Keenan Sanderson is Haida Raven Double Fin Killer Whale of the Yahgw 'Laanas clan and Athabascan. He grew up in Ketchikan and is passionate about natural resource management and education.

Keenan graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2019 with his degree in Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. He is the Indigenous Food Sovereignty Specialist at the Ketchikan Indian Community (KIC), working on food security and food sovereignty issues. He has been instrumental in ensuring access to traditional foods for people of Ketchikan through KIC's annual Herring Egg Distribution.

"My area of expertise is preserving our traditional way of life whether that's protecting our environment, advocating for our rights to gather traditional foods, or sharing knowledge of how to prepare and preserve our foods," Keenan says. "The bulk of my life is dedicated in one way or another to what comes out of the ocean. It's who I am."

Keenan is also the head coach of Ketchikan High School's National Ocean Science Bowl team, educating youth on science and traditional ecological knowledge. "I'm always impressed with what these students are able to accomplish year after year," Keenan says. "There isn't anything else I'd rather be doing than seeing them grow into epic scientists."