David Karp joined the Rasmuson Foundation board in 2026. Dave is an experienced entrepreneur whose time as CEO of Saltchuk’s aviation businesses, including Northern Air Cargo, has connected him to every corner of Alaska.

Dave is the senior vice president and managing director for Saltchuk in Alaska, responsible for public policy, philanthropy, and business development across 11 Saltchuk-owned companies. He also served as the chief operating officer of Anchorage-based Hawaiian Vacations and spent 20 years working in Alaska’s visitor industry as the executive director of the Alaska Tourism Marketing Council and the Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council. 

Dave serves on multiple local boards, including Northrim Bankcorp, the Alaska Communications Systems Community Advisory Board, the Resource Development Council of Alaska, the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation, and the University of Alaska Foundation. He enjoys putting his auctioneer skills to work on behalf of the many nonprofits he supports, appreciating the opportunity to be on the front lines of philanthropy. 

A lifelong Alaskan, Dave was born in Nome, where he maintains partnership in a small tour company that assists cruise ships navigating the Northwest Passage. He lives in Anchorage with his wife, Debbie, and has four adult children. Dave enjoys traveling, spending time at the family cabin in the Mat-Su Valley, fishing, and occasionally playing a frustrating round of golf.