FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Aleesha Towns-Bain, 907-297-2875

After more than a decade of service to Alaskans at Rasmuson Foundation, Senior Vice President Sammye Pokryfki has announced she will be leaving the Foundation during the first quarter of 2017.

Pokryfki was hired in 2005 as a Program Officer and subsequently promoted to Senior Program Officer, Vice President of Programs, and her current role as Senior Vice President.

At Rasmuson Foundation, Pokryfki has championed high-impact initiatives to make positive change in some of the state’s most difficult issues –domestic violence, substance abuse, and nonprofit organizational development. Her vision is evident in the Foundation’s Sabbatical Program to retain top nonprofit leaders, Pre-Development Program to right-size nonprofit facilities, and the Community Foundation Affiliate Program to build community endowments throughout Alaska. In the area of domestic violence, Pokryfki has worked for long-range strategies for prevention and systems change. Most recently, she was a convening force in the development of the Domestic Violence Shelter Initiative, a $4m fund created through a public/private partnership of Rasmuson Foundation and The State of Alaska to make needed facilities repairs to domestic violence shelters across Alaska.

Pokryfki says she’s learned from the more than 60 nonprofit executives who have received a sabbatical from the Foundation, and it’s time to experience a similar reprieve for herself. After departing Rasmuson Foundation, Pokryfki plans to climb mountains and see the world for the next year with her husband, Vince.

“Sammye is a fearless advocate willing to do the hard work needed to raise up those who need a hand,” said Diane Kaplan, Rasmuson Foundation CEO & President. “Her impact can be felt throughout Alaska. I will miss her as a trusted adviser and sector leader. A break from work is well-deserved, but there is no doubt she has left us some big shoes to fill.”

The Foundation has launched a national search for a Vice President of Programs. Information about the position can be found at rasmuson.org/about/open-positions.

About the Foundation
Rasmuson Foundation was created in May 1955 by Jenny Rasmuson to honor her late husband E.A. Rasmuson. The Foundation is a catalyst to promote a better life for all Alaskans.