RACHEL KALLANDER, J.D.

CEO at KALLANDER & ASSOCIATES

Founder & Executive Director at ARCTIC ENCOUNTER

Owner & Publisher at THE CORDOVA TIMES

Founder & Host at INTRA RETREATS

Honorary Consul of Iceland to Alaska

As a second-year law student at the University of Washington’s School of Law, Rachel Kallander participated in an Arctic science mission aboard the USCG HEALY icebreaker, researching and observing oil spill response and recovery efforts. Soon after that pivotal experience, Rachel organized the first Arctic Encounter – the largest annual Arctic policy and business conference in the United States today.

But that experience in 2013 was not her first encounter with an oil spill. Rachel was born and raised in a commercial fishing family in Cordova, Alaska, during the three-decade wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. She was raised with a unique understanding of how issues affecting the North affect the world, which spurred a deep desire to be of service to her home state and its rural communities.

Upon completing law school and receiving her Juris Doctorate, Rachel founded Kallander & Associates. K&A is mission-driven to effectively engage the issues and opportunities impacting Alaska and the Arctic through public relations, public policy development, honest and bipartisan research, and creative collaboration.

Every client, project, or campaign K&A takes on fosters the coexistence of responsible development, sustainable environments, and healthy communities in Alaska and coastal regions worldwide.

Rachel has served as professional staff in Congress and the Alaska State Legislature, serves on several volunteer boards, and in leadership positions on numerous statewide political campaigns and business-led initiatives. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Seattle University, a J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law, and is continuing her education via Harvard Business School’s HBX program.

Rachel was named Honorary Consul to Alaska by the Government of Iceland in 2022. Through this role, Rachel collaborates with Icelandic officials and its U.S. Embassy to foster new relations and opportunities between Iceland and Alaska. Rachel was recently named to Alaska’s Top 40 Under 40, sponsored by the Alaska Journal of Commerce.

In 2022, Rachel acquired The Cordova Times, Prince William Sound’s oldest newspaper, established in 1914. The Cordova Times is a printed weekly newspaper that was awarded Alaska’s Best Weekly at the Alaska Press Club Awards in 2020 and 2021.

Rachel lives in Anchorage, Alaska, with her husband, Casey, and two young children.