Meet Cassidi Cameron, Ambassador for the Cook Inlet region, Amanda Toerdal, Ambassador for Bering Straits, Kristina Andrew, Ambassador for Bristol Bay, and Eddie Dellamary, Ambassador for the Interior.
May 19, 2024
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Get to know four of our devoted Arctic Energy Ambassadors. The Arctic Energy Ambassadors are passionate, community-focused communicators from Alaska who have been selected for a two-year term, during which they will develop regional, place-based, and collaborative energy leadership in Alaska, along with resources and knowledge-sharing in alignment with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Arctic Strategy and the clean energy transition. You can read more about the program here.
In this post, get introduced to Cassidi Cameron, Ambassador for the Cook Inlet region, Amanda Toerdal, Ambassador for Bering Straits, Kristina Andrew, Ambassador for Bristol Bay, and Eddie Dellamary, Ambassador for the Interior.
Meet Cassidi Cameron, the Arctic Energy Ambassador for the Cook Inlet Region
Cassidi has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and currently works for the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District (KPEDD). While working for KPEDD, Cassidi has learned the value of relationships and communication for organizations, communities, and people. Recently, Cassidi was promoted to Executive Director and is proud and excited to have the opportunity to take KPEDD into its next phase.
Originally from Idaho, Cassidi was first introduced to Alaska after attending college in Oregon and meeting people from Alaska. After visiting her new friends in Alaska, Cassidi fell in love with the state and moved to Seldovia, which is across the Bay from Homer. She loves how diverse coastal Alaska and its companies are, and she believes that her region is a truly unique place.
Prior to joining KPEDD, Cassidi was involved with local government and has always loved the mix of community engagement, education, and energy. Naturally, the Ambassador program was a perfect fit for Cassidi. She believes the Ambassador program is great opportunity to understand the energy grid and better communicate with community leaders. Her main goal is to learn as much as she can about energy security on the Kenai Peninsula and unlock its potential for renewables such as tidal energy. Cassidi looks forward to using her skills in industry and development to matchmake projects with communities in her region.
Meet Amanda Toerdal, the Arctic Energy Ambassador for the Bering Straits Region
Amanda has an associate degree in applied sciences and a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and sciences. She works for Kawerak, Inc., a nonprofit tribal consortium that provides over 40 different programs to the Inupiaq, St. Lawrence Island Yupik and Yup’ik people who reside in 16 communities of western Alaska and represents the 20 federally recognized tribes in the Bering Strait Region. Amanda considers her current role there her greatest achievement. Since she began her time at Kawerak, Amanda has learned about all of the amazing things happening in her region and loves helping different groups of people and agencies find funding.
Originally from the Midwest, Amanda moved to Nome in 2016 for her husband’s pilot job. She loves Nome’s people and beautiful environment, and she plans to stay. Amanda especially loves the abundance of berry-picking, fishing, and hunting in the region and enjoys making delicious dinners for her family.
Amanda was encouraged to apply for the Ambassador program by her organization due to her prior experience as an Energy Development Specialist. She wants to get as much money as possible in front of her communities and get people excited about energy. Amanda considers her greatest strengths to be her grant-writing skills and her ability to connect people to resources. She looks forward to connecting and collaborating with other Ambassadors.
Meet Kristina Andrew, the Arctic Energy Ambassador for the Bristol Bay Region
Kristina Andrew has a degree in rural development with an emphasis in land management and environmental resources. She currently works for DeerStone Consulting, and previously was with Bristol Bay Native Association (BBNA). Kristina has deep experience in fishery and community engagement. In fact, Kristina got to partner with NOAA’s SeaGrant program to help pilot commercial fishing entry level training, starting a crew class movement across the state. If there is anything she has learned about this experience and her time with BBNA, it is that meaningful change is slow but worth pursuing.
Kristina grew up in rural Alaska in a small, remote community. She enjoyed growing up in a place where she could trust her neighbors, and she recalls feeling a strong sense of belonging within her home village. To this day, Kristina feels deeply connected to the Bristol Bay region and the people inside it, and she appreciates how everyone wants to protect the place they call home.
Kristina took her position at BBNA six years ago, inheriting decades of files that contained projects that never came to fruition. Realizing action needed to be taken, Kristina joined the Ambassador team to create a connection between planning and implementing projects in her region. Her main goals are to implement policy changes that make funding more accessible to villages and to increase the energy awareness of villages. Kristina brings passion and strong communication skills to the team, and she can’t wait to learn about the energy sector in her region and others.
Meet Eddie Dellamary, the Arctic Energy Ambassador for the Interior Region
Eddie has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master’s degree in materials engineering with a focus on renewable technologies. He currently works with Tanana Chiefs Conference and has picked up expertise about electric utilities and energy resilience through this position. During his time as a Rural Energy Specialist, Eddie brought funding to the Interior and advanced several important climate-smart projects, such as the installation of two large battery storage units and solar arrays.
Eddie is originally from San Diego and moved to Alaska to commercial fish after a friend invited him. He loves life in Alaska and carries a deep respect for nature. He loves the biodiversity of the Interior, and every time he flies across to visit a community, he is always awestruck by the endless river systems.
Eddie became an Ambassador to make connections and voice the needs of the Interior. The Interior is a large and vast region with several communities, making it hard to communicate between them. To address the lack of communication, Eddie wants to create lasting connections between these communities, foster partnerships with federal funders, and learn from other Ambassadors. Eddie can’t wait to tap into his strengths in project management and administration to help the Interior and learn their stories.
Valerie Gorden
Valerie Gorden is the Arctic Energy Office’s Spring 2024 intern. She is studying Atmospheric and Oceanic Science at the University of Maryland and is passionate about energy, ice, and the Arctic! Outside of school and her internship, Valerie enjoys hiking, drawing, playing video games, and hanging out with friends.