Connecting the dots between community and career

Leah Boltz, B.A. '06, keeps herself busy in Anchorage. She's the marketing director for Bettisworth North, promoting the designs and stories of the Fairbanks-based architecture firm. She's the co-founder of Parks for All, a grassroots initiative to promote inclusive play for all Alaskans (like the playground at Cuddy Family Midtown Park). On top of that, she's involved in professional organizations and Rotary Club and can be seen most winter weekends at Challenge Alaska in Girdwood, along with her daughter Anna-a headline-grabbing sit skier.

Yet she's also found time for her alma mater, returning for her third year as chair of the Alumni of Distinction awards committee (nominations for this year's awards will be accepted through July 17).

It seems like a lot to tackle, but everything is linked together. "One of the things I always try to do in every aspect of my life is connect the dots between things," she said. "So I look for those opportunities where I'm able to connect my personal interests, my professional life and community involvement all together." Her family inspires her community involvement, her career encourages her alumni outreach, and all her efforts are rooted, in some way, to her big, bold vision-to create a better future for Alaska.

Professional storyteller

Originally from Montana, Leah first attended Montana State University on a chemistry scholarship, with a minor in writing. Although she graduated from UAA, she may never have made it this far North if she hadn't started at MSU.

"It's the age-old story," she laughed. "I met a guy." When he decided to leave Bozeman and finish college in his hometown of Anchorage, she went with him. It was the right decision-she's been married to Nate for 11 years.

When she arrived at UAA, her love of writing had overtaken her interest in chemistry, and she reprioritized. On graduation day, she received a pretty bulletproof diploma-a major in journalism and public communications, with an added emphasis in advertising, plus minors in both writing and business.

Turns out her foundation in science paid off, as she found herself in a little-known career path. "Nobody goes to school and says, 'I want to be a professional service marketer!' Leah joked. Unlike other forms of marketing, Leah and her professional colleagues advertise services, not products. Professional service firms-think architects, engineers and contractors-live and die by the contracts they secure, so they need a solid marketing mind to pitch projects and lock down bids. They also need someone with a technical understanding of the complex projects they're promoting. Leah's interests and experiences served her well, and she now works as the marketing and business development director of Bettisworth North.

Due to Alaska's small population, the architecture firm can dabble in a little bit of everything, rather than focus on one industry. "It makes for a great economic opportunity, because we're very flexible and versatile," Leah said. The company portfolio mirrors that statement-a fire station here, a military barracks there, plus a smattering of senior centers and elementary schools and landscape designs. Maybe you've seen their work at 188 West Northern Lights?

But each of their projects-from the award-winning Ketchikan Public Library to upgrades at the Fairbanks airport-started out as a carefully crafted proposal. Leah's job covers a lot of ground, including web content, media, advertising and community events. The biggest piece of the architectural pie, though, is proposal writing. At the start of a project, clients shop around their idea, and firms like Bettisworth North fire back their proposals. That first impression all comes down to the writing and presentation. "You have to tell your story to the client and convince them that you're the best firm for the job," she said.

So what's the Bettisworth North story? "Our mission is to be community builders in Alaska," Leah continued.  "Our projects are part of the community fabric and make communities better. We don't like to go in and do a project and leave-we like to do multiple community projects that really work together, that really create that sense of place and community pride."

Take, for example, the internationally recognized design for the Tanana Chiefs Conference Chief Andrew Isaac Health Clinic in Fairbanks, which was designed with a cultural committee to integrate familiar touches of Native villages. The ground breaking included a ground blessing, where soils from various villages were brought to the site in beaded leather pouches and spread on the ground to serve as the foundation.

Alumni advocate

UAA is just one of Bettisworth North's clients, and the firm is currently designing outdoor recreation spaces to the forested residence halls at Kenai Peninsula College. Now that her alma mater is one of her clients, it made sense for Leah to connect the dots and get involved with the university again.

Leah is chairing the Alumni of Distinction selection committee for the third year in a row. As chair, she oversees the judging process-similar to the proposal process for architecture contracts ("It's been fun to be on the other side of that," she added). She also assembles the judging panel from the cadre of former award recipients-including local heavy hitters like the CEOs of CIRI and Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium-to judge the year's nominations.

Aside from the community leaders in the room, Leah also gets to familiarize herself with amazing Seawolves through the nomination packets. "It's a really good chance to meet alumni who are doing amazing things," she said. "I read some applications last year of people who are doing incredible things with technology around the world, and you would never know they came from UAA. It's a neat opportunity to highlight those people."

Nominations for the sixth class of Alumni of Distinction awardees are now being accepted, and Leah is looking forward to continuing the process. "It has value on so many levels," she said of the awards. "One of those is just celebrating UAA's successes and getting the word out in the community about the caliber of people that come from UAA."

She also sees the process as a chance to position UAA as a driver in the future of Alaska. "When you can connect the CEOs of these major players in the state with the university, that's really powerful."

She's hopeful that local industries will continue strengthening ties with UAA, informing the university what they need from graduates, while offering on-the-job training and mentorships for current students. In 2011, Leah helped found a Society for Marketing Professional Services chapter in Alaska, and the group is currently working to reach current business, journalism and graphic design students to promote their field. "With such a largely service-based economy in Alaska, we want students to start saying, 'I am going to UAA for professional services marketing," Leah said.

Leah has big dreams for Alaska, and she sees the university as the key ingredient. "Alaskans love our own. Whenever we can, we want to hire locally and, unfortunately, that's not always an option," she said, explaining her hopes to see further connections between UAA and the business world.

"I think there's really no reason why there can't be a stronger connection."

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Please visit the alumni website to find nomination forms for this year's Alumni of Distinction awards. Nominations will be accepted through July 17