Jolene Nanou lives in Unalakleet, Alaska and serves as a board member of the Unalakleet Native Corporation (UNC). Jolene works for Kawerak as the Language and Culture Curriculum Development Specialist for the Early Education Headstart Services, and has worked at Unalakleet Schools in the Bilingual Bicultural Program for the past 28 years. In 2023, Jolene received her M.A. in Rural Development from the UAF, focusing on the ANCs and the need for open enrollment.
Jolene has been a UNC board member since 1998. She believes that we need to involve those who are not shareholders through inheritance or gifting. We live on the same lands, use and occupy these lands for our way of life and will continue to in the years to come. Involving those who are not shareholders in the protection of what ANCSA worked so hard to accomplish is vital during these times.