A familiar face with deep roots in Wrangell has stepped into a key leadership role for the community, taking the helm as the new tribal administrator for the Wrangell Cooperative Association.

The new administrator, Albert Rinehart, and his wife, Nila, had been considering a more permanent return to Wrangell for some time. The opportunity arose with the opening for the WCA job. After encouragement from former colleagues and friends, he applied and was selected for the role.

He acknowledged the significant groundwork laid by his predecessor, Esther Aaltséen Reese, noting that she and the WCA council had "put Wrangell on the map with a lot of firsts for small tribes."

His immediate goal, he stated, is to "keep things moving forward in a positive direction."

Rinehart was born and raised in Wrangell, and his upbringing instilled a deep understanding of the town's evolution, from its booming timber industry days to its later transformation. His parents were also raised locally - his father being Teey Hit Taan/Raven clan and his mother being Kaagwaantaan/Eagle clan.

"I grew up with six siblings in a very tiny house behind where Rayme's (bar) is now," Rinehart said. "I remember we would play marbles out in the street because there wasn't very much traffic."

He graduated from high school and was one of the starting five for the basketball team that won the 1975 Southeast basketball tournament.

He recalled a diverse set of childhood and early career experiences, including picking and selling berries to elders, working at the Reliance shrimp cannery, a hardware store, and selling flowers to tourists. He also spent time working at the sawmill and longshoring before pursuing higher education at Stanford University in California.

These varied experiences, he believes, have profoundly shaped his worldview and how he interacts with people, qualities he intends to bring to his new leadership position.

Describing his background as working class, he built a professional career in education, dedicated to serving children and families across Southeast Alaska.

His early career included tutoring and counseling in Wrangell. After moving to Juneau with his wife and young children, he continued in similar roles within the Juneau School District. He eventually became the Head Start director for Tlingit & Haida Central Council, overseeing early childhood services from Saxman to Yakutat, a program that included Wrangell's own Head Start. He retired from that position in 2007.

Following his retirement, he and Nila divided their time between Juneau and Taos, New Mexico. While in Juneau, he took on work as a school bus driver, continuing until the end of the most recent school year.

His return to Wrangell to attend a friend's memorial ultimately coincided with his acceptance of the WCA job.

As the new tribal administrator, he said his top priority is to ensure the continuity of projects initiated under Reese's leadership and to advance the priorities set by the tribal council, which hired him for the job.

Reese left last month to start work as chief operating officer at the Tlingit and Haida Regional Housing Authority in Juneau.

Rinehart started his new position on June 10 and expressed confidence that the council is focused on initiatives that will benefit all citizens of Wrangell. He intends to collaborate with community partners to achieve these objectives.

He has already been invited to an upcoming community leadership meeting at the end of the month to discuss common goals and hopes to contribute to Wrangell's ongoing development, aiming to do "what is best for this incredible place that has changed a lot but is very much the same community I grew up in."

The tribal council's current priorities include developing recently purchased property behind the WCA office, increasing involvement in the growing tourism industry, continuing the work of Earth Branch, and seeing the federally funded Bouncing Back program to its completion this fall.

While focused on immediate council priorities, he anticipates developing his own ideas as new opportunities emerge. Ultimately, Rinehart said he and his wife hope to reconnect with Wrangell and fully embrace the lifestyle the community offers.

He's already enjoying one of the local pastimes, having recently caught a 30-pound king salmon, and looks forward to further exploration.