(SitNews) - Governor Bill Walker has announced the appointments of two more commissioners to his new administration.

Monday, Sheldon Fisher was appointed by Governor Bill Walker as Commissioner of the Department of Administration and he re-appointed Mike Hanley as Commissioner of the Department of Education.

“Sheldon has 20 years of management experience in the private sector that will be helpful in some of the challenges we have,” Governor Walker said. “He’s dealt with cost-cutting while increasing revenues. I’m very pleased to have Sheldon heading up the Department of Administration; it’s the center of state government operations.”
Fisher recently worked as Chief Operating Officer at McKinley Capital Management, LLC in Anchorage. Prior to McKinley, Fisher spent 15 years in the telecommunications industry—both in the Lower 48 and in Alaska. Fisher worked for six years at Alaska Communications, where he served as senior vice president of sales and product marketing.

While at Alaska Communications, Fisher was instrumental in the expansion of the wireless business, tripling revenue to $180 million, while the firm cut costs. Prior to joining Alaska Communications, he worked at Sprint where he led the turnaround of a struggling division and saved the company a $1.7 billion investment.

Fisher earned an economics degree from Brigham Young University and a law degree from Yale University.

Fisher is proficient in Spanish. He and his wife Christine have seven children.

Governor Walker approved the re-appointment of Mike Hanley as Commissioner of the Department of Education.

“I’ve met with Mike a number of times,” Governor Walker said. “He’s fully aware of the fiscal challenges going forth and yet committed to maintaining a high quality of education in the state of Alaska.”

Hanley has lived in Alaska since he was 10 years old, and is a product of the Alaska school system. He holds two degrees from the University of Alaska Anchorage—a master’s in educational leadership and a bachelor’s in K-8 education.

Hanley has served as Commissioner of the Department of Education since 2011. Prior to serving the state, Hanley worked for the Anchorage School District—14 years as a teacher and six years as a principal.

Prior to his career in education, Hanley owned and operated a commercial fishing business.

Earlier in December, Gov. Walker made five new appointments to his cabinet. Those were Heidi Drygas as Department of Labor Commissioner, Darwin Peterson as Legislative Director, Sam Cotten as Acting Fish & Game Commissioner, Marty Rutherford as Department of Natural Resources Deputy Commissioner, and the retention of Larry Hartig as Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner.

Edited by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

Source of News: 

Office of Gov. Bill Walker
www.gov.state.ak.us

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