Okalena Patricia Lekanoff Gregory was born and raised in Unalaska and raised her family there. Okalena has been employed with the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Restitution Trust as its Administrator for the past 5 years. Okalena is self-employed as an Aleut Bentwood hat and visor instructor for culture camps, schools, and Universities, including traveling to Bellingham, Washington and as far south as California to teach this almost lost art.
Okalena has an A.A. in Police Administration; Tribal Certificate in Tribal Management, including an A.A.S. in Tribal Management; an A.A.S. Paralegal degree; and a Bachelor of Arts in Rural Development with the emphasis of Small Governments and Tribes. Okalena is currently on the Ounalashka Board and is the Vice President of the Aleut International Association; and serves on the boards for the Alaska Sea Otter Commission; Russian Orthodox Sacred Sites in Alaska (ROSSIA) since 2018; and was elected to The Aleut Corporation in November 2022.
Okalena formerly served on Alaska Federation of Natives Elder & Youth Aleut region delegate; The Aleut Foundation; APIA Board member; APICDA CLO (Community Liaison Officer); Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska; Museum of Aleutians and one of the founders of the Unalaska Senior Lunch Program and involved in the creation of the Unalaska Senior Center. She has served as a Director of Ounalashka Corporation from 1979 to 1980, from 1981 to 1987, from 1992 to 2010, from 2014 to 2023, and 2025 – 2028. Okalena serves as a Trustee on the Ounalashka Settlement Trust from 2017 to present.
She is also the Vice President of Bidar Corporation, the President of Dutch Harbor Aggregate Company, Inc., the Vice President of FDOC and the Secretary/Treasurer of OC Communications, Inc., all wholly owned subsidiaries of Ounalashka Corporation. She previously served as a director for the following wholly owned subsidiaries of Ounalashka Corporation: Aleutian Development Corporation, Bidar Corporation, Dutch Harbor Aggregate Company, Inc., FDOC, Inc., Little Brazil Corporation, and OC Communications, Inc. She is the sister of Director Nicholai E. Lekanoff.
Okalena has been a devoted community servant for decades, working for the betterment of Unalaska and its community members. She is also a strong advocate for education and as a life-long learner, she is currently working towards completing her Master’s.