News

May 2010

Greetings and welcome to our Women Police of Alaska webpage!  It is hard to believe that we are already into May of 2010 with our annual membership meeting this month at the Alaska Peace Officers Association annual crime conference in Fairbanks, AK.

So far this year in 2010, we have had an enjoyable social dinner get-together at the Brewhouse in Anchorage in January, we set up a booth at the Hanshew Middle School career fair in April, we donated money towards  the expenses of the Law Enforcement Memorial Picnic held at the Anchorage Police Department prior to the Police Memorial Week Ceremony at the DPS buildings in Anchorage, and our Vice-President, Kris Sell, is working on a mentorship program for women recruits from all agencies attending the DPS academy in Sitka, AK.

Most of our funding for our activities comes from dues paid by our members.  I recently sent out a dues reminder for those of you who, like me, have been too busy to think about one more thing they have to do!  Your membership and support of the Women Police of Alaska will help our organization continue to provide increasing networking opportunities for our members, to provide educational scholarships to residents of the State of Alaska enrolled in higher education in a relevant law enforcement course of study, as well as law enforcement mentoring and other WPA activities.
Speaking of scholarships, don’t forget that WPA has a scholarship program and applications are currently being accepted for the 2010 – 2011 school year.  The deadline for applications is June 15, 2010, and you may print off an application at the “Scholarship” link.  Last year we awarded two $1,000 scholarships thanks to a generous matching contribution from ProComm of Alaska, the authorized Motorola dealer for Alaska.

In other news, a big thank you goes out to Officer Alex Wells of the Fairbanks Police Department.  For several years, we have been trying to get an authentic Fairbanks Police Department badge to place on Peggy Sullivan’s uniform shirt displayed at the FOAST Trooper Museum in the Women in Alaska Policing exhibit.  Alex recently made a trip to Anchorage in April and brought down a badge for the uniform –but not any badge – it was Peggy’s actual badge with her badge number #321.  The badge is now proudly on display in the exhibit.  Another mentionable about Alex – she designed the Women Police of Alaska our Alaskana mountains, northern lights, Big Dipper, forget-me-not logo at the top of this page!

And another former WPA member made history – retired Anchorage Police Department Lieutenant Marilyn Bailey, retired, again –  this time from her job as a backgrounds investigator for the APD.  She was honored by a spread in the Anchorage Daily news about her stellar and storied career as one of the trailblazers of women in law enforcement in Alaska.  If you missed it, her story can still be viewed at http://community.adn.com/adn/node/146817#ixzz0nHhIN1ES.
And last, but not least, welcome to our newest member, Tracy O’Malley of the Dillingham Police Department!

If you have any newsworthy items of interest for our members, announcements, achievements, etc., please e-mail that information to Angella Long at angella.long@womenpoliceofalaska.org or me, Michele Logan, at michele.logan@womenpoliceofalaska.org.  As always, you can stay abreast of what goes on at our scheduled meetings if you are unable to attend by clicking on the link to “Meeting Minutes.”

Until next time, stay safe!

Your President,
Michele Logan

November 2009

Welcome to our Women Police of Alaska webpage! I am writing you from my balcony overlooking the Gulf of Mexico near Telchac Puerto, Yucatan in Mexico. Not to rub it in, but winter is here, and I for one try to enjoy an October/November respite every year to warm up my bones one last time in anticipation of the coming months. It is my hope as 2009 comes to a close that each of you had a healthy and productive year.

In a few weeks I will be mailing out reminders for membership dues renewals for 2010. Along with your renewal, I will be asking you to share any stories, promotions or recognition from 2009 for yourself or other women you work with in law enforcement in Alaska so that I may recognize them on this website and in the Region 9 news for the International Association of Women Police magazine.

I occasionally talk to past WPA members or prospective members who say they do not maintain current membership or join WPA because they do not have the time to participate or make scheduled meetings. Believe me, I know what it means to have too much on your proverbial plate! However, I cannot stress enough that we understand both the time obligations and the geographical difficulties that are unique to our state and will not hold lack of time or meeting attendance against you! The primary purpose of this website is just for that reason – to help keep you abreast of what goes on within our organization and at our scheduled meetings, even if you are unable to attend for whatever reason (see “Meeting Minutes”). And those annual dues? Well, they go a long way toward helping us fund our programs, particularly our scholarship program.

For the past two years, Women Police of Alaska has awarded two (2) $1,000 college scholarships to applicants who have expressed an interest in pursuing a course of study in a field of law enforcement. The WPA scholarship program is a shared effort with ProComm of Alaska which generously contributes half of the total scholarship money we award. You can read more about our 2009-2010 scholarship recipients, Kelsey Waldorf of Anchor Point and Annette Dyankanoff of Ketchikan, and about our scholarship program in general under the “Scholarships” link.

Speaking of college…on October 22, 2009, the Women Police of Alaska sponsored a Law Enforcement Career Fair at the University of Alaska Anchorage in partnership with the Alaska State Troopers, the Alaska Association of Chiefs of Police and the UAA Justice Center. All prospective candidates were welcome, but the emphasis was on recruiting women into law enforcement careers. Agencies who participated in the event by sending personnel to staff booths included the US Marshals Service, the FBI, DEA, Alaska State Troopers, Anchorage Airport Police and Fire, Fairbanks PD, North Slope DPS, Sand Point PD, Seward PD and the Department of Corrections. According to Barbara Armstrong of the UAA Justice Center, the career fair was such a success, they would like to make it an annual event. You can check out photos and a story from the career fair at the UAA Justice Center blog for October 24, 2009 at the following website: http://uaajusticecenter.blogspot.com/2009_10_25_archive.html.

Our next WPA meeting is Wednesday, December 2, 2009 in Anchorage during the APSC Executive Development Conference. It will be held at 11:30 am at the China Lights Restaurant on the Old Seward Hwy, just a stone’s throw from the Dimond Center Hotel where the conference is being held.

If you have any newsworthy items for our members, announcements, achievements, etc., please e-mail that information to Angella Long at angella.long@womenpoliceofalaska.org. Any questions or concerns about Women Police of Alaska may be directed to me, Michele Logan, at mlogan@womenpoliceofalaska.org. Until next time, stay safe!

Adios, Vaya Con Dios y Feliz Navidad!

Your President,

Michele Logan

Greetings and welcome to our Women Police of Alaska webpage! As I write this column at the beginning of August, I can hardly believe that the summer of 2009 is already drawing to a close!

We had our annual picnic and membership meeting on Saturday, August 1 at Rae Arno’s Wildwood Farm in Wasilla. The weather this year could not have been better for an outdoor gathering. Thank you to Rae and Susan for sharing your home with us once again.

If you were unable to make to the General Membership meeting or the summer picnic, photos have been posted under the “Photos” link and the minutes from those meetings under the “Minutes” link. Because of the geographical distances between our members, if you cannot be present at meetings, it is my hope this website becomes a regular way for all of us to keep up with the activities of our association.

The results of the biennial elections held this past spring were: President – Michele Logan (that would be me), a Detective in the Financial Crimes Unit of the Anchorage Police Department; Vice President – Kris Sell, a Lieutenant with the Juneau Police Department currently supervising the dispatch section; Secretary – Sherrie Daigle, the Chief Investigator for the State of Alaska Workers’ Compensation Fraud investigation Section; and Treasurer – Rae Arno, retired from the Alaska State Troopers and the Treasurer for WPA since inception in 1997.

The four board members at large are Lana Grist, Probation Officer with Anchorage Probations; Andrea Jacobson, Investigator in the Computer and Financial Crimes Unit of the Alaska Bureau of Investigation (AST); Angella Long, Investigator with the Office of Professional Standards (DPS); and Tara Tippett, Lieutenant currently supervising Patrol at the Fairbanks Police Department.

Between our General Membership meeting in Soldotna on June 1 during the Alaska Peace Officers Association Kenai Crime Conference and our annual summer picnic meeting, all the officers and board members were sworn in and are ready to serve the membership and law enforcement in Alaska.

Our Scholarship committee (Rae Arno, Lana Grist, Gary Peters and Wanda Phillips) recently selected two $1,000 scholarship recipients from the pool of applicants. Half of the scholarship amounts awarded will be paid from the WPA general fund, and half from a generous donation from ProComm of Alaska. Congratulations to Kelsey Waldorf of Anchor Point and Annette Dyakanoff of Ketchikan. You can read more about the scholarships and find an application for the 2010-2011 scholarship under the “Scholarships” link.

Our next regularly scheduled meeting will be during the 2009 Executive Development Conference in Anchorage during the first week of December. Please check the link “Meetings and Events” for the exact time and location as December draws closer. If you have any ideas for projects, fundraising or mentoring for the association, please contact me or one of the board members. Links to board members’ e-mail are can be found under the “Officers” link.

Enjoy the rest of the summer and stay safe!

Your President

Michele Logan

April 2009 President’s Corner

Greetings and welcome to our Women Police of Alaska webpage. It is hard to believe that not only is 2008 behind us, we are already four months into 2009!

First, I want to take this opportunity to recognize the achievements of some of our WPA members in 2008 that have been made known to me:

Long time WPA member Kelly Alzaharna was promoted to Chief of Police of the North Slope Borough PD headquartered in Barrow, Alaska;

WPA Secretary Sherrie Daigle accepted a position as Chief Investigator for the State of Alaska Workers’ Compensation Fraud Investigation Section. She is in charge of the workers’ compensation fraud investigators in their offices in Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks;

Kim Krausher found her way back to the Mainland from St. Thomas, USVI in 2008 after being promoted to Group Supervisor of the DEA Seattle Division Intelligence Group (which includes Alaska). She oversees eight analysts whose work on all aspects of drug cases including pharmaceuticals and precursor chemicals;

Michelle Bucher, Anchorage Police Department, was promoted from sergeant/supervisor of the Financial Crimes Unit to Lieutenant of the Detective Team 2. She is the commander of the Special Victims Unit, Crimes Against Children Unit, Vice Units, and Cyber Crimes Unit;

Anchorage Police Department Detective Jackie Conn was selected as the APD 2008 Detective of the Year by the APD Employee Recognition Board for her work in the Theft Unit, the organization of a successful and highly popular monthly Southcentral Retailer’s meeting, and her work as the investigator of animal abuse cases for the Municipality of Anchorage;

Retired Alaska State Trooper and WPA Treasurer Rae Arno published her book entitled “ Anchorage Place Names”;

WPA Board Member Maxine Andrews was selected as the 2008 Member of the Year for the Anchorage Chapter of the Alaska Peace Officers Association for her work in the association as chapter treasurer;

Life Member Shirley Gifford was appointed out of retirement (we knew it wouldn’t last forever) in December 2008 to be Director of the State of Alaska Alcohol, Beverage Control Board by Governor Sarah Palin.

Congratulations to all!

It is election time again (every two years) and all the officers and Board of Directors are up for election: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and four (4) board members. Ballots will be sent out during the first week of May – a little later than usual this year as our annual membership meeting is being held later in the year at the 2009 APOA Crime Conference in Kenai, Alaska on June 1, 2009. See the link to “Meetings and Events” for continuing updates on this and other meetings and events of interest to our members.

The International Association of Women Police international training conference will be held in our own District 9 this September in Seattle, Washington. The dates are September 20 – 24, 2009 and the Westin Seattle Hotel is the training venue and hotel. Beth Lavin of the King County Sheriff’s department and her conference committee have been working hard for over two years to put together an excellent conference – not to mention it is being held in one of the favorite cities Lower 48 that we Alaskans like to respite to! Please visit the conference link at http://www.iawp.us/ and seriously consider making plans to attend. I hope to see a strong contingent from WPA and Alaska attend the conference in support of our District 9 sisters in Seattle.

Don’t forget that WPA has a scholarship program and applications are currently being accepted for the 2009 – 2010 school year. You may print off an application at the “Scholarship” link. Last year we awarded two $1,000 scholarships in partnership with ProComm of Alaska, the authorized Motorola dealer for Alaska.

If you have any newsworthy items of interest for our members, announcements, achievements, etc., please e-mail that information to Angella Long at angella.long@womenpoliceofalaska.org. Any questions or concerns about Women Police of Alaska may be directed to me, Michele Logan, at michele.logan@womenpoliceofalaska.org. As always, you can stay abreast of what goes on at our scheduled meetings if you are unable to attend by clicking on the link to “Meeting Minutes.”

Until next time, stay safe!

Your President,

Michele Logan

October 2008 President’s Corner

Greetings and welcome to our Women Police of Alaska webpage! I hope to make this a quarterly, or at least a semi-yearly, update of what our organization is doing, and to recognize the achievements of our members and women in law enforcement in Alaska. Of course, you can always keep abreast of what goes on at our scheduled meetings if you are unable to attend due to work obligations or the geographic constraints we have to contend with here in our great State of Alaska by clicking on the link to “Meeting Minutes.”

In 2008, Women Police of Alaska raised over $1,200 towards our programs, primarily our scholarship program, thanks to the efforts of our Juneau members who conducted a WPA-sponsored silent auction at the APOA Crime Conference in Juneau in May of 2008. Our scholarship committee voted to award two (2) $1,000 scholarships for the 2008-2009 school year. The WPA scholarship program is a shared effort with ProComm of Alaska which generously contributes half of the scholarship money we award. You can read more about our 2008-2009 scholarship recipients and about our scholarship program under the “Scholarship” link.

Our next WPA meeting is December 3, 2008 in Anchorage during the Executive Development Conference. It will be held at 11:30 am at the China Lights Restaurant on the Old Seward Hwy, just a stone’s throw from the Dimond Center Hotel where the conference is being held. I should mention here that we attempted to have a WPA meeting on Thursday, October 23, 2008 in Juneau, but had to cancel it due to weather – yes, nasty Juneau weather – which also canceled my scheduled landing into our state capital. After overflying Juneau, Alaska Airlines proceeded to kick me off the flight in Petersburg (charming town, by the way) and told me I could wait until the next day to “tentatively” try to fly back to Juneau. I opted instead for the reliable 8-hour Alaska Marine Hwy ferry ride which left Petersburg at 2:15 am and got me into Juneau at 10:30 am Friday so I could complete my business there. My quick hour and a half flight to Juneau turned into a 24-hour adventure. It was truly a “southeast Alaska” experience!

For me, the Juneau trip also underscored the geographical challenges we have as an Alaska organization in keeping our members in touch, and more importantly, keeping our organization relevant for our members. That is why I believe this website is an important key to keeping us connected. If you have any newsworthy items for our members, announcements, achievements, etc., please e-mail that information to Angella Long at Any questions or concerns about Women Police of Alaska may be directed to me, Michele Logan, at

And last but not least, we were all saddened at the recent passing of one of our long time WPA members and ardent supporter of all law enforcement, Herb Shaindlin. Our sincere condolences go out to his wife, Jean, also a WPA member, and his entire family.

Until next time, stay safe!

Your President,

Michele Logan