ETHICS COMMITTEE PUBLIC MEMBERS

Ethics Committee Public Member Dennis (Skip) Cook

Skip Cook has been a member of the Committee since 1998; he is registered Non-partisan. He has been a partner in a law firm in Fairbanks since 1972. In addition to his law degree, he holds a master’s degree in political science and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics, Politics, and Engineering. Mr. Cook is very active in his community and serves on numerous boards and commissions.

Ethics Commitee Public Member Joyce M. Anderson

Joyce Anderson has served on the committee since 2017; she is registered Non-Partisan. She previously served as administrator of the Ethics Committee from June 2001-July 2014 and as a consultant from July 2014-February 2016. She moved to Alaska in June 1999 from Minnesota after working for the City of Minneapolis for 30 years, serving 15 years as the Director of Elections and Voter Registration. Ms. Anderson holds an Associate of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and a Master of Arts degree in Public Administration. She serves on numerous boards and commissions both on the local and state level.

Ethics Committee Public Member Deborah Fancher

My parents moved to Alaska when I was three. I grew up in Gakona and graduated from Glenallen High School in 1981. In 1986, I earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, with a biology minor, from the University of Washington in Seattle. I returned to Anchorage in 1986 and spent 23 years teaching in public, private, and charter schools. In 2007, I obtained by master’s degree in education from Alaska Pacific University. I am married, have two adult sons, and three black polydactyl cats. In my spare time, I enjoy traveling, hiking, and reading.

Ethics Committee Public Member Gerald McBeath

In 2020, Jerry McBeath began serving as an Alternate Public Member of the Ethics Committee. He was appointed to a regular Ethics Committee Public Member position in 2023. He is a registered Non-Partisan. Dr. McBeath came to Alaska in 1976 and is now Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. His research and publications span U.S. local, state, and national politics, energy and environmental policy and politics, and regional studies (East Asia, the Arctic). He has served on civic boards/commissions at the local, state, and national levels, and on editorial boards of international journals as well..

Ethics Committee Public Member H. Conner Thomas

Conner Thomas has served on the Committee since 1999 and is a registered Democrat. He is an attorney in private practice in Nome. He has also worked for the State of Alaska in Nome as a magistrate and public defender and with the Alaska Legal Services Corporation. In addition to his law degree, he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. Mr. Thomas is very active in the Nome Kennel Club and has run and finished the 1,150-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race twice.