Tom Begich *
Executive Director, Nick Begich Scholarship Intern Fund
Tom Begich is the Executive Director of the Nick Begich Scholarship Intern Fund, a position he has held since 2002. Under Begich, the Fund, a public charity, has provided over $530,000 in scholar support for students pursuing postsecondary degrees for careers in the fields of education and public service. He is also the owner/operator of CW Communications, a firm devoted to strategic planning, facilitation, and communications. Begich specializes in the areas of juvenile justice, education, substance abuse, and government relations. He has served as the Government Affairs Director for the Coalition for Education Equity. He is currently a faculty member and coach with Reclaiming Futures, a national juvenile justice/substance use/mental health initiative. Begich is a nationally recognized trainer/facilitator in the fields of justice, youth, substance abuse, mental health, and education, working extensively in Alaska and throughout the nation.
Begich is the former Alaska State Senator for District J. First elected in 2016; he was selected as Senate Minority Leader by his colleagues from 2018 to 2023. In the State Senate, he served on the Education, Health and Social Services, Rules, World Trade, and Ethics committees and helped found the Innovation Caucus.
Begich has served twenty years and three terms as chair of the Alaska Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee and served in leadership positions for the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) from 1995 – 2008 and as National Chair in 1997. He is also a 2023 recipient of the John Dewey Award for Distinguished Public Service from his alma mater, Bard College. He is a published poet and professional musician with seven CDs and one book of poetry and continues to perform and write throughout the country.
