Contact: Jeff Clarke
Foundation appoints new program officer
Anchorage - Joel Neimeyer, longtime Health Facilities Program Manager with the Denali Commission, will join the Rasmuson Foundation as a Program Officer. He brings a wealth of experience to the role, where he will focus primarily on the Foundation’s work with health-related issues. “We worked closely with Joel in his role at the Denali Commission where he led the effort to create the heath care facilities program to provide primary care access for all Alaskans, and are delighted that he will be joining our staff. He brings considerable expertise in health care, program development, and capital projects,” commented Foundation President Diane Kaplan. As a Commander with the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Neimeyer will work with the Foundation through a cooperative agreement with the Corps and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
During his 5-year tenure at the Denali Commission, Joel led the development of the Commission’s Health Facilities Program which, to date, has funded over 200 projects around the state. Prior to his work with the Denali Commission, Neimeyer spent 14 years planning and developing rural infrastructure in Alaska and Washington. He has a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and is licensed in Alaska as a professional engineer. Neimeyer’s mother, daughter of a Saami father and Yupik mother, was raised in the YK-Delta. His grandfather – a reindeer herder, Bristol Bay fisherman and gold miner - arrived in Akiak in 1898 as a 13-year old.
The Rasmuson Foundation was created under a declaration of trust in May of 1955 by Jenny Rasmuson to honor her late husband, "E.A." Rasmuson. Their son Elmer wrote, "Helping others is an Alaskan tradition. Both the earliest Alaskans and those who came here to settle had to rely on one another to build a good community and a good life." Today, the Rasmuson Foundation continues this tradition by supporting non-profit organizations dedicated to improving the quality of life for people throughout the state. By assisting these groups that address basic needs, arts and culture, and projects that address special circumstances, the Rasmuson Foundation contributes to healthy, enriched and productive lives for Alaskans of all ages.
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