A half-century resident of Alaska, Bronx-born alum, Frances (Dushman) Rose never envisioned living a life quite so far north from where she was born and attended college. Rose has taught GED classes to adults, GIs, and prison inmates as well as consulted on adult education teacher training for Native villages in Alaska.

Reflecting on her various new experiences in Alaska, Rose shared watching moose munching as its antlers clonked on her mailbox at her downtown Anchorage home as her favorite.

Rose grew accustomed to spectacular wildlife even when it wandered downtown. Her historic home in Anchorage once housed mink pelt storage.

Rose and her late husband, David Rose, were pillars of the community even before the 1980s North Slope oil development brought boom times to the railroad hub and major port of Anchorage, Alaska.

Rose’s 5 decades in Alaska reflected a “can do” spirit in every enterprise she undertook; especially in vocational education and civic causes.

When their two sons were infants, to cope with the “outrageous” cost of living, Rose did clerical work on military bases.

Rose served ten years on the State Advisory Council for vocational and career education, of which 2 years were as Chair. During this period, she served on the task force to develop the first 5-year statewide plan for vocational education. Starting in 1968, she worked as an instructor at the Adult Basic Education Program (ABE) at the Anchorage Community College and became the director of the program in 1977-79. One of her earliest assignments for ABE was teaching in an Anchorage correctional facility in 1968-69. Although it was outside her comfort zone, she developed a rapport with the inmates as she assisted them in obtaining their General Equivalency Diploma (GED).

After Rose’s 10 years with ABE she consulted for Tanana Chiefs Land Claims College in Fairbanks. Rose developed a training program for teachers from Athabaskan Villages. She also consulted with the Alaska Department of Education to conduct staff development workshops in Nome, Bethel and Kotzebue.

Prior to moving to Juneau with her husband in 1982, Rose was a co – City Administrator for the city of Akutan with Nancy Gross.

While in Juneau, from 1983-89, Rose was a special assistant to the Commissioner of Administration mini cabinet on women’s issues as part of the job.

Rose purchased and owned a women’s apparel shop named Victoria’s from 1985 to 1989.

Rose was Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Commerce and Economic Development assisting in various economic development projects for small businesses from 1990-91.

For many years the Roses were business partners with Susan and Tony Knowles (he became mayor of Anchorage and later Governor of Alaska), in Anchorage’s popular New York-style Downtown Deli, a New York-style deli restaurant bringing authentic lox, bagels, and the Sunday New York Times. On any given day movers and shakers; business, government, and Native affairs men and women would hold court at the Deli as they charted Alaska’s future.

Rose’s most significant role in the business as Senior Vice President of Administration for Alaska Permanent Capital Management Co. (APCM), a financial investment corporation which she formed with her husband David Rose. APCM grew to over $2 billion in assets under their management. Individual clients are accessing the same technology and expertise that is applied to the management of funds for State and local governments, Alaska Native Corporations, financial institutions, health care organizations, and The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. APCM has hired a diverse group of financial experts from all over Alaska. A significant portion of the staff is women. Rose retired from the firm in 2017, completely turning over the reins to her son Evan Rose.

Rose and her husband created The Frances and David Rose Foundation in 1997. As a community and civic organizer over the past 40 years, Rose was a founding member of the Anchorage Downtown Partnership and served on the Alaska Tourism and Marketing Council, the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska, and the State Advisory Council for vocational and career education. Rose has been a generous contributor to many aspects of what makes Alaska and Anchorage a great place to live.

Rose was a charter member and founder of the Alaska Jewish Museum, which highlights the contributions of Jewish history in Alaska.

In 1959 Rose earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Queens College in New York and continued her education in 1975 where she earned a Master in Education (adult education) from the University of Alaska.

Fran’s family emigrated from Austria to America in the late 1800s and eventually lived in a multi-family tenement house in the Bronx. While growing up, Fran spent many hours with her grandmother who had lost her sight at age 55. During “Fran” time with her grandmother, she learned Yiddish. Because Fran’s grandmother did not know how to read or write, Fran developed a penchant for education. Fran is a voracious reader of history; the last book she enjoyed reading was “Catherine the Great”.

Rose is the mother of two sons, Evan and Mitch Rose, daughter-in-laws Barbara Saenz-Rose and Dale Rose. Rose has five grandchildren, Thomas and Joshua Saenz, and Ben, Shelby, and Haley Rose.