APICDA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Fisheries and Government Affairs
Job Titles:
- Fishing Industry Representative
Bob Nickinovich has over 30 years of experience in marketing, sales and executive management, mainly in the Alaska seafood industry, working in both domestic and international markets. He has experience in production and processing configurations; broker network management; strategic planning; fresh, frozen and shelf-stable product development; budgeting and finance; trading and overseas reprocessing; and domestic/international marketing. Bob has extensive experience in corporate restructuring and creating a new corporate image for companies. He has also served as a director on both corporate and association boards including the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, North Pacific Seafoods and the Pacific Seafood Processors Association.
Grant Mirick is the chief operating officer and oversees APICDA's subsidiaries. Grant has been involved in the Alaska fishing and processing industries for more than 30 years with positions and activities in corporate management, production management, quality control, domestic and international seafood sales and commercial fishing. After working his way through college with fishing industry jobs in Unalaska and Kodiak, Grant moved to Kodiak full-time in the early 1980s to work for Ocean Beauty Seafoods. In 1993 he accepted a job managing the Kodiak Salmon Packers facility in Larsen Bay and worked between Seattle and the village of Larsen Bay for the next 13 years. Community outreach and joint projects with the community of Larsen Bay were some of the most memorable and rewarding parts of his job. He went to work for Snopac Products in 2007 as the director of sales and in 2010 was promoted to chief operating officer, which included overseeing operations in Dillingham and the M/V Snopac Innovator. After the sale of Snopac Products in 2013, Grant went to work for Welmar Pacific as their vice president of operations where he led the team for Alaska salmon sales.
Hugh comes from a long line of entrepreneurs and visionaries; his great grandfather Hugh McGlashan Sr. established the village of Akutan in its present location. Hugh owns and operates a fishing business, works as a pilot boat operator, serves as the President of Akutan's Fishery Association, the Vice President of the Akutan Village Corporation, and is the Community Liaison for the Board of Fish, North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, and the International Pacific Halibut Commission. In addition, Hugh is a traditional hunter-gatherer, culture bearer instructor, Indigenous rights activist, and an accomplished Unangan artisan craftsman, specializing in men's weapons and tools.
Hugh ran a profitable dive service for 21 years as a commercial diver, is a 19-year International Longshore and Warehouse Union member and a 2011 red ribbon patent inventor. He attended school in Washington State and has served APICDA in a variety of different capacities from board member to a member of the management team. His vast knowledge about APICDA, commercial fishing, and the region is a great asset to the APICDA board.
Laura Delgado is our chief programs officer and began her career with APICDA in 2002. Laura oversees a portfolio of programs including APICDA's robust Training and Education Program. Laura grew up in Unalaska and attended college with the support of the APICDA scholarship program. Upon graduation, she began her career at APICDA and has held the positions of HR assistant, HR director, quality assurance director and operations general manager. Laura received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of Nevada Reno and a Master of Arts in consumer/industrial research from Cleveland State University.
Leslie was raised on Mt. Edgecumbe and in Sitka. After graduating from Vassar College, she worked for the Alaska Legislature and then attended the University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. She practiced law in Alaska for over 30 years, advising Alaska Native Corporations, small communities, and large nonprofits. Having served as APICDA's General Counsel from 2005 to 2018, Leslie brings to the board familiarity with the organization's work and a firm commitment to its mission.
Luke Fanning is the chief executive officer for APICDA and its subsidiaries. He is a lifelong Alaskan whose seafood industry experience began in the 1990s as a crewman on a halibut longliner and salmon seiner. He first became acquainted with APICDA in 2007 when he served as APICDA and AJV's banker while working for Wells Fargo Bank. Prior to joining APICDA in 2017, Luke served as the vice president and regional manager for First National Bank Alaska, where he managed a region including five bank branches and a portfolio of commercial loans and deposits.
Luke has a bachelor of science from the University of Portland, an MBA from the University of Alaska Southeast and is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School. Luke is an active member of his community and has served on the board for the Juneau Rotary Club and the Healing Hand Foundation, which provides financial assistance for beneficiaries of the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium who have unmet medical needs. Luke is very passionate about the seafood industry. In his spare time, he captains Triton, a 32-foot commercial fishing vessel, gillnetting for salmon and longlining for halibut.
Job Titles:
- Member of the St. George Fishermen 's Association
In 2006, APICDA welcomed Mark back to the board; he first served on the board from 1992-1994. Mark was born and raised in the community of Atka and attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the late 1970s. He has served as president of both the Axtam Corporation and the Atka Village Council. Mark has served many years on the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association board, the Atka Fishermen's Association, the Aleut Marine Mammal Commission and the Alaska Native Harbor Seal Commission.
Nikki Hoblet, a lifelong resident of False Pass, comes from a family that relies on commercial fishing. Nikki serves as the False Pass Fishermen's Association's representative on the APICDA board, in addition to many other commitments, most notably serving as the Mayor. Mayor Hoblet has dual roles with the City of False Pass, she is the chief executive and the administrator, responsible for all city projects, departments, and grants.
Nikki is used to meeting challenges and leading a life filled with activity. This busy mother of five served as the community health aide for 18 years, following in her Grandmother Anna Hoblet's footsteps, the first health aide in False Pass. Nikki has also served her community by participating on the Aleutians East Borough School Board, False Pass Tribal Council, lsanotski Corporation Board, and the Aleutians East Borough Assembly.
Pete graduated from the University of Colorado with a BA in history and English literature. He served as a captain in the United States Army, is a Vietnam veteran and has been awarded the bronze star. He is the former senior vice president and regional administrator for Southeast Alaska with National Bank of Alaska/Wells Fargo. He spent 30 years with NBA/Wells Fargo prior to his retirement.
Tanya Lestenkof has lived up and down the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Chain, from Sand Point to Nikolski, for most of her life. She graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2001 with BA's in both English and History. She is currently taking courses part-time to pursue a Bachelor's in Business Administration, with an emphasis on accounting.
Tanya returned home to Nikolski in June of 2002, became Tribal Administrator for the Native Village of Nikolski in May of 2003, and has spent close to eighteen years in that position. She has served on various boards, including three terms with Aleutian Housing Authority. She has worked with several entities, such as APIA, AHA, and APICDA, to pursue funding for beneficial projects within Nikolski.
When Tanya's not trapped in front of a computer for work, she spends a lot of her time with her husband, foster children, and dogs doing various subsistence hunting and fishing activities, enjoying the outdoors, and reading.