Alaska Entrepreneurship Future: 2026 Legislators Forum

Public Leadership Perspectives on Strengthening Alaska’s Entrepreneurial Fabric

What does Alaska’s entrepreneurial community need from public leadership, and what can government realistically do?

Entrepreneurs and small businesses do not operate in isolation. Their ability to start, grow, hire, invest, innovate, commercialize new ideas, and remain in Alaska is influenced by public policy, regulation, infrastructure, workforce development, education, research, procurement, taxation, access to capital, public investment, and economic-development priorities.

That makes public leadership an important part of Alaska’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Session I of the Alaska Entrepreneurship Week Finale brings together current elected officials and candidates for elected office for a structured, nonpartisan conversation focused specifically on entrepreneurship, small business, innovation, and Alaska’s economic future.

The purpose is not simply to hear campaign positions. The purpose is for candidates to express their point of view regarding entrepreneurship and how they look to implement changes if they are elected.

The central questions

• What is government seeing from its side of the entrepreneurial ecosystem?
• What can public institutions realistically do to strengthen entrepreneurship and small business?
• What can they not do?
• Where do statutory, budgetary, regulatory, administrative, or institutional constraints limit progress?
• Which existing policies, programs, or approaches should be reinforced?
• What should change?
• What approaches do Alaska’s current and prospective public leaders believe should be pursued next?

More Than a Candidate Forum

The 2026 election creates an important opportunity to hear from candidates, but the value of Session I goes beyond the election.

Current elected officials are also being invited whether or not they are seeking reelection. Their experience in the Alaska House, Alaska Senate, municipal assemblies and councils, and other public bodies provides insight into how government actually works, including:

• What government has authority to change
• What requires legislation
• What can be addressed administratively
• What requires appropriations or additional funding
• What local government can address that state government cannot
• Where federal requirements limit available options
• Which policies or programs have already been attempted, what worked, and what did not
• Why seemingly straightforward solutions sometimes become difficult to implement

This Is Not a Campaign Rally

Session I is a nonpartisan civic and economic-development discussion. The purpose is not to promote candidates, political parties, or electoral outcomes. It is to understand how current and prospective public leaders view entrepreneurship and small business in Alaska.

Participants will be encouraged to move beyond general statements about “supporting small business” and discuss the actual conditions affecting entrepreneurs. The objective is not to determine who “wins” the conversation. It is to provide useful information, institutional context, policy perspectives, and potential solutions that Alaska’s entrepreneurial community can carry forward into the afternoon Community Stakeholders Session.

The Conversation

Discussion may include entrepreneurship and small-business formation and growth, access to capital and investment, early-stage and growth-stage financing, innovation and technology commercialization, workforce development and talent retention, rural entrepreneurship and economic development, infrastructure and connectivity, healthcare innovation, energy and emerging industries, regulation and administrative burden, state and municipal procurement, government contracting opportunities for Alaska businesses, research and university-industry collaboration, economic diversification, business attraction and retention, entrepreneurial education, public-private collaboration, and Alaska’s economic competitiveness over the next decade.

The discussion will focus not only on proposed solutions, but also on implementation realities. A policy idea may require legislation. A program may already exist but be difficult to access. A regulatory barrier may originate at a different level of government than expected. A funding source may have restrictions that make an otherwise attractive solution impossible. A successful program may need reinforcement rather than replacement. Understanding those distinctions is part of the purpose of the session.

Why Attend

Entrepreneurs and small-business owners hear directly how public leaders understand the barriers encountered when starting, operating, and growing businesses in Alaska.

Investors and lenders gain insight into public-policy priorities that may influence investment, capital formation, regulation, infrastructure, workforce availability, and business growth.

Innovators and researchers hear how current and prospective public leaders approach commercialization, research, emerging technologies, public-private partnerships, and innovation-driven economic development.

Economic development and support organizations better understand the capabilities and limitations of public institutions and where stronger coordination with government may be possible.

Government and public-sector participants hear directly from entrepreneurs and ecosystem partners while contributing institutional knowledge that is difficult to obtain through traditional policy channels.

Event Schedule

11:15 AM to 12:00 PM. Doors Open and Pre-Event Networking. Meet entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors, public officials, candidates, economic-development organizations, support organizations, and other members of Alaska’s entrepreneurial community.

12:00 PM to 12:10 PM. Welcome and Context. AKEW organizers introduce the objectives of the day, explain the role of public leadership within Alaska’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, and establish the ground rules for the discussion.

12:10 PM to 1:30 PM. Public Leadership Forum. Two separate moderated segments are held inside this block. It is not a single combined conversation.

Segment 1. Current Officials: Institutional Perspective. Current elected officials who are not active candidates discuss current authority, implementation experience, existing programs, and the budgetary, regulatory and administrative constraints on public action. Campaigns, candidates, endorsements, succession and election outcomes are not discussed in this segment.

Segment 2. 2026 Candidate Forum. Candidates discuss their approaches to entrepreneurship, small business, innovation, investment, workforce, commercialization, and Alaska’s long-term economic competitiveness. Candidate participation is organized by complete race cohort: every candidate in a participating race receives the same invitation, the same format and the same terms.

Buffet lunch is served during this block for registered attendees. Officials and candidates taking part in the program are not automatically registered for the meal. Meal arrangements for program participants are handled separately.

1:30 PM to 2:00 PM. Closing, Networking, and Transition. The formal Session I discussion concludes and the conversation transitions toward the afternoon Community Stakeholders Session.

Who Is Being Invited

Current elected officials, including members of the Alaska House, Alaska Senate, municipal assemblies and councils, and other relevant public bodies.

Candidates for elected office, including candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Alaska House, and Alaska Senate.

Current officials do not need to be candidates for reelection to participate. Their relevance comes from the institutional experience and perspective associated with the offices they currently hold. Confirmed participants will be added to this page as participation is finalized.

For participation information: contact@akew.org

Session I and Session II Are Designed to Work Together

Session I: Public Leadership Perspective. Current elected officials and candidates provide input from the governmental and public-policy side of Alaska’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Session II: Community Stakeholder Integration. The afternoon brings entrepreneurs, investors, lenders, educators, researchers, nonprofits, government representatives, economic-development organizations, advisors, business leaders, and other stakeholders together to combine that input with the community’s own experience.

Session I provides input. Session II integrates it.

Registration

In-person seating is intentionally limited, and every attendee has a seat at a table. Advance registration is required. 40 community registrations are available for the in-person program. A separate allocation is held for participating officials, candidates and running mates, so political participation does not reduce the 40 community registrations. Online attendance is not limited by room capacity.

Session I and Buffet Lunch, $50 per person, includes admission to Session I, buffet lunch, pre-event networking, post-session networking, and access to participating public leaders and Alaska’s entrepreneurial community.

Full Friday Program, $75 per person, includes Session I, buffet lunch, the Session II Community Stakeholders Session, dinner, and networking throughout the day. To register for the full day, add both the Session I and Session II registrations to your cart and the $25 Full Friday saving is applied automatically at checkout.

Registration deadline: Monday, September 7, 2026, or before available community registrations are filled, whichever occurs first.

Session I is also available live online through Google Meet. A free virtual registration is available below.

Attending as an elected official or candidate

Participation is offered in person at the Petroleum Club or live online, and both carry the same speaking time, the same questions and the same place in the running order. Participants joining online appear on screen to the room and are introduced in the same sequence as those present. The online option is free, requires no travel and no full-day commitment, and joining only for the 12:10 PM to 1:30 PM segment is expected and welcome. No official or candidate is charged to take part in the program, and no participation is conditioned on any position, endorsement, contribution or affiliation.

All registrations are final. No refunds are offered.

Attend virtually for FREE:

Sponsor-Supported Tickets

Thanks to AKEW sponsors, a limited number of complimentary registrations are available for members of Alaska’s entrepreneurial community for whom registration cost would otherwise create a barrier. Sponsor-supported registration may be requested for Session I, Session II, or the full Friday program. An application is required. Availability is limited, and submitting an application does not guarantee a ticket.

Apply for a sponsor-supported registration

The application is deliberately demanding and takes most people twenty to thirty minutes to complete. It cannot be saved and resumed. Organizers review each application individually and may request more information before deciding. Applying does not guarantee a registration.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

AKEW’s September 18 programming is made possible with support from organizations investing in Alaska’s entrepreneurial community.

Tech Wildcatters
AK Coffee Company
REFocus

Sponsorships Are Still Available

Organizations interested in supporting Alaska’s entrepreneurial community can still participate as sponsors. Sponsorship can also help expand access by providing sponsor-supported registrations for entrepreneurs and community members who otherwise may not be able to participate.

Sponsorship does not provide influence over candidate invitations, questions, moderator selection, speaking opportunities, or forum content.

Become a sponsor. Email contact@akew.org

Nonpartisan Forum Notice

Alaska Entrepreneurship Week is presenting Session I as a nonpartisan civic and economic-development forum. AKEW does not endorse, support, oppose, or recommend any candidate or political party. The appearance, participation, absence, statements, biography, or identity of a candidate or public official should not be interpreted as an endorsement or preference by AKEW, its organizers, sponsors, participating organizations.

Current elected officials are invited because the governmental offices they hold provide relevant institutional knowledge and perspective concerning Alaska’s entrepreneurial environment. Candidates participate to explain their approaches to the same entrepreneurship and economic-development issues.

No political fundraising, solicitation of campaign contributions, or campaign advocacy is permitted as part of the forum. Questions will be moderated by AKEW organizers and focused on entrepreneurship, small business, innovation, economic development, and related public-policy issues. Views expressed by participants are their own.

About Alaska Entrepreneurship Week

Alaska Entrepreneurship Week is a statewide, volunteer-led initiative designed to spotlight, support, and strengthen entrepreneurship across Alaska. AKEW brings entrepreneurs, small-business owners, mentors, investors, educators, support organizations, government partners, and other members of Alaska’s entrepreneurial ecosystem together through events, conversations, shared promotion, and statewide coordination.

Encourage   –   Leverage   –   Connect.