Lydia Wirkus of Chugiak was appointed to the Commission by Governor Sarah Palin in March 2007 as a representative of the general public. Ms. Wirkus was a professional educator in the Matanuska Susitna Borough School District for almost fourteen years at both Wasilla High School and Burchell High School, formerly Mat Su Alternative School. She created and taught several governmental courses, with an emphasis in special education/learning disabled student participation. alaskadvantage.state.ak.us