Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska (BBBSAK) was founded in 1972 as Big Brothers of Anchorage by Rick Mystrom, who later served as Anchorage mayor from 1994 to 2000. Jillian Lush serves as CEO, starting May 24, 2021. Lush came to BBBSAK after a decade leading Sprout Family Services in Homer, Alaska, where she grew the organization and expanded services and program delivery by building long-lasting coalitions and partnerships statewide. She holds a master of social work from Washington University in St. Louis. BBBSAK currently makes matches in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. Programs include community-based one-to-one mentoring, the Amachi program for youth with incarcerated parents, and teen job and career readiness mentoring funded by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Office of Children's Services. Volunteers commit for at least a year, meeting two to four times per month. A Match Support Specialist provides ongoing case management throughout each match relationship. The quality of the time invested with a Little is more important than the amount of money spent.
BBBSAK matches vetted adult volunteers (Bigs) with youth in the community (Littles) in one-to-one relationships that change lives. Volunteers commit for at least a year, meeting two to four times per month, and some stay connected for decades. The agency's programs span Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, and the Mat-Su Valley, covering the major population centers of the state from the Gulf of Alaska coast to the Interior.
The community-based mentoring model is flexible. Mentors might help youth look for and apply for jobs, talk over coffee, set up a bank account, serve as an extra support person to bounce ideas off of, or go grab groceries and plan a meal together. The quality of the time invested with a Little is more important than the amount of money spent. Once matched, a Match Support Specialist from the agency provides ongoing assistance, ideas for activities, guidance for handling difficult situations, and feedback on how the Big is making a difference.
Rick Mystrom launched Big Brothers of Anchorage in 1972. He continued volunteering with the organization even as he served as Anchorage mayor from 1994 to 2000. The combination of founding the organization and serving as its longest-tenured Big while also serving as the city's mayor reflects the kind of deep institutional commitment that has sustained BBBSAK through more than 50 years of Alaska history.
Heather Harris (UAA class of 2004) served as CEO of BBBSAK before Jillian Lush and was instrumental in expanding the geographic reach of the organization. Under Harris's leadership, BBBSAK coordinated programs from Homer in Southcentral Alaska to Hoonah in Southeast and Haines in the Southeast panhandle alongside the core Anchorage operations.
Jillian Lush was appointed CEO of BBBSAK on May 24, 2021. She was chosen from a field of qualified applicants to lead BBBSAK in its mission to ignite the power and promise of youth through one-to-one mentoring relationships. Lush came to BBBSAK after a decade of leading Sprout Family Services in Homer, Alaska, where the core mission is to promote the healthy development of children in partnership with families and community. As Executive Director, she grew the organization and expanded services and program delivery by building long-lasting coalitions and partnerships statewide.
Lush earned a master of social work from Washington University in St. Louis and participated as a Fellow in the Parent Infant Mental Health Post-Graduate Certificate Program, now housed at UC Davis. Her clinical training in infant-parent mental health and her decade of community partnership building in Homer give her a distinctive background in early childhood and family systems that complements the BBBSAK youth mentoring mission. "I am drawn to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska because my career in child and family development has shown me that mentorship works," Lush said at her appointment.
BBBSAK currently makes new matches in four geographic areas. Anchorage is Alaska's largest city and provides the organizational headquarters and largest match pool. Fairbanks is Alaska's second-largest city in the Interior. Juneau is Alaska's capital city in Southeast Alaska, accessible only by air or sea. The Matanuska-Susitna Valley (Mat-Su) is the fastest-growing region of Alaska, encompassing Palmer, Wasilla, and surrounding communities north of Anchorage.
The four-community focus represents a more concentrated service area than BBBSAK operated at its peak, when programs also served Haines, Homer, Hoonah, and Sitka. In 2018, BBBSAK closed those four community offices due to reduced federal and state grant funding. At the time of the closures, the agency served 19 matches in Haines, 19 in Hoonah, 14 in Sitka, and 26 in Homer. Harris noted the difficulty: "These communities and the youth that are in them are incredibly important to us and to the organization as a whole and we know we've done life-saving work in those communities."
The community-based program is available in Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley. It is the traditional one-to-one Big and Little model where pairs plan activities of their own choosing on their own time. Activities range across the full spectrum of Alaska's outdoor and urban life: snowboarding in the Chugach Mountains (Big Brother Josh Harris and Little Brother Aaron were photographed snowboarding in Anchorage), hiking, fishing, camping, museum visits, movies, coffee shops, and the practical life-skills sessions Lush described at her appointment.
BBBSAK operates the Amachi program, which specifically serves youth whose parents are incarcerated. Amachi is a West African word meaning "who knows but what God has brought us through this child." The program pairs youth from families affected by incarceration with caring adult mentors, providing the consistent adult relationship that can be disrupted when a parent is removed from the home. Children with an incarcerated parent face elevated risks of educational failure, delinquency, and mental health challenges; the Amachi mentoring model addresses those risks through the structured BBBS one-to-one match relationship.
BBBSAK offers teen job and career readiness mentoring in Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley funded by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Office of Children's Services. Mentors in this program help older Littles look for and apply for jobs, talk about career options, set up a bank account, practice interview skills, and manage the early adult responsibilities of entering the workforce. The Alaska DHSS funding reflects state government recognition that structured mentoring serves youth welfare and self-sufficiency goals.
To become a Big in Alaska, visit bbbsak.org to start the volunteer application process. Volunteers commit for at least a year, meeting two to four times per month. The screening process includes application, references, background check, interviews, and orientation. BBBSAK makes matches in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, and the Mat-Su Valley. Once matched, a Match Support Specialist provides ongoing case management throughout the relationship. Sign up to learn what BBBSAK is doing in your community.
Donations can be made at bbbsak.org. BBBSAK is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Donations are tax-deductible. The organization's annual budget was approximately $1.6 million in 2017 with 20 employees at peak multi-community operations. About half of BBBSAK funding historically came from federal and state grant monies; private donations, corporate partners, and individual giving make up the remainder. Foundation grants and individual giving provide sustained support for the Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, and Mat-Su operations.
BBBSAK files its own Form 990 separately from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Match Support Specialist staffing is the primary operating cost because each match requires ongoing professional case management. The Amachi program and the teen job and career readiness program require specialized program staff beyond the standard community-based Match Support Specialist infrastructure. The Alaska DHSS, OCS funding provides a sustained government funding stream for the teen job program.
For pure scale of youth-serving nonprofit infrastructure in Alaska, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Alaska, RurAL CAP (Rural Alaska Community Action Program), and various tribal youth programs reach more children across the state. For one-to-one structured mentoring specifically, BBBSAK is the largest single agency in Alaska with operations in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, and the Mat-Su Valley.
BBBSAK's specific advantages: the 1972 founding and 50-plus year institutional history in Alaska, the Rick Mystrom founding story (future mayor dedicated his career to the organization he created), Jillian Lush's clinical social work and family development background, the Amachi program specifically addressing children with incarcerated parents, the state DHSS funding for teen job and career readiness programming, and the intentional Match Support Specialist case management that distinguishes BBBSAK from informal mentoring programs.
Last updated May 2026. Rick Mystrom launching Big Brothers of Anchorage in 1972 and continuing as mayor 1994-2000, Heather Harris (UAA 2004 graduate) as prior CEO coordinating programs from Homer to Hoonah to Haines, Bigs committing for at least a year meeting 2-4 times per month, some connected for decades, from the University of Alaska Anchorage March 2018 news article. Jillian Lush appointed CEO May 24 2021 chosen from qualified applicants after decade leading Sprout Family Services in Homer AK (growing organization and expanding services through statewide coalitions and partnerships), MSW from Washington University in St. Louis and Parent Infant Mental Health Post-Graduate Certificate Program Fellow (now at UC Davis), quote about career in child and family development showing mentorship works, from the Alaska Business Magazine April 2021 article and the Foraker Group April 2021 announcement. 2018 closure of Haines Homer Hoonah and Sitka offices due to reduced federal and state grant funding, specific match counts (19 Haines 19 Hoonah 14 Sitka 26 Homer), continuing in Anchorage Fairbanks Juneau and Mat-Su Valley, Harris quote about life-saving work in those communities, from the Alaska Public Media January 2023 article. Amachi program for youth with incarcerated parent, teen job and career readiness mentoring in Anchorage and Mat-Su funded by Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Office of Children Services, Match Support Specialist ongoing contact with advice activity ideas guidance and feedback, quality of time more important than money spent, from the BBBSAK About page (bbbsak.org/about-2/). We are not affiliated with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska and receive no compensation for this listing. Errors: [email protected]
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