Meet the 2024-25 Alumni of Distinction

By Matt Jardin

UAA’s Office of Alumni and Community Engagement and Alumni Association were pleased to welcome spring by announcing the latest Alumni of Distinction. The three distinguished alumni were honored for their contributions in their fields and communities at the UAA Alumni of Distinction Celebration on Tuesday, March 18, which saw nearly 150 graduates and supporters pack the Fine Arts Building Recital Hall on the Anchorage campus to reconnect with their hometown university while raising donations to benefit UAA programs and scholarships.

As Russia established closer ties with the West in the 1990s, new opportunities began to emerge in the region. For accounting alumna Maria Bourne, these changes presented a unique path leading from her hometown of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the Russian Far East to Anchorage, where, as sister cities, cultural exchanges and trade relationships commonly took place. Bourne’s older sister had already made the move to attend UAA and encouraged her to follow in her footsteps. At just 17 years old, Bourne left Russia for Alaska, arriving with only a basic understanding of English. The transition was difficult; without modern online translation tools, Bourne often relied on friends to help her communicate with professors and complete assignments.

Initially drawn to journalism and public relations, Bourne eventually chose to major in accounting — a decision influenced by her family’s history in the field. Her grandmother, mother and sister were all accountants, though she had resisted following in their footsteps for as long as she could. However, she ultimately recognized that accounting was a practical and universal skill that would provide valuable career opportunities, particularly in the growing global business environment.

“Accounting is a fantastic degree and technical skill, and I recommended it to so many of the young people I mentor,” said Bourne.

By the time she graduated in 2006, Bourne had already secured a full-time job through the accounting department’s industry relationships. She joined KPMG, one of the world’s leading accounting firms, where she worked for nearly a decade. The position required her to quickly familiarize herself with a variety of businesses, often becoming an expert in new industries within just a few weeks. Coincidentally, during her tenure at KPMG, Bourne was also responsible for recruiting new talent, often bringing in recent graduates from her alma mater and helping them launch their own careers.

“I made it a mission to hire from UAA because we have such a strong program and the students already live in the community and know the businesses that are here,” said Bourne. “UAA opened a lot of doors for me and I’m forever grateful. I firmly believe that our youth on college campuses are our future, and we need to make sure that we invest in them because at the end of the day, that’s vitality for our state.”

After starting a family, Bourne stepped away from the demands of public accounting as she was often required to travel. In 2015, she was recruited by an old boss to join security and integrated facilities management company Denali Universal Services as chief financial officer. Over the next several years, she expanded her responsibilities, becoming vice president of operations and eventually CEO in 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which time she had to navigate safety concerns, labor shortages and operational disruptions. Despite these difficulties, Bourne remained committed to her team and her company’s mission.

Recognizing an opportunity for greater autonomy, Bourne led a management buyout in 2023, securing private ownership of Denali Universal Services. The transition was an arduous process, involving nearly a year of negotiations with the company’s former owner, a massive French conglomerate. The experience tested her endurance and resolve, but the outcome was worth it — she became the majority owner and continued to serve in her role as CEO, ensuring the company’s long-term stability and growth. This shift marked Denali Universal Services as a proud woman-owned Alaska business.

Under Bourne’s leadership, the company has expanded to over 1,100 employees across six states, with 30% of its business now operating outside of Alaska. Most importantly, Bourne has built a leadership team personally dedicated to prioritizing employees and ensuring the company’s continued success.

“Recognizing the new opportunities ahead, I knew that having more control would allow us to better support our people and accomplish more,” said Bourne. “It was a leap of faith, but it was absolutely worth it because we have a great mission and a tremendous team that is excited to make things happen.”

Indigenous people in the United States face disproportionately high rates of violence and disappearances. According to a 2021 report from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, more than 4,200 cases of missing or murdered Indigenous persons (MMIP) remain unsolved. Addressing this crisis is the mission of educational leadership alumna E. Ingrid Goodyear, the MMIP regional coordinator for the Great Plains and Alaska at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Alaska.

One of only five regional MMIP coordinators in the country, Goodyear’s work extends beyond Alaska to include South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming. In this position, she works to improve response efforts, build community-based solutions and coordinate with law enforcement, social services and tribal organizations. When she first stepped into the role in 2020, it lacked clear structure. To better define it, Goodyear worked with colleagues to hold listening sessions with the aforementioned groups. From those conversations, she developed a framework for improving communication, expediting search efforts and connecting families with resources. Her efforts led to the development of Alaska’s tribal community response plans, which serve as models for other states.

“The conversations were really tough at first, but developing those relationships and working with people and figuring out how we can make a difference has been the most amazing part of this job,” said Goodyear.

Similarly, in Fairbanks, Goodyear collaborated with the Fairbanks Native Association and Tanana Chiefs Conference to develop an MMIP response plan that closely integrates law enforcement and social services to enact more immediate protocols for when someone goes missing. In other rural communities, she has worked to introduce MMIP-related training, human trafficking awareness programs and other resources tailored to areas with limited or no local law enforcement. These efforts are working toward the goal of ensuring every region, no matter how remote, has tools to respond effectively when someone goes missing.

Before entering her current role, Goodyear spent over two decades in education. A lifelong Alaskan, she earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from UAF before transitioning into teaching. She later pursued her master’s degree at UAA while working as a school principal in her hometown of Sand Point, Alaska. Goodyear’s shift from political science to educational leadership mirrors not only her career journey, but also her family’s legacy in education and advocacy — her mother and father were involved in local school boards, her grandfather served on the parole board while also being active in the Alaska Native Brotherhood, and her grandmother and aunts were active in the Alaska Native Sisterhood.

“Often we hear about MMIP that happened recently, but we also hear about MMIP that happened 60 years ago,” said Goodyear. “One of the things my grandfather and I would talk about is how it’s the same story. It’s still impacting the community as if it was yesterday. And it’s really important that we prevent that from happening, that we prevent MMIP, that we respond and support our people in reaching for safety and for safer communities.”

This intersection between education and advocacy is not just a coincidence — it is a fundamental connection. Goodyear credits her time at UAA with shaping her approach to advocacy. She often refers to a course on the philosophy of change as one of the most influential experiences of her career, as understanding how change happens is essential for addressing systemic issues like MMIP. By applying her experience in education, she has been able to facilitate difficult conversations, build trust between agencies and empower communities to take action.

“The support I got from UAA was tremendous, and I learned so much from my professors and discussions with classmates,” said Goodyear. “A lot of this job is about putting yourself in the perspective of somebody else, and when you see things from a different point of view, sometimes you get a whole different picture.”

By the time general management alumna Iuliia Chepurko arrived in Alaska in 2014, she had already earned a Ph.D. in economics in her home country, Russia. Even with a strong theoretical background, she wanted another perspective to take her career in a new direction — practical business applications that could connect her expertise to the real world.

That desire, along with a personal reason — her then-boyfriend, now husband, already lived in Alaska — led her to Anchorage 11 years ago. She enrolled in UAA’s M.B.A. program at the College of Business and Public Policy, drawn by its strong professional network and deep integration with the local business community.

“Connecting theory with real life experience and engaging with local businesses and mentors really pulled me in and inspired me,” Chepurko said. “UAA has this really good integration with the professional community around the state.”

As a student, Chepurko found an opportunity with UAA’s Center for Economic Development, where she applied her economic expertise in business modeling and financial forecasting for real Alaska ventures. Additionally, she worked on economic development projects in rural areas, particularly Southeast Alaska, and assessed business feasibility for local entrepreneurs and Tribal organizations. She also was a regular contributor to the Monthly Economic Outlook Review for magazine, deepening her connection with Alaska’s economy.

After earning her M.B.A., Chepurko embarked on a diverse professional journey. She first worked in a consulting role as a business analyst and later as a project manager at GCI, contributing to large-scale system implementations. She then moved to BP where she continued her work in consulting before joining the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC). At ANTHC, she played a crucial role in IT implementations and data analytics projects, including those focused on provider productivity. She was particularly inspired by ANTHC’s mission to provide high-quality health care at no cost to patients, an experience that also refined her expertise in project management and business process optimization.

Eventually, her path would lead her back to GCI, stepping into more senior roles, including senior project manager for IT. Five months ago, Chepurko was promoted to director of program and project standards. In this role, Chepurko standardizes project management methodologies across departments, ensuring that projects are executed with maximum efficiency and effectiveness.

“This has been one of the most dynamic and exciting times in my career,” said Chepurko. “From the project processes perspective, it really excites me to drive change and improvement. And from the delivery perspective, it inspires me to make project managers’ lives easier with processes being improved and aligned across different delivery teams.”

Beyond her corporate career, Chepurko has remained committed to giving back to the academic community. She has taught corporate finance at UAA for six years, inspired by her own professors. Through teaching, she hopes to equip the next generation of business professionals with the same skills, insights and opportunities that helped her navigate her career. She also volunteers on the Project Management Institute Alaska Chapter board of directors, developing the project management community in the state and contributing to the profession.

“Since I came to Alaska, I have been impressed by the supportive community that helped me build a successful career,” said Chepurko. “With my professors as one example — the way they shaped the student experience for me was really important and gave me a jumpstart to go and do big things. It also inspired me to start teaching, and hopefully I get to help other students fall in love with a subject that helps them build a rewarding career.”