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Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
12/11/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/11/2024 17:41
Around the District: Community Resiliency in Remote Alaska
As a community-engaged bank, the SF Fed seeks out real-time information on economic conditions by engaging with and learning from businesses, community organizations, and local leaders. These conversations are one of the many inputs into the decisions and policymaking at the Federal Reserve as we pursue our mission.
Here's a snapshot of a recent outreach visit to Alaska from Christina Prkic, Regional Executive of the SF Fed's Seattle branch.
The SF Fed's district engagement work gives us the opportunity to travel to some interesting places and connect with the public in meaningful ways.
The information that we gather really helps us understand how Americans are experiencing the real economy.
With this in mind, I'd like to invite you along to a recent trip to Alaska - where my colleague Adam Healy and I listened and learned about what's happening in their community.
We flew to a small village called Kwigillingok, it's 80 miles southwest of Bethel and lies on the coast near the mouth of the Kuskokwim River. If you've never been on a nine-seat Cessna, let me tell you, it was exciting and a bit nerve-wracking. Especially when we landed on a 1,700-foot gravel runway.
It was also eye-opening because it gave us a glimpse of how difficult transportation might be for things like groceries, mail, and other supplies.
Kwig, as it's referred to, is an example of the many similar villages across Alaska that are only accessible by small plane.
This remoteness presents obvious challenges to getting needed supplies and ensuring access to health care.
Before leaving Bethel, we toured the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta Regional Hospital with Lisa Wimmer. During our tour of the hospital, she gave us an informative briefing about workforce development and the current economics of healthcare delivery in remote native villages.
We wrapped up our Bethel visit meeting with leaders from the Association of Village Council Presidents and learned about their strategies to increase economic resiliency, foster more jobs and expand regional businesses across the YK Delta.
Back in Anchorage, we continued our native engagement to better understand the work of the 12 Alaska Native regional corporations and the challenges and opportunities they see for their shareholders and for the broader economy.
We also enjoy seeing first-hand the work that local organizations do to advance community resiliency. Our walking tour with Cook Inlet Housing Authority, or CIHA for short, was such a valuable way to see the types of housing being developed in and around Anchorage and to learn about the headwinds organizations like CIHA have to navigate when building affordable housing.
In Juneau, we concluded our Alaska trip by meeting with Huna Totem Corporation to get their perspective on how tourism is a pathway to sustainable economic growth. We even visited their new cruise facility that is expected to be open for the 2025 Alaska season.
With each visit, I am deeply impressed by the commitment of the state's business and community leaders to advance the economic vitality of their home.
Local knowledge like this is indispensable to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. it's why we are committed to being a community-engaged bank. By listening and learning from the communities we serve, we can better build a stronger economy for all Americans.