 April 17, 2003
The Marine Transportation Advisory Board was established as a temporary interim board by Administrative Orders 204 and 206. The Board's job is to provide input on marine transportation issues to the Commissioner of Transportation Mike Barton. "As a current and former resident of Southeast Alaska, I am reminded of the importance of marine transportation to the many cities here," said Murkowski. "I look forward to the input and contribution from the many qualified members of the Marine Transportation Advisory Board." Philip Taylor of Ketchikan will represent the employees' unions on the Alaska Marine Highway System. Taylor currently is the captain of the M/V Columbia, which serves part of the Alaska Marine Highway. He has worked for the Alaska Marine Highway System from twenty-nine years. Taylor was born in Ketchikan and is a member of the Master, Mates and Pilots Union. Robert Venables of Haines will represent the northern part of Southeast Alaska and is currently the Economic Development Director for the Haines Borough. He has served the last seven years on the Board of Directors for the Haines Chamber of Commerce, with two of those years as president. John "J.C." Conley of Ketchikan will represent the southern part of Southeast Alaska and has served recently as president of the Southeast Conference and Vice-Mayor of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough. Dennis Gray of Hoonah will represent the cities of Angoon, Hoonah, Kake, Pelican and Tanakee on the Marine Transportation Advisory Board. Gray received a degree in rural development from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He currently works for Sealaska Timber Corporation. He has also worked for the Hoonah Indian Association as the Natural Resources director. Kenneth Gates of Cordova will represent Prince William Sound and the Kenai Peninsula on the Board. Gates currently is the CEO and General Manager for the Cordova Electric Cooperative and has attended UCLA's Institute for Organizational Management. Dick Jacobsen of Sand Point will represent the southwestern part of Alaska including the Aleutian Chain and the Alaska Peninsula. Jacobsen was most recently the Mayor of Aleutians East Borough and has worked for the Aleut Corporation Fisheries Board. David Kensinger of Petersburg will chair the Board in addition to representing the commercial users of the Alaska Marine Highway System. Kensinger has attended the University of Texas Austin, and is the owner and operator of Chelan Produce which provides service to Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka and Kake. He is also part of the Petersburg Economic Development Committee. Len Laurence of Ketchikan will represent the Alaska Travel Industry Association. He has been an independent tourism consultant serving as the marketing manager for the Inter-Island Ferry Authority since 1991 and has been involved with marine transportation issues in Southeast Alaska since 1965. Meilani Schijvens of Juneau will represent the Southeast Conference. She is currently the Administrative Director of the Southeast Conference. She received a history degree from Colby College and a Master's Degree in Environmental Policy from the University of Oregon. Bob Prunella of Wrangell will serve as one of the two public members on the Board. Prunella received a Master's Degree in Educational Administration from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a retired member of the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department, a past member of the Wrangell School Board and a past president of the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce. Susan Bell of Juneau will also serve as one of the two public members of the Board. Currently she is a partner in the McDowell Group and had previously been the Vice President of Tourism for Goldbelt Incorporated. Bell has over twenty years of experience in the Alaska visitor industry.
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