“Just Keep Going! Life will continue to come at you, never give up and continue to push towards your goals.”
KEF Board President Jon Panamaroff
Panamaroff has served on the board since 2010. His family comes from Afognak, Larsen Bay, Karluk, and Kodiak City. He was born and raised on Kodiak Island for the first half of his youth.
After high school, Panamaroff attended Eastern Washington University (EWU) on a football scholarship. He now holds two bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration and Psychology and a Master of Public Administration. Panamaroff values higher education and lifelong learning. He has completed industry-focused programs at the University of Washington, the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado, and Harvard Business School. Panamaroff is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.
Panamaroff is the Chief Executive Officer of Command Holdings, a sustainable, self-sufficient economic development arm of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. Before joining Command Holdings, Panamaroff had spent his professional career in finance and Native American economic development working with/for Native-owned corporations, Community Development Financial Institutions, the Federal government, and banks.
Panamaroff chose his career path to enable him to give back to his Native Communities. His advice to students is, “Just Keep Going! Life will continue to come at you, never give up and continue to push towards your goals.”