Barbara Belknap spent the first half of her life in 3-4 year increments. With a father in the Marine Corps, and then a husband in the United States Coast Guard, Barbara lived in almost twenty different communities from her birthplace of Portland, Oregon, to Kodiak, Alaska, to Puerto Rico. Her family chose Juneau, Alaska, where they lived from 1977 to 1980, to make their home. They returned there in 1989 with the intention of putting down deep roots.

Her community of Juneau, Alaska, and the stunningly beautiful nature that surrounds it are very important parts of Barbara’s life.

In October of 2001, Barbara was diagnosed with Stage 1 ovarian cancer and had two major surgeries. She reluctantly retired from her job as Executive Director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute in 2002 to allow her body to recover.  After several months of adjustment, she went about the task of learning how to follow her passion for lifelong learning, community building, women’s issues, politics, and travel. Barbara has been involved with many women’s organizations, and has been very active with Gather the Women for several years.

Barbara has been married to her husband Doug since 1969. They have two wonderful adult children:  Amy, a chef at the University of Washington in Seattle, and Will, who is a computer programmer with the State of Alaska, and his wife, Shonda, in Juneau. Their grandchildren, Patrick and Marlena, live just 6 miles away.