Who we are

The Fairbanks Wellness Coalition was formed in 2014 when several community members and agencies in Fairbanks came together with a shared desire to work towards prevention of suicide in the Fairbanks region, recognizing that this work must also include the prevention of substance misuse and the promotion of mental wellness to truly affect change. Since then, we’ve grown to become a “coalition of coalitions” - open for anyone to join, mostly made up of volunteers, and making more of an impact every day!

Our staff

Paige Poston

Coalition Director

Haley Brown

Outreach Coordinator

Payton Ellsworth

Admin Coordinator

Our structure

There are five distinct roles within our coalition.

The Steering Committee lays the foundation by setting our strategic plan and goals. They also provide oversight and guidance to our staff.

Our Coordinator, Outreach Specialist, and Fiscal Agent (United Way of the Tanana Valley) collaborate to make sure the work is getting done day-to-day.

Workgroups and workgroup leads plan our events, work on data collection and evaluation, and approve funding requests.

Every month we have a full coalition meeting which is open to anyone who’d like to attend! That’s where we share the work we’ve been doing, hear from all of our coalition about community concerns, and learn about what our community partners are up to. It’s a great way to dip your toes into FWC if you’re interested in getting involved!

Workgroups

  • This workgroup plans our outreach efforts and events. Every quarter, we host three kinds of events: community education, volunteer outreach, and alcohol awareness. This workgroup plans things like our Community Holiday Party, Sober Summer Craft Nights, and the annual Resiliency Conference! It is open to anyone to join and they meet every 3rd Thursday at 10am.

  • This workgroup plans our data collection and evaluation efforts. We rely on community data to inform our coalitions focus so this workgroup is vital! They plan surveys, town halls, etc., and work with our contracted evaluators to review the data we collect. It is open to anyone to join and they meet every 4th Monday at 10am.

  • This workgroup reviews both internal and external funding needs, including our youth mini-grant applications. It is made up of voting Steering Committee members and meets as needed.