BSNC Names Second LEAD Cohort in Shareholder Leadership Push

Bering Straits Native Corporation is institutionalizing succession for shareholder employees and descendants, naming three people to the second cohort of its Shareholder Leadership Exploration and Development program. The selection signals the initiative has moved from a one-time pilot into a sustained pipeline for shareholder leadership.

Annabelle Ryan, Alexis Walkins, and Mike Ross will spend two years in a curriculum that covers communications, team dynamics, project management, strategic leadership, change management, ANCSA and BSNC history, and cross-cultural awareness. The program runs three-day sessions three times per year and pairs formal instruction with mentorship and hands-on projects. BSNC describes it as designed to "cultivate the leadership qualities of high-potential shareholder and descendant employees" through instruction led by both internal and external experts.

The LEAD program fits within a broader succession strategy BSNC has built over several years. The corporation's Summer Internship Program, which has run annual cohorts since at least 2022, provides paid full-time positions to shareholder and descendant students and includes mandatory workshops on leadership, communication, workplace preparedness, and BSNC's corporate structure and history. For the 2026 cycle, the program runs full-time at 40 hours per week from May 18 to August 7, and BSNC is hosting 16 interns. Together, the internship pipeline and the LEAD program reflect an approach that connects shareholders and descendants to professional roles and prepares them for regional leadership over time. Critics of similar programs at Alaska Native corporations have noted that corporate-track development can come at the expense of emphasis on subsistence and community-based roles, a tension BSNC's materials do not directly address.

The first LEAD cohort, launched in August 2024, included shareholders Roy Craft, Ana Grayson, and Sara Leckband.

The New Cohort

All three new participants carry Unalakleet family roots. Ryan, who has served as Benefits Manager since moving to Human Resources in 2013, joined BSNC in 2009. She will begin a Business Administration program at the University of Alaska Anchorage this fall, running that degree alongside the LEAD curriculum. Walkins, recently promoted to Assistant Payroll Manager, holds a Fundamental Payroll Certification and is pursuing a Certified Payroll Professional credential concurrently. Ross was promoted to Cost Estimator for the Alaska Construction Group in April 2026 and now leads estimating across several BSNC subsidiaries, including Eagle Eye, Bering Straits Development Co., Stampede Ventures, Bering Straits Global Innovation, and Paragon Professional Services, focusing on federal construction projects. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Construction Engineering Management from Oregon State University in 1993.