Executive Director.
Ted Leonard was appointed Executive Director of AIDEA May 19, 2008. He was most recently the Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. In the Deputy Commissioner capacity, he oversaw the regulatory divisions of the department which included the Division of Insurance, the Division of Banking and Securities, and the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing. He served as the Commissioner's designee on the boards of the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation, and the Alaska Community Service Commission.

Mr. Leonard has worked for the last 19 years in both the government and private sector in the areas of finance and accounting in Alaska including the Mat-Su and Lower Kuskokwim School Districts as well as the city of Dillingham. He also served as the Director of Finance and Administrative Services for the City of Wasilla.

Mr. Leonard received his undergraduate degree from the College of Idaho and holds a Masters of Management from Willamette University. He is a Certified Management Accountant and Senior Professional in Human Resources.

Deputy Director-Commercial Finance.
Chris Anderson was appointed to this position in May 2006.  Ms. Anderson is in charge of AIDEA’s Commercial Finance department and general business development.  In that capacity, Chris heads AIDEA’s Loan Committee, as well as its financing programs which include loan participations, business and export assistance and conduit revenue bonds.

A former banker, she held the position of Vice President and Manager of the Real Estate Construction and Income Property Department, as well as serving as the Appraisal Review Officer during her 19-year career at Key Bank.  Her public service record includes President of the International Right of Way Association, where she obtained her Senior Right-of-Way Agent (SR/WA) certification, serving on the Municipality of Anchorage’s Board of Equalization and also serving on the Board of the American Red Cross, Southcentral Chapter.  Most recently, Ms. Anderson came to AIDEA from the Alaska Railroad Corporation where she was Program Manager for Land and Right of Way, responsible for acquiring land for all of the Railroad’s capital projects.

Ms. Anderson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Education with an emphasis in Business Administration.  She has taken the state test for general certified appraisers and is an income property financier.

Deputy Director-Investment Finance & Analysis.
Mr. Davis was appointed to this position in July 2011.

State of Alaska - Deputy Commissioner, Department of Commerce Community and Economic Development; Director of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing; and Director, Banking and Securities

Education, Stanford Law School, Stanford, Oxford.

Deputy Director-Project Development and Asset Management.
James Hemsath has thirty years experience managing the development of large projects, predominately in the oil and gas fields.  He has worked in the oil industry as a project manager and consultant with special expertise in the application of management systems, change management, technical integrity and quality management. Hemsath has additional experience as a faculty member of the Engineering and Science Management Department of a regional university; teaching classes in quality management, project and engineering management and operations research. He was a recipient of a NASA Faculty Fellowship in which he developed a dynamic simulation model to assist in staffing projections at Kennedy Space Center.

As a member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Arctic Energy Office he managed research projects at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the development of Arctic energy.

As a Senior Fellow at the Institute of the North he developed and led an International Polar Year project on Arctic Energy, culminating in an international Arctic Energy Technology Conference in October 2007. 

Mr. Hemsath has an undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan; and Master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management. He is a licensed Professional Engineer and a certified Project Management Professional.

Deputy Director-Finance.
Ms. Walker was appointed to this position in 1987. Her responsibilities include accounting, budgeting, investments, purchasing, personnel and data processing. Prior to joining the Authority, Ms. Walker was employed in the finance division of an Alaskan commercial bank for five years and for an international certified public accounting firm for seven years.

Ms. Walker is a Certified Public Accountant and received a degree in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame.

Business Development Officer.
Mr. Catsi was appointed to this position in 2010. This multi-faceted position focuses on raising the Authority’s profile and presence around the state through outreach and marketing. Mike also works closely with the Economic Development Officer to provide an effective intake process for the Authority’s clientele.

Prior to joining the Authority, he managed and developed rural economic development organizations on local and regional levels as executive director of the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference and the Skagway Development Corporation. In conjunction with USAID and ICMA Mr. Catsi participated in an economic development and governance project in the Russian Far East; and has served as president of the Alaska Partnership for Economic Development. He was twice elected to the Skagway City Council and served on the board of the Alaska Municipal League as the co-chair of the Legislative Committee.

Mr. Catsi has a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

Project Manager-External Affairs.