Alumni Spotlight: Löki Gale Tobin

Originally published in August 2012, Löki's profile was updated in January 2014.

B.A. Psychology and Sociology '06 M.A. Rural Development '11 (UAF Peace Corps Master's International) Hometown: Nome, Alaska Fun Fact: Is a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan.

Peace Corp volunteer Löki Gale Tobin spent three years in Azerbaijan. When she returned to the U.S. in 2011, she set her sights on building strong communities right here in Alaska, from her own hometown of Nome where she remains an advocate for the Nome Food Bank to her adopted hometown of Anchorage where she now works for The Alaska Community Foundation.

"We connect Alaskans to the causes they care about in a meaningful way," she says.

As a communications specialist for the foundation, she's eager to share stories about Alaska nonprofits that benefit from the support of Alaskans around the state. One of the most public faces of the foundation is Pick.Click.Give., which gives Permanent Fund Dividend applicants the opportunity to earmark a portion (or all!) of their PFD for their favorite charity.

Löki Gale has also dedicated some of her free time to serve on an editorial advisory board at her alma mater as they help to shape a new alumni magazine with the first issue due out this spring.

"I'm really proud that I got my education at state schools," says the UAA/UAF alumna. "I think I got the best education. I think it's comparable to Harvard and Columbia, because I'm focused on Alaska Native populations and this is ground zero."

Now when she gets the chance to talk with some of the younger folks in rural communities who are eager to leave the state for greener pastures, Löki wants them to know what great opportunities they could have if they stay put.

She tells them, "We don't need your knowledge and experience to leave the state, we need it to stay here and strengthen us."

Concert Board alum

"I was incredibly lucky to have fallen into student organizations and UAA-sponsored clubs pretty early on in my undergraduate experience at UAA. As the chair of the UAA Concert Board, I had the wonderful opportunity to hobnob with famous folk and hang out with Annie Route, director of Student Activities," she says. "My experiences with the UAA Concert Board hooked me on event planning and community activism, so that is what I decided to pursue as a career. After graduating, I totally planned on getting on that 'Top 40 Under Forty' list."

For the record, she might still have some time to make the list... "However, a few years at a desk made me antsy to get back into school." Looking around at programs with sociological significance led her to UAF's Peace Corps Master's International program.

"The idea of earning a graduate degree while serving in the Peace Corps, which sounded totally cool and exotic, struck me as an awesome win-win. I won two times! Besides, I was in a great place to commit two years of my life to something where I had no idea what it entailed," she explains with the characteristic humor with which she wrote her blog, "Far From Nome. " The blog details the 3+ years she spent applying to the Peace Corps, receiving her assignment to Azerbaijan and then subsequently serving there from 2008-2011 in what was indeed an adventure far, far from everything and everyone she'd grown up with in Nome.

Lessons from Azerbaijan

Löki Gale notes that rural Azerbaijan has some similarities to rural Alaska with respect to social structure ("Family and community are of utmost importance.") and the challenges faced in our rural communities ("There are urgent needs for waste management, water treatment, infrastructure development, etc."). Even with Peace Corps training under her belt, though, she faced her own daily challenges-hauling water, battling for electricity, cooking, staying warm enough in winter (sometimes 20 degrees indoors) and cool enough in summer (100 degrees). "It definitely was a bit of hubris thinking my rural Alaska childhood would prepare me for the unique environment that is not only Azerbaijan, but Peace Corps. I thought being an Alaskan meant I could eat anything and walk away satisfied. This was not often the case and with my head hovering over a squat toilet, I learned to be much more humble. I kind of feel like that lesson applied to many more things than just food."

As a Peace Corps volunteer working in community development, Löki Gale was tasked with helping residents identify and achieve their development goals. "My work life entailed a lot of networking, drinking hot tea (in 100-degree weather), and listening. Boy, did I spend a lot of time listening. Through my courses at UAF, I had learned that civic engagement and community activism does not stem from the development facilitator, but from the community. Learning this concept was easy, applying it was very difficult."

Löki Gale's time and attention was eventually consumed by a cohort of young women with whom she continues to correspond and offer practical assistance (writing assistance, grammar checking, etc.) to encourage them to pursue their goals. "There is a pretty popular opinion in the Peace Corps world that once you are a PCV (Peace Corps volunteer), you are always a PCV. It is a 24/7/365 kind of thing," she says.

Community building

Before making her move to Anchorage in April to work for The Alaska Community Foundation, Löki Gale readjusted to life in the states back in her hometown of Nome.

"Readjustment has been hard," she admits. "It was easier in Nome where I could wear jeans and bunny boots and talked with the people I grew up with. In Anchorage, it's much more nuanced. I've had my meltdowns at the Bear Tooth with everyone pressing in, talking in English, buying so many things, and I realize, you just spent my entire salary for the last two years on two meals."

Walking and biking have helped Löki Gale get familiar with her new neighborhood and see a side of Anchorage that she feels a lot of people miss out on. Carless by choice, she sees the city at foot and pedal pace, stopping to talk to people on the corner or at the parks.

Star Trek principles

When Löki Gale isn't busy making the world a better place, re-runs of Star Trek: The Next Generation help provide her with an intergalactic perspective on cultural differences.

"I think Gene Roddenberry was a genius...He promoted an integrated crew that had several key characters who were part of the crew, yet able to exhibit their heritage in an inclusive environment. He showed race and gender equality exist in the future and make us stronger as a group. He had men in short skirts. He promoted a world without hunger or poverty that still had its problems. He offered us the Prime Directive, something I try to follow every day...more theoretically-I am not that much of a nerd," she says, referencing a guiding principle of non-interference within a foreign culture in ways that would stunt the growth of its developing people.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of community foundations that follow a similarly altruistic code of ethics, helping to pave the way for nonprofits to succeed by "matchmaking" with donors and offering them a sustainable resource pool.

"The whole idea is to help people realize it's not about competition, it's about investing that money so we always have it," she says. "Donating to a cause is important, but if you donate to a sustainable resource of money and we give the dividends, similar to the Permanent Fund, you'll always have it."

"When I left for the Peace Corp, I was idealistic and naïve," Löki Gale says. "I came back still idealistic, but with a heavy dose of reality."