ARCTIC ENCOUNTER LEADERSHIP & PRODUCTION TEAM
RACHEL KALLANDER, J.D.
Founder & CEO, Arctic Encounter
Honorary Consul of Iceland to Alaska
Rachel Kallander, is a 4x founder, lawyer, strategist, coach, and recognized leader committed to building platforms that elevate voices, generate momentum, and drive lasting impact.
She is the Founder & CEO of Arctic Encounter, North America’s largest Arctic policy and business convening, which brings together U.S. and international leaders—from tribal chiefs and policymakers to industry experts and scientists—to tackle pressing challenges in the North. Rachel is also Owner & Chief Strategist of Kallander & Associates (K&A), a strategic consulting firm focused on advocacy, impact strategy, and building momentum through human capital development.
In 2022, she became Owner & Publisher of The Cordova Times, a 111-year-old Alaskan newspaper amplifying stories from the Gulf of Alaska region. Rachel is also the founder and host of INTRA Retreats, a leadership and personal growth retreat experience designed to support individuals in aligning with their purpose and potential.
Raised in a commercial fishing family in Cordova, Alaska, during the long aftermath of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Rachel was inspired to pursue law and advocacy to serve her home region and protect rural and coastal communities. She earned her B.A. from Seattle University and her J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law.
She is Honorary Consul of Iceland for Alaska, an Advisory Committee Member for McKinley Alaska Private Investment’s Na’-Nuk Investment Fund 2, and Co-Owner of Montague Marine Research, a fisheries and research charter operation based in Southcentral Alaska.
Rachel was honored with Alaska’s Top 40 Under 40 award in 2022 and received the ATHENA Leadership Award in 2024 for her professional excellence, community service, and commitment to empowering women leaders. She lives in Anchorage with her husband and two young children.
JACKSON BLACKWELL
ADVISOR, arctic encounter
Jackson Blackwell is a policy professional focused on energy and national security.
He currently serves as an Advisor to Arctic Encounter, where he supports stakeholder engagement and development, building on his prior role as Managing Director. He also serves as a Policy Advisor at ClearPath in Washington, D.C., where he works on clean power and energy security.
A lifelong Alaskan, Jackson’s work is grounded in the strategic relevance of the Arctic, energy innovation, and great power competition in the North. He advises the Climate Solutions Fund and has held roles with the Wilson Center Polar Institute, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Kallander & Associates, an Anchorage-based consulting firm, where he advised political and business clients on policy and development strategy.
A Harry S. Truman Scholar, Jackson graduated with an MPA in International Relations from Princeton University and holds Economics and Political Science degrees from Boise State University. He also serves as an Officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
REED DAVIDSON
Program Director, Arctic Encounter
Undergraduate Student, Harvard University
Reed is pursuing a double major in Applied Mathematics and Government at Harvard University. Her academic and extracurricular work focuses on international relations and energy policy. Following the completion of her undergraduate studies, Reed plans to attend law school, with the goal of applying her quantitative background to policy and legal frameworks.
Reed is a lifelong Alaskan from Girdwood. In her free time, she enjoys trail running, downhill skiing, and hiking in her hometown. She appreciates spending time outside in Alaska’s great recreational areas.
HARMONY WAYNER
NORTHERN VISION FELLOWSHIP COORDINATOR
Harmony Jade Sugaq Wayner is a tribal member of Naknek Native Village, a commercial fisher in the Bristol Bay salmon fleet, and a marine scientist focused on social-ecological systems to promote Indigenous values and well-being in fisheries. Harmony has a Master of Resource Management from the University Centre of the Westfjords in Iceland and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Alaska Southeast. She works at the International Arctic Research Center as an Indigenous Liaison for the Research Networking Activities for Sustained Coordinated Observations of Arctic Change Project (RNA CoObs).
Harmony was on the board of directors for the Arctic Youth Network from 2021-2023 and has given an Arctic Indigenous perspective to high-level dialogues on climate and nature, such as the World Economic Forum, Arctic Circle Assembly, Arctic Encounter, and the Polar Symposium of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. She has been a youth ambassador for Arctic Base Camp, an Alaska Sea Grant Fellow, and an Arctic Frontiers Emerging Leader. Harmony also worked as a counselor with Bristol Bay Native Corporation in their annual youth culture camp. Some of her most cherished memories in the last years are learning how to heal with culture from elders and teaching youth how to process salmon on the shores of Lake Iliamna.
She is thrilled to continue working in mentorship and youth development across the circumpolar north with her role as the Northern Vision Fellowship Director with the Arctic Encounter Summit.
Currently residing in Anchorage, you will often find her Nordic skiing on the trails with her dog, Uli. In the summer, she travels home to Naknek to fish for sayak (sockeye salmon) and gather berries with her family.