Alaska State Commission for Human Rights to Hold Meeting in Anchorage on October 10; Sponsor 2nd Annual Alaska Civil Rights Conference on October 11-12 October 8, 2024 The Alaska State Commission for Human Rights (ASCHR) will hold its next meeting in Anchorage at its offices located at 1901 Bragaw St., Suite 300, on October 10 starting at 2:00 pm. The Commission is excited to welcome and introduce Commissioner Dorene Lorenz of Juneau, whom Governor Dunleavy appointed on September 24, 2024. Commissioner Lorenz previously worked as a journalist and brings a long history of public service including her prior election to the Seward City Council and time spent on numerous historical and artistic entities. The Commission will also be discussing a resolution tabled from its last meeting in June encouraging security guards in healthcare settings to wear body cameras, and a resolution requesting the State Emergency Operations Center to adopt an Access and Functional Needs Coordinator. The public is invited to attend the meeting, with public comment scheduled for 2:30. The following day, ASCHR will be involved as a sponsor with the Alaska Native Brotherhood/Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp 87 Second Annual Alaska Civil Rights conference taking place at the Sheraton Hotel starting at 8:00 am on Friday, October 11, culminating with a banquet on Saturday, October 12. While the Commission previously co-hosted the conference, this year the decision was made to step back to facilitate ANB/ANS Camp 87 fully setting the agenda. “As a governmental agency, ASCHR has limitations that the ANB and ANS do not share, so it made sense to limit our participation to a sponsorship rather than as a co-host,” said Rob Corbisier, the Commission’s Executive Director. “ASCHR is still excited to facilitate several panels, which will include releasing preliminary data from a statewide discrimination survey conducted in conjunction with the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission. We also have several projects to announce, such as an absolutely stunning graphic novel telling some of Alaska’s own civil rights stories, a set of trading cards featuring local civil rights heroes, and the creation of an ASCHR legal history and practitioner’s guide. ASCHR Commissioners Zack Gottshall and Mae Marsh will also be on a panel Friday morning discussing civil rights in the U.S. military, and Commissioner William Craig will be on a panel talking about voting access issues on Saturday afternoon,” added Corbisier. In addition to ASCHR’s participation, Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance and the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies (IAOHRA) President Dr. Alisa Warren will provide introductory remarks on Friday morning, and Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor will be on the lunchtime plenary panel discussing Alaska Native land into trust, moderated by Emil Notti. Following the two-day conference, Dr. Alisa Warren will be the keynote speaker at the ANB/ANS Camp 87 Banquet, where Camp 87 will present the William Paul award to Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson, President of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska; a Merit and Service Award to Uluao ‘Junior’ Aumavae; and a Merit and Service Award to Gloria O’Neill. This will conclude with a comedy act by J.R. Redwater. The conference itself is free and open to the public. For tickets to the award banquet and further information about the conference, contact ANB Camp 87 President Marvin Adams via email to madams@nationalcapital.com. The Commission is an independent quasi-judicial state agency that aims to eliminate discrimination and support Alaskans when they face discrimination in the workplace, places of public accommodation, housing, credit and financing, and government practices. The Commission consists of seven volunteers who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature for rotating five-year terms. The Commission consists of Chairperson Zackary Gottshall (Anchorage), Vice Chairperson Mae Marsh (Fairbanks), William Craig (Sitka), Rebecca Carrillo (Juneau), Jessie Ruffridge (Soldotna), Shiela Cernich (Anchorage), and Dorene Lorenz(Juneau). Commission staff is available for assistance directly to the business community, either through speaking engagements to organizations, reviewing non-discrimination policies and procedures, and providing copies of its guidance documents, which are also available here: Alaska Human Rights Guidance Documents. For more information about the agency, please visit the Alaska Human Rights website. To talk about discrimination experiences directly to an investigator, call (800)-478-4692 or (907)-274-4692.