daughters.

Doug Frank arrived in Anchorage in 1974 with the Air Force. After discharge, he worked for Alaska Village Electric Co-op, visiting many Native villages. Later, he worked for ARCO at Prudhoe Bay as a Supervisor and Planner and used his time off to support and strengthen the LGBTQ+ Community. In 1988, he helped coordinate the first World AIDS Day candlelight vigil on the Park Strip. In 1989, as co-chair, he helped with hundreds of volunteers to bring to Anchorage the AIDS Memorial Quilt, made by family and friends representing people who had died of AIDS. Through the AIDS Foundation, he helped with quilt displays in communities from Fairbanks and Juneau to Paris, France. When the entire quilt was displayed in Washington, D.C., in 1996, stretching from the Capitol to the Washington Monument, Doug coordinated the opening and closing ceremonies. He also helped found a powerful LGBTQ conference that lasted for about 20 years.

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Lesil McGuire is a policy strategist and business development executive. She served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006, and then in the Alaska Senate from 2007 through 2016. In the Legislature, she led bipartisan efforts to modernize energy, infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks and chaired multiple influential committees, including the Judiciary and Arctic Policy. In the private sector, Lesil has served as a consultant to global satellite ventures, expanding U.S. and Canadian markets for low Earth orbit (LEO) communications. A German Marshall Fellow and former Chair of the Council of State Governments West, she is an advisor on transatlantic policy, technology, and northern development. She is also the founder of the Alaska Women's Summit and the first woman to serve as President of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER), where she led cross-border initiatives to strengthen economic resilience across the U.S. and Canada. Lesil was born in Portland, Oregon, and has lived in Anchorage since 1973. She earned both her bachelor’s degree and law degree from Willamette University.

Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, aka JKT, was born and raised in Sitka. He served five terms in the Alaska House of Representatives, from 2013 to 2023, representing the state's 35th district, which encompasses many Southeast island communities including Hoonah, Sitka, Kake, Klawock, Craig, Angoon, and Petersburg. He is an Eagle Scout and, at age 14, served as the statewide chair of the Howard Dean presidential campaign. JKT, a Democrat, first won his House seat after leaving Yale University before his senior year to campaign against the incumbent chair of the House Finance Committee, whom he defeated by almost three dozen votes. He was part of Alaska’s bipartisan House Majority and one of its most senior members when he retired. In addition to his legislative service, Kreiss-Tomkins co-founded Outer Coast, a post-secondary program on the campus of the former Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka; helped develop a website to track Covid pandemic data in real time, and created the Alaska Fellows, a local service program in Sitka, Juneau, and Anchorage for recent college graduates.

In this election year, the Forum is providing an opportunity for numerous candidates for various statewide offices and advocates for ballot propositions to speak with us. This is a continuation of our year-round mission to help attendees become better informed about the people and issues that will affect the future of our community and our state. AUUF does not support or oppose any candidates for public office or ballot measures.

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Felix Rivera recently left the Anchorage Assembly after serving three consecutive three-year terms, the maximum allowed by the City Charter. During his time on the Assembly, Felix chaired the Assembly and several of its committees, and was one of the sponsors of the effort to create an Anchorage Public Safety Commission. He came to Alaska for college and never left. He earned his BA in Liberal Studies at Alaska Pacific University. While studying journalism there, he covered local events and also wrote for an international wire service. In addition to his community service as a member of the Assembly, Felix has served on the board of directors for nonprofits such as Alaska Institute for Justice, the Public Transit Advisory Board, and Alaska Youth Court. He is particularly proud of having helped fight for and eventually obtain protections for LGBTQ Anchorage residents in employment, housing, and public accommodations.

Anna Brawley was first elected to the Anchorage Assembly in 2023, and currently serves as the Assembly's Chair. She is a planner and project manager, and she owns a small consulting firm in Anchorage. Anna earned her bachelor's degree in history from Denison University, a master's degree in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago, and her Master of Regional Planning Degree from Cornell University. She likes learning how complex systems work, such as cities, and how to improve them. Before serving on the Assembly, Anna has served as chair of the Anchorage Budget Advisory Commission, an officer for Spenard and Turnagain Community Councils, on the board of NeighborWorks Alaska, and as a community advocate. She lives in Turnagain with her family and two highly opinionated cats. When not working, she enjoys gardening, creative projects, biking, walking, and Nordic skiing.

Erin Jackson-Hill is Executive Director of Stand Up Alaska, one of the state's only BIPOC women-led social justice organizations. Her advocacy is particularly focused on issues that disproportionately affect minority communities. She's a proud alumna of Wonder Park Elementary, Wendler Jr. High School, and Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School. Erin's foray into organizing was serving as the statewide coordinator for the Recall Dunleavy campaign. She was instrumental in founding the Alaska Civics Academy, a program dedicated to promoting civic participation and understanding. She is an active contributor to the Alaska Coalition for Justice, with a specific focus on police reforms and the school-to-prison pipeline. Erin is also a board member of Alaskans for Fair Courts and serves on the steering committee of Alaska Women's Ascend and the planning committee of Juneteenth Anchorage.

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/yehzcyayeyo9wv5xx6lda/2026-0607PublicSafetyCommission_AO2026-62_ABB.pdf?rlkey=7uxhw2gv4uu9ze5k7qjbqzbka&dl=0