A Strong Voice for the Interior
Rep. Schwanke
Rebecca Schwanke
Republican for Alaska State House District 36
Born in Fairbanks and raised in Tok, I have been a life-long Alaskan raised to love and rely on the outdoors. From subsistence hunting and fishing, to trapping and gardening, my peace is outdoors. Whether you were born into it, or you have come to this way of life for a sense of clarity, I have found it has given me immense strength, fortitude and perseverance.
My childhood was spent in Tok, where my mother Madge Kelleyhouse served as the Magistrate and my father Dave Kelleyhouse, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game Area Wildlife Biologist. It is in the interior where I learned how to run rivers, and what it’s like to have a raging wildfire bearing down on the only home I’ve ever known. Mother Nature in Alaska is a force to be reckoned with. Our environment is continually changing and we cannot always predict the outcome of extreme weather events, nor long slow changes in our weather patterns. However, our experiences, our foresight as well as our resiliency are our greatest strengths in keeping Alaska strong.
I have had the pleasure of calling the Copper River home since 2001. I am a wildlife biologist having worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, a small business owner, a wife, a mother, and a community volunteer. My experience on the Copper River School Board of Education and on the Copper Basin Shooting Club board have helped prepare me for my role as a legislator.
Leadership and vested experience in our local community and our state allows me to best advocate for my constituents in the Capitol. I truly believe we can find our way to a more affordable Alaska through diversity in energy and consistent common sense business policies. When our state economy thrives, Alaskans thrive.
From an outdoor childhood pre-smartphone, to highschool at Juneau-Douglas, to graduating with a MS in Wildlife Biology from UAF, I have witnessed many changes in our state over the years.
For the past 25 years, my husband Corey Schwanke and I have called the Copper River Valley home. Raising a son in this area has been a blessing. An amazing place, the Ahtna Region. Being avid hunters, trappers and fishermen, we respect the resources here and all the people who rely on them. Serving as the Glennallen Area Assistant Wildlife Biologist and then as the Area Wildlife Biologist for ADF&G through 2014, I had the pleasure of managing the Nelchina Caribou Herd as well as moose, Dall sheep, bison, wolves and bears throughout the Copper River Basin.
Through passion and servitude, I have had the opportunity to help my community by volunteering as a Hunter Education instructor to nearly 100 local students from Mentasta to Chitina. I taught Conservation and Outdoor Skills in the highschool, and have participated in numerous youth shooting sporting events and improved the local shooting range through my time on the board of the Copper Basin Shooting Club. I am also certified to coach in the National Archery in the Schools Program, as well as in USA Hockey programs helping build the rural “Alaska Heat” hockey program since 2014.
Over the past decade, I have had the opportunity to serve in the private business sector developing sporting good products for my own company Talarik, and consulting for utilities and non-governmental organizations on a variety of policy and biological issues. I have witnessed private business, corporate investment and development play a significant role in building and maintaining a strong sustainable Alaskan economy.
We must support small businesses at every turn, encouraging investment and growth. Job creation and healthy local economies are essential to making Alaska successful as a whole.
Most recently, I have served two terms on the Copper River School District (CRSD) Board of Education and one term in the Alaska State House. I am extremely proud of the work I have done as a school board member, a consultant, and as a State Legislator
In my free time, I will continue to work with our area’s youth as a volunteer. I will always enjoy seeing former students walk across the graduation stage every May. I will always be proud of each and every one of them, knowing they have overcome challenges and notched many milestones along their journey.
As my own son finds his path, I want to ensure that he and his fellow graduates are able to find well-paying employment opportunities in-state. I truly hope we can create an environment where they want to live, and where they can afford to raise their own families.
I am running for re-election to the Alaska State House of Representatives for my friends and neighbors from the Chitina River drainage to the Yukon. I am running for District 36 because I want to do my part to make positive changes in our rural communities.
Between my resource work in the Prudhoe Bay region and the Watana-Susitna basin, I have a strong understanding of the delicate balance between critical energy development projects and the needs of Alaskans who rely on the renewable natural resources of these same areas.
We must work together to develop our natural resources according to our Constitution, in the best interest of all Alaskans. Through responsible and sustainable resource development projects, we can grow our economy and rejuvenate rural Alaska.
Healthy communities with good paying jobs are the key to keeping Alaska vibrant. The population census between 2010 and 2020 showed the slowest growth Alaska has experienced since 1910. It started with losing rural families to urban jobs and opportunities. Now we’re losing Alaskans to the Lower 48, and our schools are shrinking.
Across our nine House District 36 school districts, not unlike others, our leadership works hard to balance student needs with rising fixed costs. Our student populations are stable, though our core costs such as heating, electricity, insurance, and pupil-transportation have sky-rocketed. I will continue to support common sense legislation to support in our entire House district, as well as continue efforts to bring meaningful accountability measures to public education statewide.
Our resource wealth is too precious to waste on extra spending when we have obligations yet to meet for public safety, the court system, infrastructure, health and quality education.
If I have earned your vote, thank you! Please reach out any time, my door is always open.