Who are we

Zach Stenson

Zach Stenson is a dedicated leader in Alaskan education, specializing in bridging the gap between youth and high-needs industry pipelines. Currently serving as the Statewide Coordinator for rootEd Alaska, Zach collaborates with the Alaska Departments of Education and Labor to scale impactful career guidance models statewide. His current initiatives include spearheading collaborative Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs alongside the Sealaska Heritage Institute (Southeast), the Alaska Regional Career and Technical Interior Consortium (Interior), and Calista Education and Culture (Western Alaska).

An entrepreneur with roots in commercial fishing and tourism in rural Alaska, Zach brings an "industry-first" perspective to his work. His career has come full circle, beginning as a teacher in his hometown of Juneau, progressing to a North Slope Principalship, and most recently serving as the Executive Director of the Bristol Bay Regional CTE Program (BBRCTE). During his seven-year tenure at BBRCTE, Zach developed systems that provide rural students access to a robust catalog of high-quality, hands-on training, leading the organization to become the first in Alaska to receive the National SBA Magna Silver Award. A champion for systemic change, Zach recently collaborated with a team of educators to establish the state’s first federally recognized teacher apprenticeship program and was honored as the Alaska School Counselor Association’s Counseling Advocate of the Year.