A four-person hiring committee is set to begin interviews with the top two candidates for the Haines Borough tourism director position.
Haines residents Leslie Ross and Carol Tuynman are the two finalists, manager David Sosa said.
Ross and Tuynman will be interviewed by a hiring committee appointed by Sosa, which includes himself, public facilities director Carlos Jimenez, clerk Julie Cozzi and Tourism Advisory Board chair Barbara Mulford.
Ross currently works as development director for KHNS. Tuynman is president of the Alaska Arts Confluence.
When asked why Sosa chose Jimenez and Cozzi for the hiring committee despite their apparent lack of experience in the field of tourism, Sosa said their knowledge about leadership, management and community engagement would help the borough select a worthy candidate.
“I have full confidence in their ability and trust their judgment and advice on this matter,” Sosa said.
The committee initially identified three finalists, but the third declined an interview.
“The applicants selected for (an) interview are those deemed by the hiring committee to, on paper at least, have an appropriate mix of experience and education to warrant further inquiry,” Sosa said.
The Haines Borough continued to accept and review applications for tourism director after receiving only two applications by the original review date in March. The initial two applications came from Tuynman and Sheldon Museum education coordinator Scott Pearce.
Other applicants include Sue Ordonez Ackerman of Thailand, Edward Jones of Juneau, Kristin Peterson of Bethel and Christina Baskaya of San Diego, Calif.
Baskaya, who grew up in Haines, applied to serve in the job only an interim basis during summer months.
After two months of advertising, the job attracted seven applicants. The borough has budgeted $46,500 for the position.