Gov. Dunleavy names new director for Alaska’s D.C. office

WASHINGTON — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy named Jerry Moses to direct the state’s Washington, D.C. office, which has been vacant for months.

Alaska’s office in Washington advocates for state priorities and acts as a liaison with federal agencies and Congress. Past directors have lobbied on issues like energy and public lands, though the office has not had anyone performing director duties since March.

Moses, who was raised in Fairbanks, has 15 years of experience working in Washington, according to Dunleavy’s office. That includes a stint as the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs senior counsel, a role in which he worked with Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski. He has also served as vice president of intergovernmental affairs for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.

Moses is a member of the Native Village of Stevens, according to Native corporation Doyon Ltd., which recognized Moses in April with a community service award. The corporation credited Moses with helping to secure more than $2 billion for sanitation infrastructure needs for rural Alaska through the 2021 bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Moses started this week. He will be based in the State of Alaska office in the Hall of States by Capitol Hill. No one else has been hired to work in the D.C. office, according to Dunleavy spokesperson Grant Robinson.

Before Moses, the Dunleavy administration cycled through two other directors. Dunleavy first named Kip Knudson — who had once worked in the same role for former Gov. Sean Parnell — in 2019. After Knudson’s retirement in 2022, the state contracted director responsibilities to Gregg Renkes. He left on March 1 and now works for Chenega Corp. as senior vice president of government relations.

Dunleavy in a prepared statement said Moses’ “knowledge and experience will prove to be an invaluable asset for Alaska in our nation’s capital.”