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Business Voices is the Juneau Chamber of Commerce podcast focused on the people, ideas, and decisions shaping Juneau’s economy.
Each episode features thoughtful conversations with local business owners, civic leaders, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers who are working to build a stronger, more diverse, and more resilient business community.
This show reflects the Chamber’s larger mission: to support entrepreneurship, encourage responsible and sustainable development, improve the business climate, and help make Juneau a better place to work, live, shop, and invest.
Business Voices is a forum for insight, leadership, and shared perspective, connecting the people who care about Juneau’s economic future and the quality of life that makes this community worth building.
Welcome to Business Voices Juno, the podcast of the Juno Chamber of Commerce hosted by executive director Becca Parks. From entrepreneurship and leadership to growth, resilience, and innovation, this podcast shines a light on the businesses and voices helping define Juno's economic future.
Speaker 2:All right. And we're back again for another episode of the Business Voices podcast. And I'm very excited to welcome Susan Bell for this week's episode. Thanks for coming.
Speaker 3:Well, absolutely. And I have
Speaker 2:to say of the guests that we've had so far, you've had the most exciting range of experiences in Well, your in part, that's one of
Speaker 3:the things I think we'll explore today a little bit. Also a reflection that I think of my age and the time I've been in this region and the state. I feel like that range of opportunity has just been central. I've always felt that there's opportunity in our state, and I hope that I'm doing things that perpetuate that for the people coming behind me.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I mean, I felt the same journey being here that there are just opportunities that wouldn't come up if I had stayed down south. Right now you're at Huna Totem, but can you share a little bit of your journey? Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 3:The CliffNotes version is like a lot of people. I started working in the visitor industry just out of high school. It was a college job. It was seasonal. And back to this theme of opportunity, I found that if I was willing to put myself out there, there were ways that I could grow and move around the state.
Speaker 3:I'm originally from Nome, but our family moved to Fairbanks since I was going to school there. And when I started working seasonally in the visitor industry, I found myself down in Juneau in 1987. I was helping manage tourism operations here, and I quickly made it my home after that. But I've had the opportunity to live and work around the state through McDowell Group. I was one of the owners and project managers there and was really able to build on the things I learned in operations and marketing and kind of community engagement.
Speaker 3:And then with McDowell Group, now McKinley Research, I stepped out of that role, sold my shares, and served as commissioner of the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. So again, in hindsight, things look logical and sequential, but it doesn't really work that way. It was just that I enjoy being part of growth and creating things and moving things forward. As opportunities knocked, I didn't always take them, but I said yes to a lot of things that led me to just kind of meet new people, learn, and you take all those things with you. So Huna Totem had been a client, built personal relationships with Huna Totem leadership as we did with other clients.
Speaker 3:And about a year and a half ago, as I finished up a project So this is definitely the cliff notes version. As I finished up something I was doing with the university and throwing the reins at the people that were just really going to implement a new program, It was timely to step in and help advance Auk Landing and some other initiatives. And I've been I've been in this role since September 2024, and it's, in some ways, flown by really quickly. In other ways, it's been things that I thought would be done a year ago are just getting done now. So yeah, moves really quickly.
Speaker 2:Not always quickly enough, I'm sure. But it's interesting you've moved through private and public sector.
Speaker 3:I think that's been it's been really valuable just to have that that lens to serve at a community and state level and also to be able to serve, you know, when I was at McDowell Group or at Commerce to be able to serve people in the public and private sector and just build on that. It's it I think it's it's invaluable.
Speaker 2:What are those skills that you think you picked up doing research, being involved in data analysis that have translated so well into the work that you're doing now?
Speaker 3:Well, I think it's really good to have good information, know the gaps are, know the limitations of things, and then think how to use that. Mean, Juno in particular, when I look at some kind of What's the word? In a relay race, there's that little The baton that The we're baton has been passed to different people. But when I think about the city, Juno Chamber, the convention and visitor bureau, now Travel Juno, others have you know, there has been a lot of information about different industries, about public sentiment, about economic impact, about opportunity. We've been really lucky as residents and businesses here and also McDowell McDowell Group and now McKinley Research have a hand in perpetuating that.
Speaker 3:But, you know, as I've worked with people around around the state, you know, sometimes they need to do a lot more interpretation of information because they don't or extrapolation because they don't have that rich body of of data. But, again, just, you know, navigating just having having a good sound base of information and figuring out what the gaps are and then thinking how you act on it is, you know, one of the commonalities that I've seen.
Speaker 2:Is there a time you can think of in your career, whether it's with Huna Totem or earlier, where there's been a data point where it got missed? Like, it sort of changed things as
Speaker 3:you went? Well, one of the things that I think about is in in the '9 in the mid nineties, there was more information that was gathered. And I'm not saying this has to be done all the time, but there was not only the economic impact information is, I think, specifically about the visitor industry and the rapid growth at the time, but there was economic information. There was public opinion surveys about where people's pain points are. There was also information that really looked department to apart department by department at the city to understand where there were incremental costs and where there were incremental revenues.
Speaker 3:And that piece of information hasn't been kept up as consistently, and I think at times it could be valuable. So, you know, I don't know if it's missed, but I just think about, you know, again, the the value of that information for the city to make decisions. That was also a time before we had the state and local, you know, the commercial passenger vessel excise tax and our local fees, and I think it helped inform that as well. But it's a it's a bit of information that that I I think at some point should be refreshed.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It's good to hear. I think we're also there's such a barrage of information that we can access now that it's sometimes hard, I think, for my generation and younger to be able to go back and pick out what's most important. As the tools that you've been using have changed over the years, how have you adapted to that over the course of your career?
Speaker 3:Well, I think about my colleagues at McKinley Research, some of whom I had a chance to work with. And of course, you know, I left that organization three years ago. Technology has certainly changed in terms of just think of something really simplistic. Cell phones. One of the things that the team had to navigate was how to be sure that cell phones were adequately, you know, appropriately represented in the sample if there was a telephone survey.
Speaker 3:Also, you know, public the public response to being, you know, surveyed regularly. You have to be more creative. That's one thing. The other is just that in my lifetime, looking at the Internet and again, the plethora of information, it's just that can be overwhelming and even paralyzing. And so understanding what are the strengths and weaknesses of different data sets?
Speaker 3:How do you put them together? Can you add x and y? So again, it some skill and familiarity, And I just really respect the people that can do that really well. Yeah, me too.
Speaker 2:Going back to that constant barrage and the tools we're using and the constant adaptation and also being in the special place that is Alaska. Just personally, how do you how have you balanced those things in your life? Well, I think part
Speaker 3:of what I also recognize, you know, I've lived I moved to Juneau in 1987 and I moved down from the North. I'd been you know, as I mentioned, Nome, Fairbanks, and I actually had come immediately from Denali. I was one of the one of the managers there. So part of what I've also recognized is that both you know, as we live in these, you know, live in these small communities, many places that I've lived have been much smaller, like Haines and Skagway, is that you need to find a way to navigate that you're, you know, you may be having a disagreement or you may be collecting feedback that where people are unhappy, but you still live in a community where you're gonna see them at the ballpark, in the grocery store, and just finding ways ways to have a healthy regard for dissenting opinions and being able to move through that. That's a skill that I think is we're always working on it, maybe like golf or skiing.
Speaker 3:It's just something to keep working at and remembering and re centering around. And I think it's really important that we make sure that our younger coworkers, I don't have children, but children employ that we foster that. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Who are those people for you that kind of taught you some of those tricks of the trade and mentors along the way?
Speaker 3:Well, I've been really fortunate also on the people that have been leaders in my life, but I do think of one. I was in Princess Tour's operations for many years, almost a decade, but starting in Fairbanks, Denali, coming down to Juneau, I was in Skagway. And a real diplomat and a real leader that I had was Tim MacDonald. Some of our listeners would have worked with him as an employee of his or as a vendor. And one of the things that he just he said it often and he had some phrases that come to mind, but it was just so important of nurturing those relationships with with multiple, you know, multiple vendors, multiple partners, just making sure that you have allies and you're supporting each other.
Speaker 3:Also, part of the visitor industry is that, you know, there are times in my career where we had, you know, a ship accident or a plane accident or a bus accident. And the first people that are gonna come to your support when you need them are going to be those people who are your colleagues, your competitors, and everybody works together. So just that what he modeled and what he taught us as young people in our profession has been something that I internalize and hope I've done the same for others that I've worked with. But it was just a clear part of how he guided the company and taught all of us that he was around.
Speaker 2:You've certainly had challenges, and I think had to rely on some of those relationships and the work that Huna Totem is doing with Auk Landing and I'm sure other projects around the region too. Can you share any stories from those?
Speaker 3:Well, my relationship with Huna Totem began through McDowell Group. And even before Icy Straight, which was originally Point Sophia, we had done shareholder opinion surveys and some planning work other things for them. So again, I just think back to I work with Russell Dick, our president and CEO, with his father when he was on the board. And so again, one of the things that, you know, as we were doing some of the initial feasibility work and some of the planning with with Huna Totem about what is now Icy Strait Point, you know, an award winning destination and a growing destination, there was some of those community conversations about just local control and where the dock was going to be sited and what did this mean for the community. And now to think that as we enter our twenty second season over at Icy Straight, to see where things came from and where there was community frustration or community hope and ideas.
Speaker 3:Like how that wove together to what we have now is pretty amazing. The other thing that I mentioned, some of that early work that I did with the organization was through McDowell Group. I also served as commerce commissioner and a really key time was when, there was funding for the initial cruise dock in the budget. And until, you know, until certain things happened, the funding couldn't be released. And so again, this you know, these community conversations, have to you have to respect that, work through it, navigate it in order to get where, you know, where the community and the and the destination is now.
Speaker 3:So, again, that you know, we just think back to the skills about you are still community, you are still serving your shareholders, you're still family. So you have to think of how you're going to get through this in a way that's respectful but still moving projects forward. It's, something like, you know, like, it's you constantly work at it. I just love thinking about it as family.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And I I am excited about the Auk Landing and the developments downtown. Is there a piece of that that you're the most excited about or a point of pride in the work that's happening right now? Well, one of
Speaker 3:the things there there are several things that about Auk Landing, you know, I think is probably probably understood by our listeners, but it is the fifth and the fifth dock in the downtown area. It's next adjacent to the cruise ship. I mean, the the cruise ship dock is adjacent to the Coast Guard facility, and we're very excited about some key milestones that just happened in signing the Tideland lease and, going back to our key construction partners and having them update construction costs. There's a couple of things that first of all, the destination itself is much bigger than a cruise ship dock and then an area for, you know, for tour vehicles to have efficient and safe, use. And that's really important.
Speaker 3:I mean, you look at this the city owned docks, the two privately owned docks as you move around the corner. There will be so much more there that helps make that attractive to residents and visitors on a year round basis. To reducing congestion, vehicular congestion is such a pain point repeatedly. Juneau residents, you know, when they're surveyed about their, you know, where they're frustrated, you know, downtown vehicular and pedestrian congestion are at the you know, always in the top one, two, three. Yeah.
Speaker 3:And just the location of this, you know, of this development right there at the corner of Whittier And 10th I mean, Whittier and Eagan makes it so that tour vehicles will be able to access the site and leave at that intersection and not have to loop through town. Also, we have in this, as we head into 2026, we have 95 ships at anchor this year. So we desperately need this dock because it isn't just that ships are at anchor. It's that as those lightering vessels, as they add congestion in the harbor, they're bringing people into the heart, you know, in the heart of our downtown. And so those you know, the people in the vehicle.
Speaker 3:So just completion of this will allow passengers, I think, to have, you know, very easy pedestrian access into the downtown attractions and shops, reduce vehicular congestion, make the harbor safer. And we also have environmental benefits. You take know, again, this isn't just the ships at anchor, but as the ships are shuffled, you know, and scheduled according to birthing rights and, you know, all the complexity that goes to that. As we take a ship that is at anchor and bring it to a dock, there can be a significant Just even before we get into the topic of shore power, which I will briefly mention, But even that significantly reduces the work that,
Speaker 2:you
Speaker 3:know, that the vessel has to do and and has you know, it can have a up to 40% depending on the brand, the size of the vessel, the the weather conditions, reduction in emissions. So that's soup you know, that's a super impact right there Yeah. That is, you know, a positive benefit. And then also, as it's clearly stated in the lease and has been part of the planning commission conditions, the dock will be constructed with shore power capability. And we have some things between AEL and P, the city, the coast guard, and Huna Totem to work out about shore power, but we'll build it with a capability and we'll be ready to serve ships as as certain things, including how pow how and where power will come from are resolved.
Speaker 3:And what does that mean for the rest of Juneau? I mean, is there Well, first of all
Speaker 2:The shore power
Speaker 3:specifically. Yeah. There's a couple of benefits. One of them is that, you know, as a ship is on our surplus hydro, you know, it's not using its it's not using its diesel engines. Two, you know, we were just had at a Juno chamber presentation, Alec Mezdeg refresh us on some of these things.
Speaker 3:Alec was AEL and P, that the revenue from these interruptible power agreements that AEL and P has with cruise lines and the mines goes back to offset what we residents are paying in our power bills. So there's an environmental benefit and a financial benefit. And, yeah, that's that's pretty significant as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And I think the thing you mentioned, just the geography of the dock changing pedestrian traffic to downtown and really increasing, the amount of folks that are gonna be at some of those businesses on on Front Street and Seward Street is exciting Yeah. To see the the pedestrian traffic just spread out.
Speaker 3:I was thinking this morning, when I first moved here again in 1987, we had the cruise ship terminal and the steamship dock. And I actually lived in Marine View Apartments and old Heritage Coffee was right there. I think there were weeks I didn't even leave the block. I
Speaker 2:had that same when I first moved here. Lived up on Gastineau Avenue right above the Alaskan and I worked downtown. And that, I was just telling someone else, it was the walkability of Juneau Absolutely. Moving from New York City that just made me fall in love with it so much. Absolutely.
Speaker 2:I is there a thing over from 1987 to now, I know you haven't been in Juneau.
Speaker 3:Have you been in Juneau the whole time? No. Spent a little time in Skagway, few years in Haines, a little bit in Ketchikan along the way. The the majority of it has been here in Juneau, though.
Speaker 2:Are there changes in the region that you've loved and are there any that you're nostalgic about and go back in
Speaker 3:your memory to? There's certain things that we still are a small population. You know, we Juno is a hub for the for the neighboring communities, so people, you know, people are moving through here. And I think Juno you know, a constant is that Juno needs to remember not only our role as a capital city, which is hub for this region and what, you know, what it means when someone's coming in and they are trying to maybe have a medical appointment, get to the grocery store, get or get all of these things. But so, you know, what I think that also been here long enough to see some of the changes in the stronger different sectors have come and gone, and we've seen certain communities.
Speaker 3:I think about the forest industry. We still have a small forest industry. Our little cabin over in Huna was made with wood that was milled at icy straight lumber, and we're really proud of that and love to see that they continue to serve other clients. But it's really a much smaller industry even over the time that I've been here, and that's changed the population in certain communities that I used to spend more time on Prince Of Wales or more time in Wrangell. You see these dynamics, and I think it's you know, it we have to we have to help each other through these transitions and also think where we as a region can be proactive to help strengthen certain industry sectors too.
Speaker 2:Okay. I think I'll give us a little shift if I can and just ask you a little bit more about your life in Juneau and what it is that you love here and what keeps you here.
Speaker 3:I go back and forth between the recreation and the sense of community because I think that both matter so much, but I really love, cross country skiing, hiking. I get over to Eagle Crest not as often as I'd like. I I do enjoy the downhill skiing, but I think that just on a day to day basis, just being able to just get, you know, right right on a trail, the the outdoor recreation and the accessibility of that is is really key for me. And I've lived in communities where that's a lot harder. Either you have to drive farther or or the weather can be more challenging.
Speaker 3:So, you know, and and not that, you know, we have our share of of cold weather, rainy weather, shoveling weather, but but just being able to just kind of get out in, you know, in a matter of minutes is super, but but that wouldn't be enough without the sense of community. And, you know, we talked about it earlier where, you know, it can feel like, it can maybe feel a little claustrophobic. For me, because Juno is actually among the bigger places that I've lived compared to Haines and Skagway and Denali and Nome, I find that an easy way to plug in if that's what I feel like doing and an easy way to find time that's quiet and solitude. I know for others you you mentioned you came from New York. I have other dear friends that have come from New York and larger places that they they have to find they have to work harder at that.
Speaker 3:But, yeah, that sense of community, the sense of, you know, neighbors looking out for each other. One of the things I do live in the Menenhall Valley, and I live across the river from the flood, and I think about what over the last couple of years, that has required us, but also we've had the blessing of community helping each other, helping each other with, you know, big infrastructure projects or just sandbags or checking on each other. And I felt like it was the antithesis of COVID where we where we had to retreat and isolate. And coming, you know, thinking about, you know, my neighbors and who I've who have helped and who've helped me, that that doesn't happen everywhere. And I couldn't live here without that sense of, that sense of community.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I I had that experience this winter with the snow we had in January, and our our block where we were, we were basically snowed in on New Year's Eve. So we all just came outside and had a big New Year's party at midnight, and, it felt so, wholesome and good. Like, okay, I'm really worried about my roof collapsing, but I know I've got this army of folks that will help me clean it off if I need if I need that help.
Speaker 3:My husband and I had spent Christmas in Huna and came home on New Year's Day on the ferry. And I was actually gonna come back by myself because it was snowing in Huna, and he was he was gonna stay to clear off the boat and just make sure that our property was fine there. And our neighbors just sent us photos and just said, we we will help you, but you you both need to come home, and you actually need you you would need some heavy equipment. But, again, just that sense of, like, watching out for each other, inform each other, and figuring it out. It it's it's what it's what makes this a place that's you know, it makes it home.
Speaker 2:I think, you know, the the world of work that you're in now, there's an interesting layer of businesses in Juneau that when I talk to my friends down south, they don't have, they don't understand with native corporations. And the inner working, you sort of worked across the gamut, public, private, native organization. Can you talk about your experience across those?
Speaker 3:Well, absolutely. And and I'll start with, you know, of course, I'm working with Huna Totem now, you know, and it is the village corporation for Huna. But some people may not realize that, you know, first of all, we have our corporate headquarters here. It's but more than half our shareholders are also in this community. So as we're serving shareholders, what you know, how we communicate with them, what we do, our planning development is, you know, is all in service of our our mission.
Speaker 3:I am originally from Gnome, as I've said, and I'm I grew up knowing that I was a shareholder for of both our regional corporation, Bearing Straits, and also the village corporate corporation, Sitnasak. And my father was an incorporator of Bearing Straits, which meant, you know, is you know, that groundwork that had to happen of enrolling shareholders and forming the corporation and setting out the initial work, you know, he was very, very involved in that. And so it's something that as I through my career, I also worked for Gold Belt about twenty five years ago at a time of as a theme in this conversation, a time of growth, a time of opportunity, another strong leader in my Joe Beadle was president and CEO at the time. And you can't find somebody he's the most optimistic and up and early go get them person. So again, it was just it was super.
Speaker 3:But that working for a native corporation is challenging in ways that, because it becomes very personal. You're, you know, you're working with the board, who's working on behalf of the shareholders, and it's not an abstract. You are right here among the shareholders hearing hearing their hopes, hearing their frustrations, and, it also has, it also has dimensions, again, that are unlike other jobs that I've had where, there's a time where there's a time in every meeting or we're preparing for our shareholder information meeting soon, an annual meeting, where the the culture is foremost in those, in those events. And it's a way to, not just conduct the business of the corporation, but to perpetuate the culture and remember it and honor it. Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's such an amazing history to be a part of and that you're that close to it. I I imagine you've had some great dinner table conversations.
Speaker 3:I also talked with my father, while he was still alive at Key Points just because, they're both the privilege and the challenge of being in in these leadership roles. While I couldn't share things that were confidential, just talking about what this means and what service in a Native corporation means. And also, there are much more household names across Juneau and across Alaska. I mean, they were in our top 49 when we have the annual recognition of our leading businesses, but it wasn't always that way. And we have to remember, you know, whether people are newer to Alaska or just haven't really interacted with it, it can be very confusing understanding the difference between the tribal organizations, the for profit corporations, and others.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, but just emerging as business leaders and creating employment opportunities and tying in culture, I'm so glad it's been part of my career path. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I've been here twenty years.
Speaker 3:I had the privilege of working for Doctor. Rosita Worl at Sea Alaska Heritage Institute, and my understanding of the role native corporations and the tribes play in our economy has really developed over time. And I watched it grow even in the twenty years that I've been here. I'm I'm curious what you think of that that growth and how you describe the role. Well, as you mentioned, doctor Rosita Worrell, another another organization where we've built, you know, deep personal and professional relationships.
Speaker 3:The work that they've done to really help perpetuate culture, language are it's it's really tremendous. And I think about, you know, in this year, we will have celebration and how that's really grown, not only with the participation from, you know, people, throughout the region who we're sharing, but just also, I think, the accessibility for the rest of the community as we watch the canoes come in, as we watch the parades, parades, as we, go to the markets and and the different things that I I've been really pleased to see that, you know, that all of Juneau and all of the region feels welcome and, you know, and and can learn from it. And so I think that's really exciting. And then and kudos to not only Rosita, but the big team that pulls that together.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It it was a really special organization to be a part of, and I'm so excited for celebration this year, and there's new canoes coming in and, getting to see the coverage of that. Yeah. I'm I'm excited. With that, I think we are, close to wrapping up time.
Speaker 2:So if folks want to learn more about Huna Totem and the Auk Landing project, what's the best way for
Speaker 3:Our our website, hunatotem.com, has links to different things, including Auk Landing. I'm also very easily accessible in the community and be happy to talk with people if they have questions or suggestions. One of the things that we've been doing as we we completed that Tideland lease is preparing to share information at more community forums. We're very visible. So I think that people will find a way to pose questions, our offices are also right by the airport and we can be easily found.
Speaker 3:So again, I would suggest starting with a website and look for ways that we're out talking to the community.
Speaker 2:And then I'm going this always happens to me at the end of a conversation, I think of the one last question that I want to ask somebody. And I started off with the long and varied career that you've had, and you talked about some of your mentors. It's a big question for a short amount of time. But if there is that little piece of advice to somebody starting off, you grew up in Nome, a small community, and have had a big career, what would you say to a middle school or high school student now?
Speaker 3:I think, one, be open to opportunity, make connections, don't hesitate to ask for people's time, ask for people's advice, just to engage personally, I think, especially for our you know, whether it's a student or, people who are earlier in their career, people are very accessible at in, you know, in this community and in this state. And so I would just reach out and, you know, encourage people to reach out and ask for advice, ask for time. So you know? And just take advantage of the things that, you know, that gift that we have as a small community in a small state.
Speaker 2:Well, I am grateful for this time, and, thank you so much for coming and being interviewed and, answering big questions. I really appreciate it. Goodness cheese.
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