State involuntarily dissolves Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness after years of public funding, controversy

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Nov. 10, 2026 — The State of Alaska has involuntarily dissolved the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness, the nonprofit that became a central coordinator of the city’s homelessness response while receiving millions of dollars in public funding and facing scrutiny over its financial controls and leadership.

A state certificate made the dissolution effective Nov. 3. It identifies the organization as Alaska Entity No. 10006562 and lists Nathan Johnson as its registered agent.

The certificate cites failures involving corporate reporting, fees or registered-agent requirements. Its language lists several possible grounds without specifying which applied to the coalition. The certificate shows a July 3, 2024, biennial report, followed by the Nov. 3, 2026, administrative dissolution; no 2026 biennial report appears in that history.

The action concerns the corporation’s legal standing in Alaska. The certificate does not make findings about misuse of grant money, resolve allegations against former leadership, or establish that services have stopped.

Alaska’s corporations division says domestic nonprofit corporations cannot reinstate after involuntary dissolution and instead must file new articles of incorporation. Its guidance distinguishes nonprofits from several business entities that can seek reinstatement within two years.

The coalition’s history date to a grassroots provider collaboration in 2004; federal tax records identify its tax-exempt recognition as December 2012.

ACEH serves as lead agency for the Anchorage Continuum of Care, a network coordinating homelessness planning, housing referrals, data and federal funding applications. Its territory extends from the Knik Arm Bridge to the Whittier Tunnel. Its stated mission is to make homelessness “rare, brief and one-time.” It failed completely at its mission.

The coalition’s own financial footprint expanded substantially. Its fiscal 2023 Form 990, available through ProPublica, lists revenue of $2,726,072 and expenses of $2,740,698, producing a $14,626 deficit. It reported net assets of $1,273,470.

The same filing lists $104,034 in compensation for executive director Meg Zaletel.

Municipal funding also became a flashpoint. A review by this author for another publication reported $2,576,127 in noncompetitive taxpayer awards over approximately six years. That is the outlet’s tally, rather than an independently reconstructed total for this article.

One prominent appropriation provided $1.5 million from Anchorage’s alcohol tax for Next Step, a housing initiative offering rental assistance and case management to people leaving homelessness. Alaska’s News Source reported in August 2024 that coalition officials said the program had housed 177 people, with 95% still housed at that time.

Zaletel’s simultaneous service as an Assembly member and the coalition’s paid executive director drew criticism because the Assembly appropriated money to her employer. She became interim director in 2021 and full-time director after winning Assembly reelection in April 2022. She is no longer on the Assembly.

The organization also faced documented financial-control problems. ProPublica’s summary of its fiscal 2023 independent audit identifies both a material weakness and a significant deficiency in internal controls.

This author’s April 2025 account of the audit described problems involving payroll documentation, accounts payable, depreciation and financial reporting, along with weaknesses in oversight and recordkeeping.

Separately, a former executive identified as Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit in January 2025 alleging financial mismanagement, a toxic workplace and retaliatory termination after raising whistleblower concerns. The complaint named Zaletel, board chair Nathan Johnson and vice chair Jacob Lyons.

At the time of that reporting, an ACEH spokeswoman declined to discuss the complaint because the organization had not been served.

Zaletel announced in April 2025 that she would leave the coalition that summer, citing family priorities. ACEH’s subsequent annual report identifies Jessica Parks as interim executive director and Gabe Layman as board chair.

The organization’s funding and influence have not eliminated Anchorage’s homelessness crisis. The 2026 Point-in-Time count found 1,645 people experiencing homelessness, down from 1,748 in 2025. The unsheltered count fell from 402 to 291. The figures describe conditions on a single January night.

The dissolution now adds a basic corporate-compliance failure to an organization already scrutinized over accountability.