Steve Lindbeck has enjoyed a 45-year career in Alaska journalism, public affairs, and non-profit management. He served as CEO & General Manager for Alaska Public Media, Vice Chancellor for Advancement at the University of Alaska Anchorage, Associate Editor of the Anchorage Daily News, and Executive Director of the Alaska Humanities Forum, among other roles. In 2016, he spent an exciting year running for Congress. He has volunteered with many boards and committees, including Progress Alaska, the Rogers Park Community Council, the Anchorage Museum Association, the Alaska World Affairs Council, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and United Way. An Anchorage resident since 1968, he graduated from West Anchorage High School and Stanford University. In early 2018, he completed a Master of Science in Organization Development at Pepperdine University. He is married to Patty Ginsburg, a former journalist and consultant now retired. He and Patty were recipients of the 2015 Shining Lights Award for service to Alaska.

Dr. Brad Cruz, originally from California and Nevada, came to Alaska in 1992 after completing his Air Force service to join a Radiology group in Anchorage. He was accompanied by his California-born wife and two young daughters. Over the years, he has been active in competitive running, skiing, and biking. He has volunteered at various sports events in Anchorage, including the Run For Women, Lost Lake Race, and the Gold Nugget Triathlon. Brad worked as a Radiologist at Alaska Regional Hospital and Mat-Su Regional Hospital. He served a few terms as the Chairman of the Radiology/Pathology Department and on various committees, and for 11 years as an officer and board member of Anchorage Project Access. He retired from his radiology practice in 2017 to have more time to teach anatomy at the UAA campus of the WWAMI Medical School program and work with Skiku. This non-profit travels to rural Alaskan villages to teach cross-country skiing. Brad has also served on the Board of Skiku in various officer positions while continuing to coach in Gambell and Savoonga, where he began his coaching career in 2015.

Link to Team Breath America fundraising page - https://teambreatheamerica.funraise.org/fundraiser/steve-lindbeck

Slides - https://www.dropbox.com/s/yakubp1y2lm818p/RAAM2.pdf?dl=0

Note that slides 4, 12, 17, 20, and 21 are linked to short videos. You will need to "click" on the slides to download and start the videos.

Steve and Brad's presentation ended with a 20-minute training ride video. That video's sound was deleted from the audio podcast because it interfered with the presenter's audio. It was replaced with 2 seconds of static. However, you can get the video here - https://www.dropbox.com/s/74xe5g194u0s23h/RAAM%2020%20minute%20ride_4C260C4F-C106-4D61-A8D7-095C41CB280E.mp4?dl=0

Justin Ruffridgge was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 2022 to serve the Kenai/Soldotna area and was re-elected in November 2024. He expects to serve on the Health and Social Services Committee in the coming session. His parents, both educators, moved their family to Alaska in 1994, where they taught at a small Christian school. Justin graduated from high school in 2001 and Washington State University with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2008. He married his wife Jessie in 2004, and after graduation, they moved back to the Kenai Peninsula to help care for Jessies terminally ill mother. Justin began his pharmacy career at Soldotna Professional Pharmacy. In the years since, he and a business partner acquired the Soldotna Pharmacy, the Juneau Drug Company in downtown Juneau, and the Alpine Apothecary Pharmacy in Girdwood. Justin was briefly on the Soldotna Planning and Zoning Commission before serving on the Soldotna City Council. He has advocated for those struggling to find housing and worked diligently on COVID-19 prevention, mitigation, and treatment efforts during the pandemic. He enjoys coaching Little League.

Andrew Gray was elected to the Alaska State House of Representatives in 2022 to represent the UMED District in Anchorage and was re-elected in November 2024. He is expected to chair the House Judiciary Committee and the Joint Armed Services Committee and to serve as Vice Chair of the Health and Social Services Committee in the new Legislature. During his first term in the Legislature, he brought forward legislation related to housing and homelessness. He carried Senate Bill 119 in the House, which requires the Department of Corrections to provide valid photo ID to all incarcerated people upon their release; the bill passed both chambers unanimously. He also served as co-chair of the Freshmen Caucus with Rep. Justin Ruffridge of Soldotna. That Caucus is not currently active, but the relationships established there remain intact. Outside the Capitol he is a physician assistant at Alaska Urgent Care. He hosts a podcast: the East Anchorage Book Club, which features interviews with Alaskans of political interest. He and his husband Jay and their 11-year-old son Waylon have been members of AUUF since 2017.

Peg Tileston has been active in Alaska public policy and conservation issues since arriving in the state 51 years ago. She is on the board of Alaska Common Ground, a non-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to build coalitions and consensus on matters of importance to Alaskans. She is also on the board of Trustees for Alaska, a non-profit legal organization. Peg spent many years with the Alaska Center for the Environment, co-founded the Alaska Conservation Foundation, and served on the Chugach Electric Association board from 1983 to 1993 and several state and local advisory commissions. Since 1999, Peg has distributed What’s Up, a weekly newsletter listing natural resource and conservation information via email to over 2600 Alaskan addresses. Over the years, she mentored many young women leaders. Peg is married to Jules and has three children and two grandchildren.

Alaska Common Ground website - https://akcommonground.org/

Alaska Humanities Forum sponsored community conversations - https://www.akhf.org/programs/kindling-conversation

NYT "The Interview" - Robert Putnam Knows Why You’re Lonely - https://youtu.be/sqZ4Po4vMAQ?feature=shared

Bowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam - book website http://bowlingalone.com

One Small Step - StoryCorps - https://storycorps.org/discover/onesmallstep/one-small-step-connect/