Johnson’s accomplishments, professional excellence, and deep commitment to community and education, and her rise from a former Chugach intern and to an emerging leader who has played a key role in increasing Chugach’s ability to deliver benefits and services to the Chugach people, make her well deserving of this recognition.
Johnson’s leadership journey has had two paths: one grounded in a solid and extensive academic foundation, and another that goes back nearly three decades and transitioned through her adolescence to her becoming an adult as, through those years, she helped to establish and manage Nuuciq Spirit Camp, the centerpiece of Chugach culture and the annual gathering place of learning for our shareholders and descendants.
Johnson graduated from University of Alaska Anchorage in 2016 with a Bachelor of Business Administration Management. She then went on to complete Alaska Pacific University’s Alaska Native Executive Leadership Program (ANELP), and in 2019, she graduated with a Master of Business Administration.
Today as President and Executive Director, she manages the $33 million plus CHF educational endowment and oversees an organization that has awarded nearly $11 million in scholarships to Chugach shareholders and lineal descendants. In total, this represents more than 4,300 individuals who have received education funding assistance to pursue their academic and vocational dreams. Johnson has further supported education and mentorship for our shareholders and descendants through the establishment of the Chugach Connections Forum and the Chugach Native Professionals group.
In addition to CHF’s regular operations and the annual educational assistance that Johnson manages, she still oversees all of the work that makes Nuuciq Spirit Camp happen every year, orchestrating the many arrangements that bring people together from throughout the Chugach region for two-weeks of Sugt’stun language and dance classes, subsistence education, arts and craft, and other cultural related activities. Her duties also include hosting Chugach’s annual Russian New Year celebration and an array of culture workshops that take place throughout the year, each serving to keep the Chugach culture alive and vibrant.
Beyond Chugach, Johnson sits on the board of directors for the Alaska Native Heritage Center and Co-Chairs the ANCSA Educational Consortium. Without question, she has risen through the ranks of Chugach to become a shining star of the Chugach region.
We are proud of all that Lauren has done to better herself and to better our community, and we would like to thank the Alaska Journal of Commerce for honoring Lauren Johnson with a 2023 Top 40 Under 40 Award.
Click here to see the full list of the 2023 Top 40 Under 40 Award recipients.