As the CEO of a private sector company in the US for the last two decades I have become painfully aware of the rapidly rising costs and reduction of access of health care for Americans. Researching the roots of these problems has revealed that the current adverse trends in United States and Globally are not sustainable. The skyrocketing costs of health care in the US and other countries are resulting in reduced access to medicine and health care. This is a matter of life and death for many people. Every person has a fundamental right to lead a healthy life. It is incumbent on our political systems to implement reforms to our health care systems that enhance the access and quality of health care for every citizen.
I have joined Esssential Inventions to devote my energies to implementing progressive public policies that reverse the adverse trends in our health care systems. My goal is to draw from both my experiences in the private sector and government to seek creative methods to lower costs and broaden access to health care.
Creating Patent Pools for Essential Medicines.
Compulsory Licenses to provide
Improving systems for providing R&D funding to promote medical innovation.
My professional career has focused on finding creative solutions for human progress mixing the best features of the private and public sectors. My public service career of twelve years was centered on election to the Alaska Legislature. This tour included many leadership positions including Speaker of the House of Representatives, Judiciary Committee Chairman and Chairman of the Alaska Criminal Code Commission. I was involved in many creative solutions and institutions for Alaska; the $ 28 Billion Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation organized by constitutional amendment saves in perpetuity 25% of all oil revenues to fund state government and dividends annually cash to all Alaskan citizens; the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute is an award winning marketing organization; the Alaska Commercial Fishing and Agriculture Bank is devoted to financing remote businesses not fitting mainstream banking; and the Medical Indemnity Corporation provided physician malpractice insurance due to lack of private sector insurance.
A second career of twenty-two years was devoted to establishing and growing an innovative startup seafood company from incubation to over $ 100 million in sales, one thousand employees and markets in twenty-two countries. I was a founder, CEO and Chairman of Silver Lining Seafoods and NorQuest Seafoods. These two companies developed added-value, consumer and specialty products for international markets from remote Alaska locations developing new jobs, new markets for fishermen and new products to satisfy specialized demands.
After the sale of NorQuest in May, 2004 I joined Essential Inventions, Inc as its CEO to devote myself to public policies for the advancement of access to health care for all global citizens. My goal is to blend my private and public sector experiences and skills in developing public policy solutions. At Essential Inventions I am currently working on Patent Pools for Essential Medicines, new R&D funding mechanisms for medical innovation and compulsory licenses for critical medicines for developing countries.Growing up in the coastal rainforest of Southeast Alaska provided many exciting opportunities in the beautiful wilderness of Alexander's Archipelago. Having a wilderness as your back yard created many outdoor opportunities for recreation as well as learning about nature. Alaska Pictures has some beautiful photos of Alaska and you can get some great travel information from the Alaska Division of Tourism on my home state.
Choosing a summer job as a commercial fisherman was a natural for a teenage boy in Ketchikan, Alaska. Between 1965 and 1981 my summers revolved around being an Alaskan commercial salmon fisherman. I acquired my own vessel at age eighteen and owned several different fishing vessels over the years. During those years I was also involved in organizing a fishermen co-op, creating private non-profit fishermen owned salmon hatcheries and trade groups. Alaska.net has some nice photos of commercial fishing in Alaska.
Alaska is blessed with healthy natural resources such as its salmon that support thousands of fishermen, seafood processors, a sport fishing industry and a bounty for tourists visiting Alaska. Like many places several of Alaska's natural resources were brought to the brink of extinction before valuable lessons were learned. Alaskan's had to sacrifice to rebuild its resources for many years. In the end Alaska was able to evolve laws, institutions and a culture based on the sustainability of natural resources and utilization of natural resources for the public interest. Today, Alaska's management of its natural resources both renewable and non-renewable have established models for other jurisdictions on the sustainable use of resources for the broad public benefit.
One on my many legacies from growing up in Alaska is mountain climbing. I dreamt of standing astride Alaska's tallest peak, Denali (20,320ft; 6,194m) growing up. On June 12, 2003 our team summited Denali and in the clear air we could see forever. Mountain climbing has created a good reason to see some far corners of the earth with some wonderful friends. Bob Waldrop, Larry Bushnell and I summitted two top peaks in Mexico - Orizaba (18,405ft; 5,610m) and Ixtacchlhuatl (17,342ft; 5,286m). We learned to eat cactus and how to keep free range cattle out of our tents.
Doron Erel, a guide and friend from Israel, led us with some great local guides climbing and touring in Kenya and Tanzania. We saw some interesting outback, several game parks, learned considerable from the local climbers while summiting Kilimanjaro (19,335ft; 5,895m) and Mt.Kenya (17,058ft; 5,200m). Doron is the first Israel to summit Mt. Everest and all the seven summits of the seven continents. He has also led a joint Palestinian and Israel climbing team on a peace mission and first ascent of an unclimbed peak on the Antarctic Peninsula called Breaking the Ice.
On a fantastic trip to the Antarctic plateau and Ellsworth Range our team fell short below the summit of Mt Vinson. We took a beautiful ski trip down the Ellsworth range and got a consolation prize with a first ascent of Mt. Slaughter (3,600m). Our experience of Antarctica was enhanced and give realism as we waited for two weeks in several snow storms reading about Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic adventures decades earlier. We celebrated Christmas with a innovative hockey game in a glacial ice bowl.
With my Alaska partners Doug Pope and Dave Jones, we climbed the highest peak in South America, Aconcagua (22,840ft; 6,982m) via the Polish route. We met some new friends on this route from Poland who were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Polish route. I was able to visit them some years later after the Berlin Wall fell and Eastern Europe opened up. In the Seattle backyard Mt. Rainier (14,409ft; 4,392m)provides an ever ready challenge to make sure one is in shape. One of the side benefits of climbing is the enforced training program and this has led to my current side hobby of marathons, which provides a new opportunity for travel and meeting other marathoners.
The next "big adventure as New Zealand guide Guy Cotter says is a ski trip to traverse the plateau of Greenland!
My interest in public service started in college with an internship in the Washington State Legislature and subsequently working in the Alaska Legislature as Committee staff. Friends convinced me to file for election in 1972 and I ended up winning the election instead of returning to college! The next ten years was devoted to five terms in the Alaska Legislature. My five terms in the Legislature included the leadership positions of Speaker of the House of Representatives, Judiciary Committee Chairman and Chairman of the Alaska Criminal Code Commission. Alaska was fortunate during this tumultuous time period to have elected many public policy minded government officials in both political parties. I had the good fortune of working with many statesmen on long-term programs to benefit the public interest.
During my Legislative terms Alaska went through a significant transition with oil development and the construction of the Trans Alaska Pipeline. I was involved in creating several progressive and creative institutions to cope with significant changes during this decade. The most prominent was the Alaska Permanent Fund which now has $ 30 Billion invested and is still growing. The Permanent Fund saves in perpetuity 25% of Alaska's oil wealth to fund state government and dividend annually cash to all Alaskan citizens. After significant political controversy the Permanent Fund was created by constitutional amendment. Later we developed a highly successful management and investment structure called the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. The Trustees have exceeded expectation over nearly three decades averaging ten per cent return with a consistent farsighted investment policy
Fisheries is the largest employer in Alaska. I devoted considerable time to the development of several lasting institutions. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, an award winning marketing organization promotes the marketing and quality of Alaska seafood products. The Alaska Commercial Fishing and Agriculture Bank provides needed financing to remote businesses and fishermen that do not fit mainstream banking. The Private NonProfit Hatchery Act created a very novel blend of private and public resources, talents and energies and has been successful in economically rebuilding and enlarging Alaska salmon runs by engaging private sector investment and management. Many regional salmon hatchery associations such as SSRAA, NSRAA and PWSAC were formed by commercial fishermen under this legislation and the result has been enhanced salmon resource that contribute to the vitality of the regional economies as well as many user groups.
A long-term project I headed was revision of all Alaska criminal law which culminated in 1978 with the passage of the revised Alaska Criminal Code. Other significant projects I spent major efforts on were providing doctors medical malpractice insurance through the establishment of the Medical Indemnity Corporation of Alaska. Long-term sustainability of the Alaska economy and broad citizen benefits was one of our themes to utilize oil wealth. This goal was met by constructing many sustainable finance institutions with state oil revenues such as the loan fund for hydro-electric development; citizen home loans through the Alaska Housing Finance Corp.; economic development projects financed by the Alaska Industrial Development Authority; and assisting municipalities to finance capital projects through the Alaska Municipal Bond Bank.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alaska - 1979-1980
Elected to the Alaska House of Representatives 1972-1982 for five terms
Chairman Alaska Criminal Code Commission -1975-1978
Board of Directors Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute 1982-1985
Member US National Seafood Promotional Council 1987-1990
Advisor to the International North Pacific Salmon Commission
In 1981 several friends and I decided to create a startup seafood processing company in Alaska to develop high quality new seafood products produced in Alaska, especially smoked salmon. That decision began a two decade journey starting with Silver Lining Seafoods our startup company with one plant in Ketchikan, Alaska. Two decades later we had a thousand employees in eight locations in Alaska and Washington states; over $ 100 MM in sales and markets stretched around the globe. It was an exciting odyssey with a talented management team. It was a challenging and educational opportunity to build a company as an owner from the ground up. I was President of Silver Lining and NorQuest Seafoods from 1981-2004.
As a seafood processing company we purchased fish from hundreds of independent fishermen who ply the Alaska's thousands of miles of productive shoreline. We processed salmon, herring, shrimp, crab, halibut, sablefish, cod and other species into many forms of fresh, frozen, smoked, canned and cured seafood products for consumers around the world. The majority of our products were exported outside the US to Asia and Europe. Alaska has many remote and roadless areas where we operated and the only means in and out were small aircraft or our company vessels in some locations. Its in an entrepenurial environment where only the most competitive and resourceful seafood companies and fishermen survive.
In 1992 through a merger and expansion we became NorQuest Seafood. This merger greatly expanded our management team, facilities, markets and new opportunities. For more information on the company we built check out Norquest Seafoods. In 2004 NorQuest Seafoods became part of Trident Seafoods the largest and most successful seafood company in North America. My partners are carrying on the traditions and policies that built NorQuest and have allowed me to retire and devote myself to public policy activities.
If you are hungry for some great Alaska seafood, need some recipes or gifts NorQuest Seafoods developed two well known seafood brands and retail outlets. You can order some great Alaska seafood at two retail sites, Silver Lining Seafood and Port Chatham Smoked Seafoods. NorQuest has one of its processing plants in Cordova, Alaska home of the famous Copper River salmon fishery that produces wild sockeye and king salmon that is to die for.
