Mission: Deploy capital, SUPPORT ecosystem, HELP startups

As Alaska’s entrepreneurship fund, the 49th State Angel Fund’s mission is to:

  1. Provide an evergreen source of capital to high-growth businesses to promote entrepreneurship and foster innovation, creating jobs and economic benefit for Anchorage.

  2. Strengthen Alaska's risk capital and entrepreneurial ecosystem.

  3. Assist early stage and disadvantaged businesses.

49SAF was capitalized by a $13.7 million federal allocation from the United States Treasury under the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) and the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. The Anchorage Angel Evergreen Fund was created in 2016 through MOA Ordinance No. 2016-148 for moneys received as a return of principal or return on investment made by 49SAF.

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Melanie Lucas-Conwell

director

Melanie leads the 49SAF, focusing on growing the portfolio’s success in Alaska and beyond. She brings a background in investment and business strategy, execution, and stakeholder management. She also leads the Anchorage C-PACER clean energy and resilience financing program.

Prior to 49SAF, Melanie worked at companies across venture capital, renewable energy, real estate investment, and circular economy, including at Google for seven years. She serves as Board Chair for Health TIE, Board Member for the Alaska World Affairs Council, on the Mayor’s Anchorage Economic Revitalization and Diversification Advisory Committee, and as Honorary Commander for the 176th Wing MOF Squadron. Born and raised in France, she holds an M.B.A. in Sustainable Finance from the Presidio Graduate School and a B.A. in International Relations from the University of San Diego, where she rowed for their Division 1 Crew team. 

Outside of work, Melanie takes advantage of Alaska’s natural beauty. In particular, she enjoys sailing with her partner and dog out of Seward in the summer and downhill skiing in the winter.

Calvin Chang

associate

Calvin works on screening, sourcing, and evaluating investment opportunities as well as supporting 49SAF portfolio companies. He holds an M.A. in European and Russian Studies from Yale University, a B.A. cum laude in Political Science and Russian from Bucknell University, and a Russian Regional Studies Certificate from Moscow International University.

Prior to 49SAF, he worked at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), a US Chamber affiliate, in DC, where he helped launch the Center for Accountable Investment to empower private sector and civil society stakeholders to promote more transparent investment environments in emerging markets (in Africa, the Arctic, Central Asia, East Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia) amidst a shifting geopolitical landscape. Project topics included foreign investment screening regulation, corporate compliance, capacity support for SMEs, and economic security policy advocacy. Prior to that, he worked on CIPE's EU and Western Balkans projects; Freedom House’s Ukraine and Belarus projects; and interned with a U.S. Congressman. He also served in the Taiwanese military and is a 2021-2022 Fellow of Eurasia Foundation’s Young Professionals Network. He speaks Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, and Taiwanese.

He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals Group Executive Board.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

49SAF enjoys the advice of a Mayor-appointed Advisory Committee consisting of Anchorage leaders that are entrepreneurs, investors, business professionals, and economic developers. This C-Suite group meets monthly, supports 49SAF in engaging with the public, and is key to our strategic initiatives. They also make a variety of recommendations on our programs.

Meetings are open to the public and are announced on this webpage. You can view past meeting minutes here.

As of February 2024, our Advisory Committee members are:

““The Fund has helped to further shape the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Alaska. While still emerging, we now have a far more robust startup ecosystem that is advancing talent, innovation and holds potential for diversifying our economy.””
— Christi Bell, Executive Director, University of Alaska Business Enterprise Institute and former 49SAF Advisory Committee member

THANK YOU:

49SAF is grateful for the broad support we’ve had since our founding in 2012, including but not limited to: Mayors Dave Bronson, Ethan Berkowitz, Dan Sullivan, and Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson; Co-Founders Allan Johnston and Lucinda Mahoney; Former Advisors Dale Tran, Dr. David Maguire, and Amy Fredeen (all three in memoriam); Former Advisors Cortney Kitchen, Tom McGrath, Rick Nerland, Yaso Thiru, Mead Treadwell, Bill Popp, Christi Bell, Kevin Croy, Lydia Griffey, Dan Newman, and Melissa Moody; and MOA CFOs Alden Thern, Grant Yutrzenka, Travis Frisk, Alex Slivka, Kate Giard and Robert Harris. Thanks also to all MOA staff who have helped occasionally manage SAF, including Ross Risvold, Chris Richardson, and Anna Guettabi.