Sullivan names two new DNR directors

Commissioner Dan Sullivan has named two new directors in the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.

The commissioner said Jan. 11 that Tom Crafford will be director of the Office of Project Management and Permitting and Ben Ellis will be director of Parks and Outdoor Recreation.

“Both gentlemen are a tremendous asset to the department and to the people of Alaska. I look forward to having them on board as we look ahead to challenging projects in our future” Sullivan said in a statement.

Crafford has years of mining and geological experience in Alaska dating back to 1974 and has worked at DNR since 2005 with a focus on management of permitting for large mining projects.

Ellis comes to DNR from his own company most recently, and from the Institute of the North where he focused on international Arctic issues. He has an extensive background in recreational policy development, media, public relations and fund raising and has been in Alaska since 1990, living on the Kenai Peninsula and in Anchorage.

—Petroleum News