Alaska Commissioner of Health and Social Services Valerie Davidson will deliver the keynote address at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage on Oct. 18.
Davidson, a Yup’ik born in Bethel, holds a law degree with a certificate in Indian law, from the University of New Mexico School of Law, and a bachelor’s degree in education with a minor in bilingual education from the University of Alaska Southeast.
She was appointed as commissioner by Gov. Bill Walker in December 2014.
Davidson’s work and contributions are themselves great examples of the innovative thinking that inspired this year’s convention theme – innovation in the past, present and future – and we all look forward to her insights,” said Julia Kitka, AFN president, who made the announcement on Sept. 20.
A tribal member of the Orutsaramiut Native Council, Davidson has worked for over 15 years as a national policy maker on matters affecting Indian health.
She served as the senior director of legal and intergovernmental affairs for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, representing Alaska Native health needs on federal and state levels. She also served as chair of the tribal technical advisory group to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from its inception in 2004 until August 2014, and as spokesperson, chief political and legal strategist for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium’s dental health aide therapy program, the nation’s first mid-level dental program.
She is currently a trustee of the First Alaskans Institute.
