Sandra Barta brings a diverse and extensive background to her role as Associate Fiduciary Officer in Peak Trust Company’s Alaska office. With 25 years of administrative and bookkeeping experience, including over a decade in legal and trust administration services, Sandra is well-equipped to manage the complex responsibilities of fiduciary services.
Sandra specializes in managing trusts and custodial LLCs holding Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI) and Private Placement Variable Annuities (PPVA). Her expertise in these areas, combined with her strong fiduciary knowledge, ensures that complex financial structures are handled with precision and care.
Prior to joining Peak in 2024, Sandra gained valuable experience in trust administration and legal support, where she was responsible for managing trust accounts, preparing legal documents, and ensuring the smooth execution of fiduciary processes. Her background in pension administration further strengthened her skills in managing participant accounts, conducting audits, and maintaining compliance in financial reporting.
Fluent in both English and German, Sandra is known for her attention to detail, exceptional organizational skills, and dedication to client satisfaction. Her commitment to providing high-quality service ensures that trust administration at Peak is handled with professionalism and care.
Patti Blattmachr is an indispensable pillar of the Peak Trust Company team, having served since the founding of the company in 1997. As Executive Officer, Patti conducts all independent annual trust reviews to evaluate account status, performance, risk levels, and achievement of client goals and objectives.
In her decades of tenure, Patti has worked extensively across fiduciary operations, investments, relationship management, and trust administration. She leverages this remarkable institutional knowledge to inform annual reviews and provide key executive insights. Patti was the first ever employee of Peak Trust when the company established its inaugural Alaska office location over 25 years ago. Her commitment to the business and vision were instrumental in those early stages of growth.
Patti earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Outdoor Recreation from Northwest Nazarene University. As Peak Trust’s longest-tenured employee, she has been essential in building the high-performing, client-centric team Peak Trust Company is known for today.
Johnathon Brandt brings a wealth of experience and dedication to his role as Fiduciary Officer at Peak Trust Company. With a solid background in accounting and fiduciary services, Johnathon plays a pivotal role in assisting clients with trust administration and sophisticated estate planning techniques.
Johnathon originally joined Peak Trust Company in 2022, where he served on the administration team helping clients establish and administer trusts in Alaska and Nevada. His expertise encompasses a wide range of trust types, including Delegated and Directed Trusts, Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, Domestic Asset Protection Trusts, and Charitable Trusts. He is known for providing prompt and accurate responses to complex client inquiries, ensuring exceptional service.
After a year and a half at Peak Trust Company, Johnathon furthered his career at an esteemed investment management and financial planning firm in Anchorage, where he assisted clients in achieving their goals through personalized financial planning. Now back at Peak Trust Company, Johnathon continues to leverage his diverse experience to provide outstanding fiduciary services.
Johnathon holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Montana and a Master’s in Accounting from East Tennessee State University. He is currently pursuing both his Certified Trust and Financial Advisor (CTFA) designation from the Cannon Financial Institute and his Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation. Additionally, he holds a Series 65 license.
Outside the office, Johnathon enjoys exploring the great outdoors with his wife, Tori, and their dog, Bella. An adventurous spirit, he has a deep love for Prince William Sound and actively participates in the Prince William Sound Stewardship Foundation. Johnathon and Tori also volunteer with Make-A-Wish, the Food Bank of Alaska, and various initiatives in Prince William Sound.
Jacob Creswell joined Peak Trust Company in 2025 as a Fiduciary Assistant in our Alaska office, supporting trust administration and client service. With a strong foundation in trust and wealth management, he assists fiduciary officers in managing accounts, ensuring compliance, and facilitating seamless trust operations.
Before joining Peak, Jacob gained valuable experience through trust administration internships, where he worked closely with trust officers on estate planning, personal trusts, special asset management, and Special Needs Trusts. His background also includes business development support and document management, equipping him with a well-rounded understanding of fiduciary operations.
Jacob graduated from Campbell University in December 2024, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration in Trust and Wealth Management with a Minor in Financial Planning, graduating magna cum laude. Recognized for academic excellence, he has earned multiple scholarships and honors, including placement on the President’s and Dean’s Lists.
With a detail-oriented approach and a passion for fiduciary services, Jacob contributes to Peak Trust Company’s commitment to providing industry-leading trust administration and client support.
Daria Davis has been with Peak Trust Company since 2022 and currently serves as Fiduciary Tax Coordinator in Peak’s Alaska office. In this role, Daria coordinates the processing of trust tax returns for all Alaska trusts. Daria is responsible for coordinating the processing of tax returns to ensure timely filing with the applicable taxing authority, communicating with CPAs regarding tax notices, as well as coordinating the distribution of applicable tax documents.
Daria brings over a decade of experience in international procurement management to her role at Peak. After transitioning from working for international corporations and settling in Alaska, Daria worked as a paralegal for an immigration attorney in Anchorage for several years before joining the Peak team.
Daria earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Economics and International Relations, with a specialization in Accounting from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
Danaya Dews serves as a Marketing Assistant at Peak Trust Company, where she contributes her expertise in content creation and digital marketing. In her role, she supports the marketing team by producing engaging multimedia content, managing social media platforms, and helping to highlight Peak’s team, services, and industry leadership.
Danaya first joined Peak Trust Company in 2022 as a Fiduciary Assistant and Front Desk Receptionist, where she gained valuable experience in client service and trust administration. Her background in communications and media production naturally led her to a marketing-focused role, where she now applies her creativity and strategic thinking to enhance Peak’s storytelling efforts.
Prior to joining Peak, Danaya worked as a Creative and Content Intern for a music awards show, where she produced and edited digital video content, authored articles, and supported interview and event production. She also served as a Social Media Manager and Production Assistant for college organizations, refining her skills in audience engagement and digital media strategy.
Danaya graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Television-Radio from Ithaca College. Outside of work, she enjoys baking and endurance running. As part of Peak’s marketing team, she brings a creative approach and a strong communications background to help shape the company’s brand and messaging.
Heather Dolan serves as a Fiduciary Assistant at Peak Trust Company’s Alaska office, a role she has held since 2021. As part of the fiduciary administration team, Heather supports Fiduciary Officers in managing all aspects of trust account oversight including records maintenance, transaction processing, preparing client communications and annual tax coordination. She excels in providing accurate, timely responses to client inquiries and partner requests.
In her work, Heather upholds strict procedures around account security, documentation, compliance protocols and maintaining excellent service levels. She plays a crucial coordination role by assisting Fiduciary Officers with beneficiary correspondence, money movement, brokerage interactions and day-to-day account administration.
A lifelong Alaskan, Heather joined Peak Trust Company after working as a trust and estates paralegal at a local law firm, leveraging her background in estate planning legal support. She earned her Associate of Applied Sciences degree in Paralegal Studies from the University of Alaska Anchorage.
In her free time, Heather enjoys biking and hiking to soak up the Alaska sunshine. As part of Peak’s trust administration team in Alaska, she provides excellent organizational skills and attention to detail in support of smooth trust account management and operations.
Jeannie Fanning serves as Peak Trust Company’s Fiduciary Team Manager, overseeing all fiduciary administration operations company-wide. She assumed this vital leadership role in 2023. Jeannie manages a large team responsible for all daily trust administration functions and processes across the organization.
In her role, Jeannie focuses on continuous improvement by assessing current processes and systems and implementing increased automation, task consolidation, compliance controls and staff training. Her oversight maintains strict adherence to security protocols while also driving efficient account administration. As Fiduciary Team Manager, Jeannie leverages her experience to lead cross-functional teams, ensure seamless coordination between fiduciary officers and operation staff, implement technology solutions to streamline operations, and develop best practices for account and client management.
Jeannie brings over 15 years of experience managing workflows, performance evaluation and process optimization from previous healthcare administration roles. Her background also includes expertise in organizational change management during periods of rapid scaling or integration of new technology.
Jeannie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from Alaska Pacific University. Her team leadership and process improvement skills have quickly aligned fiduciary administration capabilities with Peak Trust Company’s rapid growth.
Gretchen Grau has been with Peak Trust Company since 2012 and currently serves as Senior Operations Specialist in Peak’s Alaska office. In this role, Gretchen is responsible for cash management and balancing, processing electronic transactions for incoming and outgoing distributions, processing trades, and posting transactions to client accounts. In addition to her fiduciary operations role, Gretchen is a contributing member of Peak’s Operations Technology Steering Committee, a subcommittee of the firm’s trust committee focused on the continuous improvement of Peak’s operational excellence through the adoption of technology.
Prior to joining Peak, she worked in office management for over 10 years. Gretchen brings a broad range of experience in business administration and operations to her role.
Gretchen earned her Certified Securities Operations Professional (CSOP) and Certified Trust Operations Professional (CTOP) designations from the Cannon Financial Institute.