Charles McKenna Rial

In 1979, Charles McKenna Rial co-founded, with Alan Gallant, Alaska Consulting Group (ACG). ACG, based in Seattle, was a subsidiary of a Native Alaskan Community Development Corporation, which was instrumental in passage of the Alaska Claims Settlement Act. The Native Alaskan organization (now known as Alaska Rural Initiatives), had purchased the Alaska Commercial Co. (ACC), which was comprised of 11 General Stores in the Alaskan Bush. ACC was the lineal descendent of the Russian-American Trading Company, chartered by Czar Nicholas in 1776. Native ownership of this former colonial institution, was highly symbolic to the Native villages it served. Allan Gallant helped put together the deal and took the job as CEO. Allan had a very strong network among foundations and local governments as he had been active in putting supermarkets back into major cities hurt by riots in the 60s and 70s. The idea behind Alaska Consulting Group was to take advantage of Allan's network and expand it into a successful national consultancy.

ACG helped develop a community-owned shopping center in Liberty City, Miami, Florida; assisted the Navajo Community Development Corporation in developing the second modern supermarket on the Navajo Reservation; led turnarounds of cooperative supermarkets; and provided workshops to community leaders in how to develop businesses in their communities. Charles McKenna Rial left ACG in 1983 to move to Chicago to marry the incomparable Mary LaPorte and to launch Charles Rial & Associates (CRA). CRA continued the consulting practice of Alaska Consulting Group. Major clients included: the Barrow, Alaska Village Corporation (Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation);The Ford Foundation, Miami-Dade County, the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and the Navajo Nation. Charles Rial assisted the Navajo Nation in establishing a 50,000 watt AM Navajo language radio station. Paige Chapel, who is now CEO of Aeris (a rating agency for community loan funds) was very instrumental in the success of CRA.