Born on Kodiak Island in 1949, Mary Katherine Hughes, knew at an early age, she was to follow in her father’s footsteps and become an Alaskan lawyer. The first born of three girls, her youth was an Alaskan extravaganza.  Her family moved to Anchorage, lived on the Park Strip (where they celebrated the Territory’s admission to the Union at the 50-ton Statehood Bonfire) and enjoyed the remoteness of a log cabin built on a five-acre tract by her parents in the early 1950’s.  She loved the wilderness and all its bounty.  Berry picking with her sisters, helping her father stack cords of chopped wood (to be taken to “town”) and experiencing the idiosyncrasies of assisting her mother bake bread and pies in a Navy ship’s surplused wood stove oven are memories cherished. 

Love, faith, knowledge (particularly of the humanities) and music were the cornerstones of her childhood.  All three Hughes girls began piano lessons at six years of age. Additionally, they learned to play wind instruments to participate in school bands and orchestras.  She also accompanied her sister Patricia (who had a beautiful soprano voice) when she was asked to perform publicly.  The Alaska’s Flag Song was most often requested, and The Elks Club was a frequent venue.  The family’s civic and social life always included giving…particularly of time and effort. 

Ms. Hughes attended public school in Anchorage and was graduated from West Anchorage High School (her late father, John C., a member of the Anchorage School Board, was a stage presenter when she received her diploma).  She attended University of Alaska at College, Alaska. She was extremely active on campus and received the Marion Frances Boswell Memorial Award (honoring the outstanding graduating woman).

Prior to attending Willamette University College of Law in the fall of 1971, Ms. Hughes traveled to Scotland for postgraduate studies in Labor Economics.  The experience instilled in her the appreciation for the accessibility of higher education to all in the United States. Her legal education, a precursor to a life as an Alaskan lawyer, truly established her commitment to others through Willamette University’s motto of “Non nobis solum nati sumus — Not unto ourselves alone are we born”.

Anchorage Economic Development Corporation
Board of Directors, 1989-2017
Chair, 1994
Ex Officio, 1995-2017
Investors Council 2017-present
Vision Anchorage Steering Committee
Member, 2001-2003
Alaska Repertory Theatre
Board of Directors, 1986-1988
Secretary, 1986-1987
President, 1987-1988
Soroptimist International of Cook Inlet
Charter Member, 1980-present
Vice President, 1981-1983
Corresponding Secretary, 1984-1985
President-elect, 1985-1986
President, 1986-1987
Covenant House Alaska
Legal Counsel 1988-1994
Providence Alaska Medical Center
Anchorage Advisory Council, 1993-1998
Providence Alaska Foundation
Board of Directors, 1998-2005
Vice Chair, 2000-2002
Chair, 2002-2004
Alaska Native Medical Center
Native Craft Shop Volunteer 2000-2003
Alaska Humanities Forum
Board of Directors, 2006-2012
Vice Chair, 2006-2008
Chair, 2008-2010
Leadership Anchorage Mentor 2010-2011
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Community Advisory Council, 2007-present
Alaska Business Hall of Fame Committee Member 2009-present
Export Council of Alaska (appointee of the US Secretary of Commerce)
Member 2008-2018
Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE)
Alaska Community Advisory Board, 2010-2015
Success Inside & Out (an inmate program for women to reduce recidivism)
Founding Member of Steering Committee, 2006-2016
Defense Orientation Conference Association
Member, 2016-present
Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson Honorary Commander, 2016-present
University of Washington Medicine
Medical Outreach and Advocacy Committee Member 2018-present

The legal profession for Ms. Hughes was energizing, productive and intellectually stimulating.  Her practice included a wide variety of commercial transactional and litigation matters.  She had strengths in administrative law, public utility law (telecommunications), eminent domain and employment law.  After twenty years in private practice, she was appointed Anchorage Municipal Attorney by former Mayor Rick Mystrom.  During her years of practice, she strived to assist her profession.

Alaska Bar Association (Member, 1975-present)
Administrative Law Committee
Chair, 1979-1981
Administrative Law Section
Executive Committee, 1984-1987
Board of Governors, 1981-1984
Treasurer, 1981-1982
President-elect, 1982-1983
President, 1983-1984
Alaska Bar Rule 7 Hearing Master for Alaska Bar admission cases 1985 and 2008
Alaska Bar Foundation
Trustee and President, 1984-1998
Trustee, 2001- 2007
The Fellows of The American Bar Foundation, 1990-present
Alaska Code Revision Commission
Commissioner, 1987-1994
Anchorage Association of Women Lawyers
Founding Member, 1975-present
President, 1976-1977
Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference
District of Alaska Lawyer Representative, 1995-2000
District of Alaska Court Fund Committee, 2001- 2002
International Municipal Lawyers Association
State Chair, 1995-1997
Regional Vice President, 1997-2000
Conference Speaker, 1997, 1999, 2002
Conference Moderator, 1998
Strategic Planning Committee, 1999-2000

Additionally, Ms. Hughes was chosen to join the University of Alaska Foundation’s College of Fellows and its Board. In 2002, former Governor Tony Knowles appointed Ms. Hughes to the first of three terms that she would serve on the University of Alaska Board of Regents.

University of Alaska
Vice Chair, 2004-2005
Chair, 2005-2008
University of Alaska Foundation
College of Fellows, 1986-1990
Board of Directors, 1990-present

After years of service on the College of Law Board of Visitors, she was also invited to join the Willamette University Board of Trustees.

Willamette University
Vice Chair, College of Law Committee, 2004-2008
Chair, College of Law Committee, 2008-2011
Life Trustee Emeritus, 2015-present
Willamette University College of Law
Board of Visitors, 1978-2001

Her University board service was supplemented by election to the Association of Governing Boards for Universities and Colleges founded in 1921 (she was the first Alaskan to serve on the prestigious governing board).

Association of American Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges
Member, 2002-present
Board of Directors, 2013-present
Chair, Resources Committee, 2015-16
Vice Chair, Strategies and Priorities Committee, 2016-2017
Chair, Strategies and Priorities Committee, 2017-present
Director, AGB Search LLC, 2016-present

In 2003, U. S. Senator Lisa Murkowski invited Ms. Hughes to join her re-election campaign as Chief Administrative Officer.  She served in that capacity for nine years, culminating in 2012, during which she was Alaska State Co-Chair of the Senator’s historic 2010 write-in campaign. She also served on the Senator’s official staff as Alaska State Director.  During the same decade, she hosted a weekly radio show, PROFILE ALASKA on AM 700 KBYR, for seven years. 

After years of civic and public service, Ms. Hughes’ life was further enhanced in 2007 when her father created a family foundation, whose mission is investment in 501(c)(3) organizations dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for Alaskans, for which she was selected the chief executive officer.  Alaska and Alaskans benefited from her parents’ generosity during their lives and the Foundation extends their charity to endless future generations.  

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” —attributed to Sir Winston Churchill

ADDENDUM

EDUCATION

Juris Doctor, Willamette University College of Law, 1974
Member, Moot Court Board
Dean’s List
Postgraduate Studies, Labor Economics,
Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1971
B.B.A., Management, University of Alaska, 1971
Cum laude
Harvard Kennedy School of Government

 “Leadership for the 21st Century: Chaos, Conflict and Courage”, 2007

RECOGNITION OF CIVIC AND PUBLIC SERVICE

Alaska Bar Association Service and Leadership Recognition 1984
Alaska Repertory Theatre Service and Leadership Recognition 1989
Covenant House Outstanding Commitment to Youth Award 1995
YWCA Woman of Distinction 1997
Alaska Bar Foundation Service and Leadership Recognition 1998
Providence Alaska Medical Center Service and Leadership Award 1998
Anchorage Police Department Recognition for Protecting and Serving the Anchorage Community 2000
Anchorage Municipal Assembly Recognition for Municipal Attorney Service 2000
University of Alaska Fairbanks Alumni Achievement Award for Professional
Excellence 2001
Willamette University College of Law Service and Leadership Recognition 2001
Athena Society Member, 2003-present
Providence Alaska Foundation Service and Leadership Award 2005
Willamette University Distinguished Service Award 2011
University of Alaska Board of Regents Resolution of Appreciation 2009, 2016