Vicki Soboleff

Vicki Soboleff

Cultural Manager

Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska 

Blaine, WA

“My grandmother, Vesta Johnson from Hydaburg, taught me to be helpful; to be respectful of our elders, culture, nature, and subsistence food. She said: ‘If you see someone struggling; help them. Don’t stand by and watch.’ I embrace this philosophy and am eager to bring this mindset to my role on Sealaska’s board as I uphold my fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders.”

Vicki Soboleff is an accounting and finance professional who was born in Seattle, Washington, and raised in Ketchikan. She is the cultural manager for Tlingit & Haida. From 2019-2023 she was the grants coordinator for the Tulalip Tribes in Tulalip, Washington, overseeing more than $25 million in grants. Soboleff has more than 20 years’ experience in finance and accounting, including 13 years with Sealaska, first as managing accountant and then as corporate controller. She serves as the chair of the board for Haida Corporation and as president for Haida Energy. She is a former board member of Catholic Community Services, where she served on the Audit Committee.  

First elected to the board in 2021, Soboleff serves on the Compensation, Finance and Audit committees. She also serves as chair of the Sealaska Heritage Institute Board of Trustees. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.), accounting focus from University of Alaska Southeast. Soboleff is skilled in financial statement preparation, including consolidations and audit management. 

Soboleff is an artist, performer, mentor and teacher who has been involved in a variety of traditional arts and youth mentorship programs throughout her life. She founded the Juneau-based youth dance group Lda Kut Naax Sati Yatx’i (All Nations’ Children in Lingít) in 1995. The group still exists today, and she remains an advisor to the program. After moving from Alaska to Washington state in 2017, Soboleff continued her outreach to youth through the Washington chapter of Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, forming another youth dance group called X̲aat’áay ‘Wáadluwaan G̲aagáay (All Nations’ Children in Xaad kíl). Soboleff began studying cultural activities and Native languages in Ketchikan. She received instruction from Nora and Robert Cogo in Haida language, world-renowned Master Weaver Selina Peratrovich in Haida basketry, Julia Fawcett in moccasin making, and Beatrice Starkweather in traditional beadwork.  Her Haida grandmother, Vesta Johnson, also taught Haida language, songs and dance, and button-blanket making. 

In 2019, Soboleff received the President’s Everyday Hero Award from Tlingit & Haida for her work as a culture bearer.   

Soboleff is Haida, Yak’Laanas (Raven/Double Fin Killerwhale) of the Brown Bear House; and Tlingit (adopted) Kiks.adi (Raven/Frog) of the Tinaa Hit (Copper Shield House) and the Gaagaan Hit (Sun House). Her Haida names are Hiilunjaat and Tl’aakahlwaas and her Tlingit names are Kuk’ak and Shx’aasti. 

Contact: vicki.soboleff@sealaska.com