North Alaska News

Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom presented the prestigious Shirley Demientieff Award to Sally Russell Cox during the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) Convention on Oct 20, 2023.

"The work that Sally has done for Alaska is the epitome of what this award stands for," said Nancy Dahlstrom, from the Office of Governor of Alaska.

Sally Russell Cox has been working with the Alaska Division of Community and Regional Affairs (DCRA) for nearly two decades. She manages DCRA’s Community Resilience Programs, which includes serving as the State of Alaska’s Risk MAP Coordinator, a FEMA program focused on increasing community resilience through data collection, risk assessments, and community planning. Cox has worked directly with the communities of Newtok, Kivalina, Shaktoolik, and Shishmaref to develop community resilience plans.

Cox earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and planning and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning. Cox leads the State for the Community Assistance Support Function for FEMA’s Interagency Recovery Coordination effort for Typhoon Merbok, and partnered with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium on a report titled, “The Unmet Needs of Environmentally Threatened Alaska Native Villages: Assessment and Recommendations.”