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"Kasaan" means "Beautiful Land" in the nearly extinct Tlingit language of Tlingit
and Haida indians of southeastern Alaska |
Steve Wade ’77 lives and works a long way from coastal Georgia. He moved to Alaska from New Hampshire this past February and freely admits, “Alaska really is a beautiful place to live and work.”
Employed by a Native Alaskan Tribal government called Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, Steve works as the Economic Development Specialist for the 26,000 member tribe. Most members are concentrated in southeast Alaska, in Anchorage, in Seattle, Washington, and in San Francisco, California.
According to Steve, “My work mostly involves assisting tribes and rural communities throughout Southeast Alaska. I travel quite a bit to what is called the ‘bush.’ A typical travel experience involves a full day of travel to make the 200-mile trip from Juneau – Alaska’s state capital – to a small rural community. I start with a jet flight that makes two stops, then take a ferry to the larger island, then take 2-mile walk to the other ferry, then take a 3-hour ferry ride, then take ‘cab’ ride for an hour on 30 miles of logging roads. The cab is usually a 4-wheel drive van with missing windows or parts.”
The southeast area of Alaska where Steve works is the largest temperate rainforest in the world and is mostly covered by the 17 million acre Tongass National Forest – the largest national forest in the United States.
 Steve received his undergraduate degree in Engineering and Management and a Masters in City Planning with concentrations in Economic Development, Land Development and Redevelopment, and Housing from Georgia Tech. He holds certification in Nonprofit Management from Duke University, and is active in the American Planning Association, the International Society of City and Regional Planners (The Hague, Netherlands), and the International Economic Development Council, where he serves on the Public Policy Advisory Committee. He has many years of private and public experience in Economic Development and Community Planning. Prior moving to Alaska, he worked as a consultant to FEMA and the Louisiana Recovery Authority helping communities recover from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. |
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“I consult with tribes and communities on economic and business development issues,” Steve says. “I also teach classes on strategic planning for communities and tribes. When back in the office in Juneau, I spend most of my time working on policy issues that deal with most everything that supports tribes and their communities with helping members achieve economic independence.”
“I also work with many federal, state, and local governments, as well as many nonprofits and trade groups to accomplish our goals of economic independence. Our tribal government is a sovereign national government, and we have a government to govern our relationship with the U.S. government, similar to another nation. There is only one reservation in Alaska, and it is in the southeast area where I work. The rest of the Alaska natives are covered by a settlement with the U.S. government from back in the 1970’s.”
Selected Outstanding Senior in his 1977 class, Steve credits his early development to his six years at SCPS and admits that even in Alaska, “I think about it often.”
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