Gretchen Guess: President and CEO
Anchorage, AK — Gretchen Guess, a former Alaska state legislator, Anchorage school board member and health care executive, has been appointed President and CEO of the Rasmuson Foundation, Alaska’s largest private funder. Guess will serve as only the second CEO in the Foundation’s history.
A born-and-raised Alaskan who grew up in a family dedicated to public service, Guess served in the Alaska Legislature from 2001 to 2007, first in the state House and then in the Senate, representing the Anchorage neighborhoods of Fairview, Russian Jack, Northeast Anchorage and Mountain View. After retiring from the Legislature, she worked for over a decade in health care management, including at Providence Alaska.
The Rasmuson Foundation is the largest private foundation in the State of Alaska with assets of approximately $800M and annual grantmaking in excess of $35M. Since its founding in 1955, the Foundation has supported nearly $500M in grants and support to organizations across Alaska. The Foundation’s main funding areas are health care; the arts; organizational and community development; human services; and solutions to homelessness. Affordable, accessible broadband is a new area of interest. The Foundation was created in 1955 by Jenny Rasmuson, a Swedish missionary, to honor her late husband, banker E.A. Rasmuson. For more information about the Rasmuson Foundation, visit https://www.rasmuson.org.
