The South Central Alaska AHEC Team would like to recognize Erin for her wonderful contributions to our Contact Tracing Program at the APCA. Working alongside a small team of contact tracers, Erin is helping in Alaska’s fight against COVID-19 and additionally helping to educate community members about the COVID-19 vaccine.

Erin grew up in a small town in Southeast, Alaska with a population of 2000. Her experience there consisted of a lot of time outside fishing, hunting, boating and getting rained on! After coming to Anchorage for high school and graduation she began pursuing a career path in Social Work. After 3 years of continuing education, I decided to take some time off in her 20’s to travel the world. She visited 9 countries in Southeast Asia over the course of a couple years and returned to life in Alaska and began a new career path in Aviation which quickly became a passion that continues today. When one of Erin’s good friends purchased an Air Taxi on Lake Hood Seaplane Base, she jumped on the opportunity to learn more about operations and running a successful aviation business.

Working seasonally leaves Erin with some downtime in the winter months, so when she saw an opportunity to help with the COVID pandemic she applied right away and came on with Alaska Primary Care Association in November of 2020 as a Contact Tracer and then a Case Investigator. The positions were both challenging and fulfilling. Erin recalls, “we had to adapt to a lot of changes in the first few months as we were all learning together how to successfully and efficiently navigate the pandemic and learning new information about COVID. Throughout the entire 8 months on the project, we were constantly learning and navigating through new data as it became available. Alaska Primary Care Association ensured that we received the best education and guidance to be successful in our roles.”

“My team members at APCA were a valuable resource to me when I was faced with challenging cases or just unsure of how to navigate a situation. The most fulfilling part of the position was speaking with people and helping them find some sense of relief and security after their COVID diagnosis. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with APCA and my team members. We have built strong friendships through everything we have been through together and I’m sure they will be lasting ones! For now I’ll return to another beautiful Alaskan summer on Lake Hood!”

We wish Erin the best of luck moving forward!