Ryan Berry

Ryan Berry graduated from Colony High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern Indiana in 2003.

His career experience includes working as a mortgage broker.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm Ryan Berry. I've lived in the Mat-Su Valley since 1983, back when Wasilla was a lot smaller and the Parks Highway was a lot quieter. This valley raised me, and it's where I'm raising my own family today.

I've spent 17 years in the mortgage business helping Alaska families buy homes, and today I own and operate Amped Mortgage, a small business based right here in Wasilla. That work means I sit across the table from Valley families every single day. I hear firsthand what they're up against: the cost of living, affordable housing, energy bills that keep climbing, and a state government that talks a lot but doesn't seem to listen.

Outside of work, I've tried to give back to the community that gave me so much. I've coached youth sports, served with Big Brothers Big Sisters and Junior Achievement, been active in the Wasilla Chamber of Commerce and the Valley Board of Realtors, and I co-founded Get Moving Mat-Su to help get kids and families active. My faith and my family keep me grounded.

I'm not a career politician and I'm not looking to become one. I'm a small business owner and a lifelong Valley guy who got tired of watching the same people make the same excuses while our problems got worse. I'm running for State Senate because the Mat-Su deserves a senator who answers to the people who live here, not to Juneau.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Energy is the number one issue facing Southcentral Alaska, and Juneau has watched this train coming for over a decade without acting. Cook Inlet gas is running short, our utilities are signing deals to import LNG to a state that sits on some of the largest gas reserves on the planet, and Valley families are the ones who will pay for it on every heating bill. That's not a supply problem, that's a leadership problem. I'll fight for policies that get more Alaska gas out of the ground: competition in Cook Inlet, faster permitting, real incentives for independent producers, and getting gas to Alaskans first. Importing energy while sitting on our own is an embarrassment, and I won't accept it.The PFD belongs to Alaskans, period. The statutory formula worked until politicians decided your dividend was their piggy bank. I'll fight to close that loophole and follow the law. And let's be honest, Juneau overspends. There are always savings if you're willing to look, and I've spent years as a small business owner finding them. But cuts alone won't fix this. We need new revenue that doesn't come out of your pocket, and the easiest low hanging fruit is finishing the Port MacKenzie rail spur. Completing that connection exponentially increases our ability to export Alaska's natural resources to the world, turning an idle asset into jobs and revenue for the Mat-Su and the state, without taking another dime from Alaskans.Alaska spends near the top per student and ranks near the bottom, decade after decade, and the answer is always "more money." I'm done with that. I'll invest in our kids, but every dollar comes with accountability: measurable results and money in classrooms, not administration. Parents deserve choice. Public, charter, homeschool, or hybrid, families should decide, because forcing kids into failing schools isn't right. Competition works. Public schools have the funding advantage; they need to earn students by improving the product. And in a blue collar valley like ours, career tech and vocational training deserve the same respect as a four-year degree. I support forward funding so schools can plan with stability, not crisis budgeting.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Energy, because everything else flows from it. USGS estimates 19 trillion cubic feet of gas in Cook Inlet, right out our front door. The North Slope holds another 35 trillion in known reserves. We've known Alaska is gas rich for decades, and Juneau did nothing. Now we're on an energy cliff: Hilcorp's affiliate is retrofitting the old Kenai LNG plant to import gas, and Hilcorp already sells emergency gas at $16, roughly double what utilities paid ten years ago. It boils my blood. Lawmakers sat on their hands, and now we're importing energy in the most resource-rich state in America while Valley families pay for the failure. Fix energy and you fix the cost of living, attract industry, and bring opportunity home.