Ukallaysaaq / Duk’aan T. Okleasik

Senior Fellow

Ukallaysaaq / Duk’aan Tom Okleasik joined the Foundation in June 2020 as our second senior fellow. Ukallaysaaq will be coordinating personal protective equipment and medical supplies for Alaska during the pandemic. He is Iñupiaq. He also is honored with a Tlingit name, Duk’aan. He is from Nome and lives there now.

His long history of leadership roles in Northwest Alaska communities includes serving as a vice president of Kawerak Inc., planning director of the Northwest Arctic Borough, and executive director of the Native Village of Kotzebue. Earlier in his career, he worked for the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. Ukallaysaaq also owns Northwest Planning and Grants Development, a consulting firm in Nome, and until May served as vice president of Natural Resources, Shareholder and Corporate Relations for Sitnasuak Native Corp. in Nome.

He enjoys fishing, camping and spending time with his wife, Igluguq, and four children, two of whom are still at home.