Dear Alliance Members,

As an organization dedicated to building strong connections that promote wellness, it was truly a privilege to meet so many of you in person at the 2025 Prevention Summit. It was inspiring to build relationships, share stories, and offer support together.

A special thank you to our friends at the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) and the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (CDVSA) for thoughtfully organizing this impactful event. Your dedication to strengthening ties between our organizations is deeply appreciated.

The summit featured many powerful presenters who shared stories, insights, and resources that challenged us to think about our work in new ways. If you were unable to attend, don’t worry—sessions were recorded, and I’ll share the link as soon as it’s available.

Alliance Workgroup Updates

Our work continues to advance in meaningful ways. Here are a few highlights from our workgroups:

• Data & Learning Workgroup:

We’re thrilled to announce that Saylor & Associates will be supporting the development of a survey to identify data needs, resources, and gaps within our communities. Look out for the survey at the end of April, and please add your voice to help shape our future efforts.

• Communications & Social Norms Workgroup:

Led by Kelby of Walsh Sheppard, our Choose Connection youth social norms campaign, aimed at addressing underage drinking, is expanding community outreach statewide. If you’d like campaign materials for your community, complete the request form linked at the bottom of the page.

• Recover Alaska is offering FREE grant writing services to communities looking to launch a full Choose Connection campaign, if awarded, grants funding will cover materials, media advertising, geo-fencing, and staff time for events. If interested, please reach out to me!
• Plus, our website is getting a makeover! We welcome your input as we streamline our message and resources.

• Needs Assessment Workgroup:

Our statewide needs assessment on alcohol-related policies led by Stellar Group is already yielding valuable insights. They are deepening their findings with key informant interviews and secondary data collection. I look forward to sharing the results in June.

• Policy Workgroup:

In Juneau, Tom Begich helped Alliance members connect with legislators to build relationships and advocate for community-impacting policies. This skill-building workgroup continues to track relevant legislation and grow our advocacy.

• Evaluation & Learning Workgroup:

It’s time to reflect! Stellar Group will be organizing peer interviews to evaluate members’ experience in the Alliance. Your input is vital—no matter your level of involvement—so please participate if interested. Announcement is coming soon.

• Strategic Design Workgroup:

This workgroup has been digging deep into how the Alliance operates—how we collaborate, make decisions, and move toward our strategic plan objectives. Facilitated by Co-chair Aaron Osterback, we’ve made significant progress in understanding member experiences and identifying areas for improvement. Some key accomplishments include developing clearer decision-making protocols to ensure transparency and inclusivity and creating a roadmap to track progress on our strategic plan and keep members informed of milestones.

You’re warmly invited to join any of our upcoming workgroup meetings—details are listed below. Your involvement and perspective are always valued.

Wishing you a joyful season of renewal,

Tesia Bobrycki

Alliance Coordinator

tbobrycki@recoveralaska.org

About The Alliance

The Alliance is a collaborative effort of multiple and diverse partners across Alaska who recognize the impacts of alcohol misuse 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 adult misuse in Alaska.

Alliance Materials

• The Alliance's common agenda
• The Alliance's grounding document
• The Alliance's Resource Page
• The Alliance's network member portal
• Materials for new network members

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.

• The Communications/Social Norms Workgroup will be supporting the social norms campaign and The Alliance's various other internal and external communications needs. The Comms Workgroup meets on the second Tuesday of each month from 1-2 pm.
• The Data and Learning Workgroup will be supporting data equity conversations and practices.
• The Evaluation and Learning Workgroup is where members can participate in developing and overseeing the process of reflecting on the work of the network to identify what is working well and where more attention may be needed so we can continue to develop and grow.
• The Strategy and Design Workgroup builds structures and processes for the network to work in alignment with our values and theory of change.

You are welcome to ask questions about those workgroups or to ask to join any of them.

If you would like to submit content for The Alliance newsletter, please email Tesia at tbobrycki@recoveralaska.org and Blaze Bell at bbell@recoveralaska.org.