East Anchorage Book Club with Andrew Gray

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1875228/open_sms] Former Alaska State Senator and Iraq war veteran Josh Revak was born and raised in Minnesota. While serving in the Army in the early 2000s, a mortar blast in Iraq blew a quarter-sized hole through the back of his foot. He then got his first job in politics back in Minnesota working on John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. Then, while visiting the Alaska family of a fellow soldier who had been killed in Iraq, Revak met Congressman Don Young's staff who suggested he apply for a job in the congressman's office. After 8 years working for Don Young and Senator Dan Sullivan, Revak ran for the Alaska State House in 2018 defeating incumbent Charisse Millett in the Republican primary and was elected to represent the Abbott Loop Area of Anchorage. When State Senator Chris Birch suddenly passed away, Revak was appointed to that seat by Governor Dunleavy. In 2022 with the sudden death of Don Young, Revak ran for that seat with the endorsement of Don Young's widow. After Mary Peltola ultimately won the seat, Revak went to work for Peltola's office. He is now lobbying for the drone program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Watch Josh Revak perform on Governor Mike Huckabee's Fox talk show in 2010 here. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWRsjBBaVnk]

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1875228/open_sms] Deko Harbi, Shannon Smith, and Tali Stone are former Alaska foster youth. All three recently visited the Capitol in Juneau as part of a trip organized by Facing Foster Care in Alaska [http://www.ffcalaska.org/]. Facing Foster Care in Alaska is a nonprofit organization that provides foster youth and alumni opportunities to share their lived experience about life in foster care to raise community awareness and promote improvements in the system. This is this podcast’s third episode featuring former foster youth; the first [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1875228/episodes/14022965] from 2023 was with FFCA co-founder Amanda Metivier and former state house representative Les Gara. The second [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1875228/episodes/14614251] was from 2024 with six former Alaska foster youth.  The Alaska foster system depends on listeners like you becoming foster parents. To learn more about becoming a foster parent, click here [https://dfcs.alaska.gov/ocs/Pages/fostercare/default.aspx] or call 1-800-478-7307.  Working for Alaska’s office of children’s services is an extremely challenging job, and that organization is filled with good people doing good work. The purpose of this podcast is not to demonize OCS, but rather to give these former foster youth the opportunity to share their stories from their own perspectives. Warning: today’s episode contains frank discussions about child abuse, drug abuse, and suicide. If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call Alaska's suicide hotline: 988.

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1875228/open_sms] Alaska State House Representative Kevin McCabe of Big Lake landed in Kodiak with the Coast Guard in 1981. He raised his three sons there before he began work as a pilot. That work took him to East Anchorage and eventually to Big Lake. He and his wife Linn entered politics as supporters of Sarah Palin for governor in the mid-2000s. During his initial political awakening he adhered to a version of purity politics that he no longer avows. We discuss his life and the evolution of his politics on today’s episode.

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1875228/open_sms] Mindy O’Neall is the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly Chair and the Executive Director of the Cold Climate Housing Research Center. CCHRC is a non-profit organization located near the Univerity of Alaska Fairbanks that for the past 25 years has advanced building solutions for healthier, more resilient homes in cold climates. Prior to her current roles, Mindy was the director of the coordinated campaign for the Alaska democratic party. She worked as staff for Senator Johnny Ellis and House Representative Les Gara and House Representaive now Senator Scott Kawasaki.

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1875228/open_sms] Rep. Andrew Gray is the usual host of this podcast, but in this episode he is the guest. He is interviewed by his Legislative Aide Kyle Johansen at the request of his other legislative aide Claire Bredar in honor of her birthday. Gray was first elected to the Alaska State House in 2022 to represent the U-Med district. Outside the legislature, he is a physician assistant at an Anchorage Urgent Care.