View as Webpage

Dear Alliance Members,

We're one month into the new fiscal year, and things are already moving. Our workgroups are back in full swing, and each one has real momentum heading into fall. Here's a look at what they're working on, and how you can get involved.

Policy Workgroup - September 11th, 11am-12pm

Policy is deep in the alcohol excise tax work, tracking legislation closely, and preparing for open session. If policy change is where your energy lives, this is a great time to join.

Communications & Social Norms Workgroup - September 8th, 1pm-2pm

This group is building new member resources, gathering events for the Choose Connection campaign, and developing a strategic communications plan for the Alliance. If you like thinking about how we tell our story, we'd love to have you at the table.

Evaluation & Learning Workgroup - September 3rd, 10am-11:30am

Evaluation is setting learning topics for the year, shaping the evaluation plan that will pair with our new strategic plan, and building an Alliance-wide evaluation that includes hearing directly from former and lower-participating members about their experience. If you have thoughts on what we should be learning together this year, this is your group.

Strategic Design Workgroup - September 15th, 1pm-2pm

Strategic Design is helping guide the new strategic plan and supporting the other workgroups as they carry out their own initiatives. A good fit if you like seeing how all the pieces connect.

Data & Learning Workgroup - September 23rd, 12pm-1:30pm

Data & Learning keeps our lunch and learns going, and this fall they're building out the year's learning calendar, laying foundational groundwork for the AURORA project, and growing our community of practice around data best practices.

And of course, mark your calendar for the Open Space Session on September 17th, 1:30-3pm. This is an “agenda-light” meeting where members can connect, pose conversation topics, collaborate on projects, or anything else that occurs as beneficial to our community.

Whether you've been with us for years or are just getting curious about the Alliance, there's a seat for you in any of these groups. New members are always welcome, and returning members bring perspective we can't get anywhere else. Email me at Tbobrycki@recoveralaska.org to learn more about any workgroup and how to get plugged in.

Before we go, two things worth your time: if you haven't yet, take a look at the FY26 Evaluation and Eval Snapshot completed by Goldstream Group, and our FY26 Q4 quarterly report. The evaluation provides an in-depth understanding of the Alliance according to members from across the state, including our strengths and growth areas and where we're headed.

Glad to be building this fall together.

Warmly,

Tesia Bobrycki

Coalition Coordinator

tbobrycki@recoveralaska.org

Recoverees 2026: Sweet Connections

is right around the corner - and we’re getting pretty excited!🍰🧡

Join us on September 16 at The Nave for a night filled with appetizers, desserts, mocktails, stories, awards, and plenty of opportunities to connect with some of our favorite people doing good work across Alaska. Best of all, every ticket helps us raise some dough for sober events and recovery-friendly gatherings around the state.

And we’d be remiss if we didn’t give a big sweet shout-out to our sponsors who are helping make the evening possible. We’re especially grateful to Walsh Sheppard, the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, and Goldstream Group - all of whom have also been active partners and participants in The Alliance. Their support goes well beyond putting their names on an event; they continue to show up, stay connected, and help move this work forward.

A huge thank you as well to Mat-Su Health Foundation and BDO for generously sponsoring Sweet Connections. We truly couldn’t pull off this piece of cake without all of them. 😉

🍰 Wednesday, September 16

🕔 5:00-7:00 p.m.

📍 The Nave | Anchorage

So grab a ticket, bring a friend, come cheer on some familiar faces, and help us celebrate the connections that make recovery possible. It’s shaping up to be a sweet night for an even sweeter cause - and we’d love to see a big Alliance crowd there!

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW

Sitka HOPE Coalition's Walk for Recovery

Join Sitka and the HOPE Coalition in honoring National Recovery Month! Saturday, September 19th at 10:00am, Centennial Hall hosts announcements, speakers, and resources, followed by a community walk to O'Connell Bridge and back. All are welcome, families, supporters, and community members on any point of their healing path.

September is full of chances to gather and honor this work: the SEARHC Canoe Welcoming and Parade on Sept 5, 988 Day on Sept 8, World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept 10, the SEARHC Potlatch on Sept 26, Save-A-Life Day on Sept 24, and Orange Shirt Day on Sept 30.

Sitka HOPE Coalition's Walk for Recovery

On August 8, Sitka Counseling and the HOPE Coalition participated in the Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s Tribal Family Literacy and Back-to-School Celebration and Sitka Night Out.

STA hosted a fun event to celebrate the season with Sitka Tribal Citizen youth from pre-K through 12th grade, as well as children living in STA Tribal Citizen households. Families received backpacks, school supplies, books, and community resources to help prepare for the upcoming school year.

Later that evening, hundreds of children and adults turned out for Sitka Night Out, a free community event featuring a police and fire meet and greet, Touch-a-Truck activities, food and drinks, bouncy houses, face painting, games, and more.

Sitka Counseling and the HOPE Coalition were at both events connecting with families, sharing prevention resources, and talking about the Choose Connection Campaign, a youth-created initiative designed by young people, for young people.

Students and parents were excited to learn more about the campaign, and the youth-designed swag was a big hit! We are grateful for these opportunities to connect with youth, families, and community partners while continuing to build strong relationships throughout Sitka.

Choose Connection at Hooligan Fest

Southcentral Regional Co-Chair Aaron attended the first annual Hooligan Festival at Delaney Park Strip in downtown Anchorage on Saturday, July 18, 2026. The festival featured vendors offering goods and information about support services, and a full day of live bands/artists playing music. Aaron distributed Opioid Overdose Response Kits and encouraged young attendees to choose healthy lifestyles and activities by sharing Choose Connection materials. Many attendees were interested in the Choose Connection program and appreciated that the artwork was inspired by youth from across Alaska, highlighting the ways they engage in healthy activities.

Caption for above picture: Alliance member, Ptery Lieght and Alliance Co-Chair Aaron Osterback promoting the Choose Connection Campaign at Hooligan Fest.

About The Alliance

The Alliance is a collaborative effort of multiple and diverse partners across Alaska who recognize the harms of alcohol on individuals and communities. We are personally and professionally committed to working together to address this complex problem in our state.

Our primary goal is to connect and engage communities as partners - increasing protective factors, reducing risk factors, and changing social norms - to prevent underage alcohol use and eliminate all harms of alcohol use in Alaska.

Alliance Materials:



• The Alliance's Common Agenda
• The Alliance's Resource Page

Get Involved!

Between starting new work and sustaining our progress, there are many opportunities to participate in The Alliance! All current workgroups are open to any member who would like to join. You can always read more about our workgroups and their purpose on the Get Involved page of our website. Our network practices an emergent strategy, and we update information based on our network's needs.

Interested in joining a workgroup? Click below to learn more, access the Zoom link, and read past meeting notes!

• The Communications & Social Norms Workgroup is led by an experienced media and communications contractor and advances the two social norms campaigns addressing underage drinking: Choose Connection and In Case You Missed It. The workgroup also supports the Alliance's various other internal and external communications needs. This workgroup meets on the second Tuesday of each month from 1-2 pm.

• The Data and Learning Workgroup is led by a data contractor and will be supporting data equity conversations and practices. This workgroup meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month from 12pm - 1:30pm.

• The Evaluation and Learning Workgroup is where members can participate in designing the annual evaluation process for the Alliance alongside a professional evaluator and receive technical assistance and support on utilizing evaluation in their work. This workgroup meets on the first Thursday of each month from 9:30am - 11am.

• The Strategic Design Workgroup builds structures and processes for the network to work in alignment with our values and theory of change. This workgroup is led by an experienced prevention professional and regional co-chair, and meets on the third Tuesday of each month from 1pm - 2pm.

• The Policy Workgroup is led by a policy expert and works to track alcohol and prevention policies, identifies and designs advocacy actions, and provides technical assistance to individuals wanting to engage in the political process. This workgroup meets on the second Friday of each month from 11am - 12pm. During legislative session (Jan-Apr), this workgroup meets every other Friday from 11am - 12pm.

All are welcome!

Want to Lead Change?

Apply to Be a Co-Chair of The Alaska Alliance!

Are you passionate about shaping Alaska’s future and driving meaningful community impact? The Alliance is now accepting applications for the Co-Chair position. This is a unique opportunity to help guide the organization’s vision, build partnerships, and amplify our collective voice.

If you’re interested in stepping up as a leader and making a difference, we encourage you to apply!

APPLY HERE

If you would like to submit content for The Alliance newsletter, please email

Tesia at tbobrycki@recoveralaska.org and Kara at kstewart@recoveralaska.org.