Portia was born in Cali, Colombia. At age 2, her parents moved her to Alaska, where she has resided ever since. She enjoys hiking, criminal justice, history, opera, hunting, and adventure travel. Portia lives in Anchorage with her husband, Ralph Samuels, and their dog, Peekay.

Portia graduated from Norwich University with a BA in Political Science. She has 35 years of professional experience in the public and private sectors in Alaska, specializing in public policy, advocacy, and government affairs. She has served as Deputy Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Corrections; and has worked on numerous criminal justice reform measures, including the 1994 Victims’ Rights constitutional amendment.

Portia recently retired from ConocoPhillips Alaska; and now is working in public policy to help reduce the trauma inflicted on victims by Alaska’s criminal justice system.

Beacon Hill is a statewide nonprofit that serves Alaska’s children in foster care and children at risk of entering foster care through the love of Christ. Our three programs focus on reducing trauma for children through child abuse prevention, family support services, and advocacy for children who need adoption. Founded in 2009 as a grassroots organization, Beacon Hill is passionate about engaging the community in serving, supporting, and encouraging vulnerable children in our state. Our dream is to see all children in our community loved and well cared for in healthy homes.

Detective Robin Nave attended Western Oregon University where she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Community Crime Prevention and Legal Studies. She completed two internships for her degree program working with Linn-Benton and Deschutes Counties (Oregon), Victim Assistance programs. After moving to Anchorage post-graduation Detective Nave followed her passion for helping special victims by working as a child advocate for The AWAIC Shelter. She applied for the Anchorage Police Department after two years believing she could use her skills and passion for crime prevention in the larger community. Detective Nave has been with the Anchorage Police Department for 19 years. She served as a patrol officer in the Patrol Division and in the Community Action Policing unit. In addition to her duties in the Patrol and Detective Divisions, Detective Nave has been a member of the Major Crime Scene Team since 2009. Detective Nave started with the Special Victims Unit in 2018 and teaches patrol responses to sexual assaults and officer survival at the Anchorage Police Department academy.

Blaze Bell is a Podcast Host, Singer, Marketing Consultant, and Community Advocate. She has served on the board for Victims for Justice, The Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, the Trend Alaska Committee, and the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission. Blaze has also contributed to STAR and many other local organizations by facilitating support groups, leading wellness workshops, and being a survivor keynote speaker.

For many of his 14 years, Max provided comfort and care to thousands of people – assault survivors, social service workers, and groups throughout the community and beyond. From his work with children and adults at grand juries and jury trials, the tragic Parkland school shooting in Florida, to providing comfort for families after California wildfires, his impact on this world is immeasurable.

We will miss him dearly and are honored and grateful to have worked with him. Thank you, Dennis, and everyone at National Crisis Response Canines for sharing Max with us and our clients.

The Trend Alaska Fashion Show is an evening showcasing Alaska’s artists and fashion designers while also benefiting a local non-profit organization. Since debuting in 2019, the Trend Alaska Fashion Show has raised nearly $500,000 for Alaska’s non-profit organizations.

As some of you may know, Victims for Justice was honored to be chosen as the beneficiary of this year’s Trend Alaska Fashion Show. The collective efforts of every designer, model, guest and sponsor involved in this event contributed significantly to our mission of supporting Alaskans affected by violent crime. We would like to thank Carol Fraser and the Trend committee for highlighting our organization and the services we provide to the community.