Yukon policy coordinator from Nenana named to the Board
Yesterday Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy announced that Olivia Henaayee Irwin of Nenana will replace Stan Zuray on the Board of Fisheries, effective July 1, 2025. Irwin is Iñupiaq/Koyukon Athabascan: her name in Inupiaq means “the story teller.”
Irwin is the Policy Coordinator for the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association and has served as co-chair of the Minto/Nenana Fish and Game Advisory Committee, Dunleavy said in his press release.
The Board of Fisheries is the state’s regulatory authority that passes allocative and regulatory decisions for commercial, sport, and subsistence users. The board has seven members, each appointed by the governor for a three-year term. Each member must be confirmed by a joint session of the state legislature.
Below is Olivia Irwin’s write up on the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association website
Olivia Henaayee Irwin (Iñupiaq/Koyukon Athabascan) is the daughter of the late James Timony Irwin of Nenana, Alaska and the late Gretchen Sumpter Irwin. Her grandparents are the late Jack Irwin and late Jennie Suckik of Allakaket and Nenana, Alaska and the late Daniel Sumpter and Rebecca Hoover. Olivia goes by her English name as well as her Denaakk’e name, Henaayee (pronounced hen-aa-he) which means “the story teller”.
Olivia spent her early childhood in her home village of Nenana, Alaska before moving to her mother’s home state of Missouri to complete grade school. After high school Olivia attended Pomona College in Claremont, California where she received her bachelors of art degree in Indigenous Studies in 2020. Following college Olivia moved home to Nenana, Alaska, resumed practicing our ways of life, and began her activism career.
In 2020 she began working for Alaska Native non-profits supporting the advancement of traditional ways of knowing and providing regulatory and policy analysis. In 2024 Olivia founded H.I. Impact, LLC through which she consults Native non-profits on topics relating to natural resource policy and hunting & fishing regulations. Olivia serves as the Co-Chair of the Minto-Nenana Fish & Game Advisory Committee advancing local and statewide issues through the creation of regulations and by testifying at the Board of Game, Board of Fish, North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, Federal Subsistence Board, and legislative hearings that relate to hunting and fishing. Outside of advocating, Olivia enjoys practicing our ways of life through processing fish, moose hunting, learning to tan moose hides, working at summer culture camps, beading, berry picking, and creating digital art.//
Other Board of Fisheries members include Gerad Godfrey of Eagle River; Greg Svendsen of Anchorage; Mike Wood of Willow; Curtis Chamberlain of Wasilla; Tom Carpenter of Cordova; Stan Zuray of Tanana; and Märit Carlson-Van Dort of Chignik Bay.
