Jim Kelly, the former director of communications for the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., has joined Allvest Information Services, the company that created and manages Assessments.com. Assessments.com is one of the nation's leading providers of validated risk assessment/case management software, staff training and implementation consulting. Kelly's responsibilities will include strengthening communication between the company and its clients and building on that foundation to bring the benefits to other juvenile justice and human services systems throughout the United States. Assessments.com's goal is to reduce recidivism among youth offenders.

The Anchorage Home Builders Association has announced that Matt Matthews of Six-M Cedar Homes is the recipient of the 2005 Builder of the Year. Matthews has been a member of the AHBA board of directors for many years, and is on the membership committee that is responsible for retaining and recruitment of new members. Jean Graham of Northrim Bank was named the 2005 Associate of the Year, and is credited for her work at organizing several of the association's special events last year. The 2005 Specialty Contractor of the Year is Tim Ruf of Ruf Drywall. The company was chosen for its superior service to its clients, as well as involvement with the community through charitable contributions and support of AHBA activities.

John Pratt has been named executive director of the Alaska Workforce Investment Board, filling the post left vacant in November when Mona McAleese left to join the state Labor Department's Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Pratt has served as project coordinator with the AWIB since March 2003 and as McAleese's deputy during her tenure with the board. Pratt is also the Department of Labor's designee to the Governor's Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Alaska State Community Services Commission.

Eleanor Andrews has joined Tryck Nyman Hayes Inc.'s board of directors as an outside director. Andrews, a recipient of the 1998 U.S. Small Business Person of the Year for Alaska and winner of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce 1995 ATHENA award, started the Andrews Group Inc. in 1987. She has served as the deputy commissioner and commissioner of Administration for the State of Alaska, employee relations director for the Anchorage municipal government, and labor representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Alaska Public Employees Association.

Klebs has hired several new employees, including Matt Metcalf as project manager, Kyle Lepping as its service supervisor, Jim Scott as plumbing supervisor and Bill Fischer as an HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) consultant. Metcalf has more than 10 years experience in industrial and commercial construction project management and will be responsible for managing Klebs' commercial projects to completion. Scott adds 34 years experience in the plumbing industry. Scott has a mechanical administrator license and all applicable journeyman plumber licenses. As service supervisor, Lepping will be responsible for assisting and supporting technicians, and providing customer service. He has 10 years experience in the mechanical service field. Fischer joins Klebs as an HVAC consultant, responsible for matching the right equipment to specific customer needs. Fischer has more than a decade of direct sales experience and has trained employees, managers and owners around the state on various product lines he has represented. Klebs is the largest full-service mechanical contractor in Alaska and provides heating, plumbing and air quality services to commercial and residential customers in Alaska. The Anchorage company was founded in 1986 by Gary Klebs.

USKH Inc.'s board of directors announced new principals and associates of the firm. Jerry Neubert is the director of architecture and has been selected as a new principal. Before joining USKH, Neubert served as both statewide university architect and executive director of facilities planning and construction for the University of Alaska. Art Johnson, a transportation engineering project manager, has also been selected as a principal of the firm. Johnson has been employed with USKH since 1992 and has modified more than 150 traffic signals in Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Kenai, Juneau, and Fairbanks. Both Neubert and Johnson will continue to work in Anchorage. New associates of the firm include Shawn Lillefjell as human resources manager, Peter Jacobsen as a senior structural engineer in the USKH Fairbanks office, and Ron Goughnour as a transportation engineering project manager in Anchorage. USKH is one of Alaska's largest multidisciplinary architectural, engineering, land surveying and planning firms.