Hannah Barnes is an Anchorage Independent school board member
Please share why you decided to run for your local school board.
Seeing firsthand the heartbreak and challenges families face when they have had a child slip through the cracks in school and then struggle to enter the workforce or college after graduation inspired me to take action and run for our school board. I wanted to take an active role in helping to ensure we avoid this fate for students in our district.
What is your favorite thing about serving on your local board?
I am proud to help sustain and grow the excellence in our district that so many board members before me have worked to build and protect. Our school is truly the heart of our community. I get to see all of my decisions as a board member directly impact my family, my friends and my neighbors and this makes the work very meaningful.
What activities do you enjoy doing outside your board work?
Tennis, tennis and more tennis! I also enjoy sewing, kayaking and baking (and eating) desserts.
Name someone in your life you admire, or who inspired or helped you along the way.
This is easy - my father. He's the hardest working person I know by a landslide; a visionary leader that is also the first one to jump down in the trench and start digging. I owe so much of what I am today to his living example. These days I find my best work occurs when surrounded by individuals different than me in personality traits and politics all using their own unique strengths aimed at the same finish line. My board and tennis teammates inspire me to keep grinding on the tough days.
Please share something about yourself that most people may not know.
Buffalo Bill Cody is a distant cousin of mine. ... I hold a high school record in the 100 meter hurdles that still stands.