From Micro-Units To the Big Picture: How is Anchorage Addressing Homelessness? - Julie Greene-Graham, Chair, In Our Back Yard, Thea Agnew Bemben, Special Assistant to Mayor LaFrance, Susanne Fleek-Green, Chief of Staff, Mayor LaFrance

Julie Green-Graham is a retired teacher who served in the Anchorage School District for 34 years. Married to a lifelong Alaskan, she is the mother of four daughters and Mema to four grandchildren. She is a member of Central Lutheran Church and part of their Local Organizing Ministry team. In 2022, she served on the Anchorage Municipal Emergency Cold Weather Task Force. Her role was to listen to people with lived experiences, hear their stories, learn about their struggles and dreams, and share their insights with the task force.  That experience opened her eyes to the needs of our unhoused neighbors. She was honored with the 2023 Anchored Home Community Volunteer Award from the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness. In 2024, Julie founded the nonprofit In Our Backyard to address the need for interim supportive housing for our unhoused senior neighbors.

Thea Agnew Bemben is a Special Assistant to Mayor LaFrance, working to address the interrelated issues of health, homelessness, and public safety. Thea is a lifelong Alaskan who joined the Mayor's Office from her role as Principal and co-owner of Agnew::Beck Consulting, a local firm she co-founded in 2002. Thea brings expertise in health, housing, and human services planning, along with strong experience working with Alaska Native communities, Tribal organizations, and many diverse communities in Anchorage and across Alaska. She has worked on significant projects, including the implementation of Crisis Now, Medicaid Redesign with the State of Alaska, development of the Anchored Home plan, and plans to address youth homelessness in Anchorage, as well as housing initiatives, including Pay for Success. Additionally, she convened the Municipality's Complex Behavioral Health Task Force.

Susanne Fleek-Green is the Chief of Staff for Anchorage Mayor Susanne LaFrance. She has twenty-five years of experience in management, policy, and politics, focusing on public and private land conservation, environmental protection, Native American rights, and community building. She served as Superintendent of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve until recently. Before joining the Park Service, she served as Mayor Ethan Berkowitz’s Chief of Staff and as State Director for U.S. Senator Mark Begich. She also worked for Anchorage’s Office of Economic and Community Development, for the United States Senate in Washington, DC, and as a Presidential Management Fellow with the U.S. Department of the Interior. Born and raised in Alaska, Susanne has lived in Yakutat, King Salmon, and Anchorage.  She is a Sealaska shareholder and a member of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. Susanne has a B.A. and a Master of Public Policy from UC Berkeley.   

In our backyard_Alaska Website - https://inourbackyard-ak.org
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/InOurBackyardAK

Julie's slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2ngjy50q8pz5ppolxgeof/JulieUnitarianPresentation-pdf.pdf?rlkey=on0e0gg0qmny7v25krz16cacg&dl=0

Thea's slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/p4y5kp9ojvnu0wkbl7bie/TheaCommunitySafetyPriorities2026.pdf?rlkey=l5e8g8b9lrfvtp5o1o1bv8uuu&dl=0

Sussanna's slides - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/d9avf4socj5rucvbdsiii/SusannaSalesTax