Alaska Division of
Economic Development

Wanetta Ayers' bio

Wanetta Ayers is the division director of the Division of Economic Development at the State of Alaska, Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development.

Ayers has worked in community and economic development for more than twenty-five years. Previously Ayers served as the executive director for the Western Alaska Community Development Association (WACDA), which serves as the administrative panel for six Community Development Quota (CDQ) organizations. The mission of the CDQ program is to build strong, fisheries-based economies and alleviate poverty by empowering sixty-five Western Alaska communities to participate in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands groundfish, halibut and crab fisheries.

Prior to her tenure at WACDA, Ayers served as the executive director for the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference (SWAMC), a coalition of communities from the Aleutian Islands, the Alaska Peninsula, Bristol Bay, Kodiak, and the Pribilof Islands. SWAMC is a federal Economic Development District (EDD) and an Alaska Regional Development Organization (ARDOR) that facilitates regional economic development planning and advocates for regional infrastructure and transportation priorities.

In addition to her experience as an economic development practitioner, Ayers has worked in the private sector for such firms as Holland America Westours, the Afognak Native Corporation, and National Bank of Alaska.

Originally from Anchorage, where four generations of her family continue to live, Ayers has lived and worked throughout Alaska, including Barrow, Fairbanks, Juneau, Kenai and Kodiak. She received an MBA from the University of Washington, earned a BBA from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and received a certificate from the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute.