Gretchen Guess

Gretchen Guess (she/her) is the President and CEO of Rasmuson Foundation, a family foundation dedicated to empowering Alaskans to help each other. She leads the 70-year-old foundation in its vision of an Alaska where people, cultures, and communities thrive.

Prior to the Foundation, she served in leadership roles for nonprofit healthcare providers, where she managed operations of hospitals, clinics, and physician services, as well as drove business strategy, planning, and development.

Gretchen served Alaskans as an elected House and Senate member of the state legislature and as president of the Anchorage School Board. First elected to the Senate in 2002, she was the youngest woman in Alaska history to attain the office. Through her work in public service, she is regarded for her ability to bridge gaps between parties and stakeholders and for her dedication to her districts, some of the most culturally diverse areas, per capita, in the country.

Gretchen holds a bachelor’s in economics from Carleton College in Minnesota and a master’s degree in public policy analysis from the University of Rochester, with post-graduate work at the Rand Institute.