What is the origin story of your community’s beginnings in Anchorage?
In 1975, Frances Jones had nothing but a deep passion and a vision to help adults with limited reading skills when she founded what would become Alaska Literacy Program. Anchorage Literacy Program was initially created as a 1:1 tutoring program, led entirely by volunteers out of their own homes and churches for nearly a full decade. It wouldn’t be until 1986 that the program would secure a permanent home under the leadership of the organization’s first Executive Director, Jackie Johnson. In the 50 years that have followed, Alaska Literacy Program has flourished into the cornerstone of literacy education for the state that we know and love today. Through the unwavering dedication of volunteers and staff, ALP has helped thousands of adults—immigrants, refugees, and lifelong Alaskans—gain the critical skills they need to succeed in the workforce, support their families, and build new futures as U.S. citizens. Over time, ALP has grown to define literacy as more than reading and writing: it includes having the skills needed to navigate our complex and rapidly changing world. It is through the trust that we’ve built as community members that have been able to respond to the needs of our students. Today, our services include digital, health, financial,In and family literacy classes, test prep services (GED, ASVAB, Citizenship), critical reading skills for the English language, and workforce development. Available online and in-person, with both morning and evening options, our goal is to reduce barriers to employment and education for those seeking services across our state. We’re continuously adding innovative ways to reach our community, with programs like our Peer Leader Navigator (PLN) program. PLNs, often multilingual former ALP students, are trained to share reliable health information and connect their communities to local services. The pandemic highlighted the program's value, with PLNs assisting over 7,000 community members with COVID-19 relief, food, housing, healthcare, and education. What started as a small, volunteer-driven effort has grown to fill the need for comprehensive Adult Education services across our state.
Where can people learn more about your community’s history?
Alaskaliteracyprogram.org, with a lot more to come this upcoming year as we celebrate our own 50th year anniversary! We will be celebrating our history this fall on November 15th at Alaska Aviation Museum and will be releasing a narrative book detailing our journey of Changing Lives Through Literacy over the past 50 years.
Who in your community is considered to have the most knowledge about your community’s history in Anchorage?
Many immigrant and refugee groups have interacted with ALP over the years in so many ways, they have a lot to add to the story of ALP. Some communities have had a big presence at ALP for a period of time, coming and going. There may be years where ALP is a big part of someone’s life and then they gain the skills they need and outgrow what ALP offers. Sometimes they still come back to say hi, bring gifts or treats to share, or see if they can connect with an old volunteer or staff member. There is a huge feeling of mutual gratitude for the time spent together between volunteers and students, building lifelong skills that change lives. If you are a friend, former student, staff member, or volunteer of ours, know our doors are always open for you to come by our office and say hello! Some of our superstar volunteers have been involved for decades, like teachers Bruce Whelan, Barb Knapp, Valerie Butler, and many others. They have known so many different groups of students and could share a lot about how the English Language Learner community has looked at different times in Anchorage.
Tell us about three to five people - past or present - who made a mark on your community.
Frances Jones - In 1974 Frances Jones began connecting volunteers with people in the community who needed help improving their reading and writing. There are now, and have always been, many Anchorage community members who are incredibly giving with their time and it wasn’t long before this concept grew beyond a small collective. Jackie Johnson - Jackie was a volunteer teacher and staff member with ALP in the early years and was the Executive Director by 1983. She proved to be a transformative figure, leading ALP from a volunteer group to a more formal organization with more paid staff and reliable services. She wrote a workplace literacy grant that connected ALP to a local employer, the Sheraton Hotel, to meet their employees on site and help them learn English in relevant contexts. ALP has recently entered into a similar partnership with Providence Alaska under the leadership of one of our Co-Executive Directors, Amy Facklam. Polly Smith - Polly began volunteering with ALP in 1980. By 1988 she was a full time staff member and became Executive Director in 2000. Polly was a tremendous leader during her 20 years as ED, very warm, reliable, and steadfast in ways that helped staff thrive. When Polly was interviewed for ALP’s 50th Anniversary in 2025 she had a lot to say about the impact of feeling like you’re a part of something. When asked what makes ALP special she said “People! It’s not just a job. The volunteer base helps make it feel like something people WANT to do. It’s not mandatory for anyone, it’s the people that make it a community.” Lori Pickett - Worked at ALP for 30 years, the last four of which as our Executive Director. Lori has a special way of connecting with people, from partners, to volunteers, to students. She came to understand Adult Education through her work as a Family Literacy Educator, where she was working to provide multi-generational programs for families whose first language was not English. By the time she became Executive Director, she had with her the experiences she learned in Family Literacy, volunteer coordination, director of programs, and fundraising and development - all of which were no match to her favorite experience of teaching classes. Time and time again, between meetings with stakeholders, legislators, or funders, we would often find Lori sneaking downstairs to work directly with students. Whether it was picking up a substitution shift to teach, showing a student where their classroom was, or simply catching up with a familiar face, Lori never walked away from the important work happening at all levels of our organization. She was an active member of the Russian Jack Community Council, serving as president of the neighborhood we reside in, making sure that our legislators were aware of the barriers that our students face when trying to access Education. She continues to work tirelessly on issues of Language Access, workplace development classes, digital literacy and access issues, and GED sponsorship. We have seen her lower barriers to Adult Education across Municipal boards and committees. She has written Op-Ed pieces for issues she cares about, testified on bills she believes in, and treats every member of our community as a close friend. Marisol Vargas - We have a strong history of bringing former students into our work by hiring them on as either full time staff, or contracted Peer Leader Navigators who engage in Anchorage base system navigation. One such staff member is our current Co-Executive Director of Operations, Marisol Vargas! While looking for ways for her and her daughters to connect with the community and improve their English, she found ALP’s Family Literacy classes in 2006. Marisol brought all four of her children through our Family Literacy program as she progressed her English and obtained Citizenship with the help of ALP classes and volunteer Bruce Whelan who still volunteers today. Marisol’s English had progressed so much by 2009 that she was able to help with int
Anchorage has wonderful, generous volunteers who have been the backbone of ALP for as long as we’ve been an organization. Anchorage is an incredibly diverse community which has added to ALP being a unique and rich environment of shared culture and a common purpose in education. Funders - We have had such a wonderful connection of Anchorage organizations who have helped fund our work over the years, including the Municipality itself at times.
We hosted Barbara Bush here in Anchorage in 1984 in partnership with the Alaska Adult Education Association at the Hotel Captain Cook! We have a shared leadership structure with two equal co-Executive Directors One of our Co-Executive Directors started as a student at ALP, and her and her family have engaged with nearly every service ALP has to offer. We think this gives her a great perspective as a leader and we’re thankful to have her!
What are some defining moments - the good, the bad, and the wild - that shaped your community’s identity in Anchorage?
Where to find - Alaskaliteracyprogram.org, with a lot more to come this upcoming year as we celebrate our own 50th year anniversary! We will be celebrating our history this fall on November 15th at Alaska Aviation Museum and will be releasing a narrative book detailing our journey of Changing Lives Through Literacy over the past 50 years. During Covid-19 pandemic, the Peer Leader Navigator Program teamed up with the Anchorage Municipality to deliver essential health information about keeping the Anchorage community safe and informed about best practices to stay safe & healthy. PLNs would take public messaging from the Municipality, translate it into relevant languages in a culturally competent way, and share it with the Anchorage community. This allowed for a greater number of Anchorage residents to receive essential health updates, COVID-19 procedures, and safety practices in a timely manner. Literacy Instruction for Native English speakers was where ALP first began, but overtime as the needs of our community changed we began to expand our services to English Language Learners. Much of this growth was in part thanks to Anchorage becoming a welcoming place for all, which is also reflected in the Anchorage School District recording over 100 different languages spoken at home by their students and families.
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