Congratulations to Ashleigh Mora who has been selected for the Native American Political Leadership Program (NAPLP) providing her the opportunity to participate in the Semester in Washington Politics Program (SIWP) at George Washington University. She is one of eight recipients, selected from 85 applicants.
Ashleigh is a shareholder working in the internship program at Chugach Government Solutions. She supports the HR department while attending school fulltime to earn a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Alaska Anchorage, College of Health.
Now, Ashleigh will spend this summer in Washington DC taking two classes including Electoral and Legislative Processes, Practicum in Political Management. Additionally, she has the opportunity to take part in a summer internship while she’s in Washington DC. Still in the early stages of finalizing her plans, she’s considering looking at internships with Senator Dan Sullivan’s office, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or within the legislature.
While she’s always known she has a passion for helping people, it has been working at Chugach Government Solutions and recently participating in events such as the Chugach Regional Shareholder Summit, and Alaska Federation of Natives Convention (AFN) that has really sparked an interest in Ashleigh to channel that passion learning to be an advocate for shareholders. She sees a lot of problems that require real solutions and people that can be a bridge between the rural communities and Washington DC.
She’s particularly interested in the issues of revitalizing culture and of climate change & environmental policy. She explained, “There’s a natural connection between environmental friendliness and our culture. Being kinder to the earth is a very Native way. To respect where you’re coming from and to respect the things that you take.”
When asked about her career goals, Ashleigh said, “I want to be in Shareholder Development…I love what they do, and they’ve helped me personally so much. I never would have thought that I would be going to DC for two months this summer. I feel like they’ve pushed me in all the right ways and I just want to be that for the younger generation.”
While Ashleigh is in Washington DC, she’ll also be taking advantage of the opportunity to do some sight-seeing. She’s especially excited for the Air and Space Museum and history museums.
We wish Ashleigh the best of luck in this incredible opportunity. We look forward to her return and using this experience to further develop her voice in the service of shareholders.