Update: Long-time CEO of Mental Health Trust Authority steps down

Alaska Mental Health Trust Executive Director Jeff Jessee tells reporters why he supports Gov. Bill Walker’s efforts to expand Medicaid at a press conference in the Capitol, March 17, 2015. Gov. Walker had just announced that he had introduced a bill that he hopes will lead to Medicaid overhaul and expansion. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)
Jeff Jessee tells reporters why he supports Gov. Bill Walker’s efforts to expand Medicaid at a press conference in the Capitol, March 17, 2015. He was CEO of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority at the time, but left the position on Wednesday. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)

The CEO of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority resigned on Wednesday and will take on a different role in the organization. Jeff Jessee served in the position for 21 years. He will be transitioning to a new role focused on programming ahead of his planned retirement in three years.

In a phone interview Wednesday evening, Jessee and trust board Chair Russ Webb said the transition has been under discussion for several years.

They said the primary reason for the change was so the trust could shift efforts to focus on raising revenue for its beneficiaries and programs.

Jessee said he is better suited to focus on programming, not managing financial assets.

Greg Jones, who formerly served as the executive director of the Trust Land Office, will serve as the interim CEO while the board recruits a new CEO.

The Mental Health Trust was created to fund comprehensive care for people with mental health illnesses and other disabilities. It is a state-owned corporation with cash and land assets that are managed by different state agencies.

The trust was recently criticized in a letter written by former Attorney General Bruce Botelho and former Natural Resources Commissioner Harry Noah, both of whom were involved in establishing the trust in 1994.

In the letter, Botelho and Noah ask Rep. Mike Hawker and the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee to request a special audit of the trust because they believe the corporation is not following the statutory requirements for how their assets are managed. They allege the board is taking money from the principal of the trust and using it to buy real estate instead of contracting with the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. to manage the assets as is required.

The Oct. 22 letter indicates copies were sent to both Webb and Jessee.

Jessee and Webb say they have not seen the letter or read it in full, and it did not play a role in Jessee’s decision to resign.

Webb called it a “separate and irrelevant issue from today’s decision” and said the allegations that others are managing the fund are “manifestly untrue.”

The exact details of Jessee’s new role and salary are yet to be determined.

In 2015, he received more than $215,000 in compensation.

Editor’s note: KTOO’s building sits on land leased from the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. KTOO has also applied for and received occasional grants for special reporting projects from the authority.

This story has been updated and expanded. Additionally, the day Jeff Jessee stepped down has been corrected. He resigned Wednesday, not Monday.

Alaska Public Media

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