RCG-Royal Caribbean Group has selected 15 finalists for the first class of its Port Partners business accelerator, launched in Seward, Alaska.
The program marks a measured investment in shore-side enterprise, aimed at preparing local residents for the practical demands of business ownership in a working port community.
The selected cohort will undertake a 10-week, college-level course delivered at the Alaska Vocational Technical Center. Alongside formal instruction, participants will spend the term in close contact with Seward’s established entrepreneurs and business mentors, broadening their understanding of commerce while shaping ideas intended for launch in the local economy. The curriculum is taught by Greg Haas, a maritime instructor at AVTEC and proprietor of Stoney Creek Brewery, and is designed to cover the fundamentals of small business creation and development. Instruction ranges across supply chains, management practices, legal frameworks, and marketing strategy, with the intent of equipping participants for the responsibilities that come with operating a viable enterprise.
Local business owners will contribute through individual mentorship, offering guidance grounded in experience and providing practical reference points beyond the classroom. Upon completing the course, each participant will be eligible to earn three college credits through the University of Alaska system. The program concludes with a formal pitch session, during which graduates will present their business proposals to a panel of Seward business leaders. From this review, one proposal will be selected to receive twenty thousand dollars in seed funding.
Royal Caribbean Group leadership has characterized the initiative as an opportunity to witness and support the ingenuity present within Seward, noting that the program reflects a collaborative effort with AVTEC, the University of Alaska system, the Seward Small Business Development Center, and the Seward Chamber of Commerce. The company views these partnerships as essential to delivering resources to a community long shaped by self-reliance and enterprise.
From the instructional side, the program has been described as grounded in trust, time, and tangible opportunity, values closely aligned with the character of Seward. The instructor has emphasized the importance of bringing diverse entrepreneurs together, challenging conventional views of business ownership, and strengthening the community through shared learning and sustained outcomes. While the fifteen participants arrive with varied backgrounds and ambitions, they are unified by their commitment to the town.
The inaugural cohort includes Brendan Ryan, Calley Davenport, Clay Lambert, Elizabeth Dunn, Emerson Cross, Genevieve DeRoos, Heather Bardarson, James Natale, Josiah Bonner, Katherine Georgia Morgan, Shepard Otto Nipp, Sydney Singer, Taylor Wilson, and Victoria Provenza.
Port Partners in Seward is part of a broader approach applied by Royal Caribbean Group in destinations it visits worldwide, working with local stakeholders to support economic development, community resilience, and environmental stewardship. As the first expression of the company’s Energizing Communities pillar under its SEA the Future program, the Seward accelerator stands as a practical undertaking, intended to cultivate durable local enterprise rather than fleeting opportunity.