Thank you for the interview with Dr. Anne Zink in your May 3 edition. I reached out to her during the pandemic through her state email and, astonishingly, received a reply. I was gratified and felt alittle guilty for taking up her time, but also very appreciative. We all felt somewhat isolated during those times.
Dr. Anne Zink has been the right person in the right place at the right time, navigating in her work space, and doing positive work in our state. As she would be quick to say, there have been others about whom we could say the same. But only a small subset find themselves at the tip of the spear in the public eye. This doesn’t make her superior. It just made her job that much more pressurized, adding to the stress.
There is wisdom in this woman that is evident
not only in her actions but in her approach. I’m sure there were other people out there who could have done her job competently, but she was there and she delivered. That is something most of us aspire to — that if called, we will not only respond but be awesome.
Thank you, Dr. Zink, for having the dedication, the ability, the courage, and the humanity to come through for the people of the state of Alaska. It has meant a lot. Thank you.
— Cary Birdsall
Talkeetna
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