The ACLU of Alaska and the ACLU of Alaska Foundation are non-partisan organizations dedicated to advancing the cause of civil liberties in Alaska. The former fulfills its mission through legislative advocacy, coalition building, and grassroots advocacy. The latter pursues the same mission through public education and legal action.

Adopted by the Board of Directors on November 20, 2000.

Officers and Directors:

SUSAN WINGROVE, Anchorage
PRESIDENT

RICH CURTNER, Chugiak
VICE PRESIDENT

LLOYD EGGAN, Anchorage
TREASURER

TONY STRONG, Juneau
SECRETARY

WILLIE ANDERSON, Juneau
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION OFFICER

KIRSTEN BEY, Nome
LISA FITZPATRICK, Anchorage
PAUL GRANT, Juneau
GENE GURGANUS, Anchorage
ANDREW HAAS, Homer
JOAN HAMILTON, Bethel
KATIE HURLEY, Wasilla
CONNIE OZER, Anchorage
GALEN PAINE, Sitka
JUNE PINNELL-STEPHENS, Fairbanks
RICHARD SEIFERT, Fairbanks

STUDENT ADVISORS:
RACHEL KAPLAN, Fairbanks
JESSICA WARNER, Anchorage

Staff:

Jeffrey Mittman is Executive Director for the ACLU of Alaska. Formerly the Deputy National Field Director of the ACLU, working out of the Washington Legislative Office, Jeffrey also served as the USA PATRIOT Act and Post-9/11 Campaign Coordinator for the Northern California Affiliate of the ACLU, and as a volunteer Board Member and Chapter Chair. In addition, he worked with the National Office and Affiliates on the debut season of the ACLU Freedom Files TV show. Jeffrey was in private law practice for several years, specializing in litigation, including criminal defense and representing plaintiffs in employment discrimination matters. He did advocacy organizing for Equality California, and has volunteered on electoral campaigns. Jeffrey is a former Airborne Ranger qualified Infantry First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He graduated Yale University, and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he was Symposium Editor for the Constitutional Law Quarterly.

Jason Brandeis is Staff Attorney for the ACLU of Alaska. Prior to moving to Alaska, Jason worked on environmental litigation matters for the Sierra Club Environmental Law Program and on insurance defense cases for Smith & Walsh, a San Francisco law firm. While in law school he interned for the Environmental Protection Agency and the U. S. Department of Justice. Most recently, Jason served as co-counsel in the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court case of Morse v. Frederick, which will shape the contours of student free speech rights in the coming years. He is a graduate of Ohio University and Vermont Law School, where he served as an editor of the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law.

Tiffany McClain is the LGBT Public Policy Coordinator for the ACLU of Alaska. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 2001 and earned an MA from the University of Michigan, where she studied the politics of race and gender in U.S. history. Originally from St. Louis, MO, she came to Alaska for a working vacation during the summer of 2007 and is looking forward to making Anchorage her home.

Jennifer Smerud is Development and Special Events Coordinator for the ACLU of Alaska. She spent five years with a rape crisis services organization, first as a direct services advocate and later as volunteer coordinator. Jennifer earned her undergraduate degree in 2001 from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, where she held several student leadership positions.

Theda Pittman who is ACLU of Alaska’s part-time bookkeeper is a 40-year resident of Alaska. She has lived in both Fairbanks and Anchorage and enjoyed the opportunity to travel in rural Alaska in the early 70’s when she worked in public broadcasting.  Her other jobs have included director of the Alaska Women’s Resource Center and the Alaska Public Offices Commission as well as staff trainer for the Governor’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity.

Tafilisaunoa Toleafoa is the Administrative Assistant for the ACLU of Alaska. Her previous jobs have included working at the Multicultural Center at the University of Alaska Anchorage as well as volunteering at Food Bank of Alaska. She came to Alaska in 2004 to continue her education and to reunite with her family. Tafi earned her undergraduate degree in 2007 from the University of Alaska Anchorage, where she majored in Liberal Studies with a minor in Political Science.

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