Adelheid Herrmann was born in Levelock, Alaska, and raised in Naknek, Alaska. She is Athabascan and a shareholder of Bristol Bay Native Corporation. She graduated from Bristol Bay High School in Naknek in 1970 and earned her undergraduate degree in Public Policy, Fisheries and Native Studies from Antioch University in Seattle, Washington, in 1999. In 2013, she received her doctorate in Education in Organizational Leadership, with an emphasis in Fisheries and Oceans, from the University of La Verne in California.

Throughout her career, Adelheid has held a variety of positions in administration, the seafood industry and workforce development programs. She also served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1983 to 1989. Since November 2019, she has been involved in a postdoctoral research program with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She currently serves on the boards of the Bristol Bay Borough Chamber of Commerce and the Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species.

Adelheid is interested in serving on Alaska Pacific University’s Elder’s Council because she has followed the tribal college concept for many years and believes it can help Alaska Native peoples take charge of their own educational destiny. She recognizes that Alaska Native peoples have long lived with educational systems that do not reflect their ways of knowing and teaching. She believes the tribal college system can bring greater relevance to education and help tribal members excel in a formal educational setting. Adelheid brings expertise in education, fisheries, workforce development and public policy, as well as firsthand knowledge of living in rural Alaska. She believes that working collaboratively with other members of APU’s Elder’s Council creates a strong team with a diverse set of skills, education and knowledge. She is honored to serve on the council.