Commissioner Robert Pickett was appointed by Governor Sarah Palin to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska in January 2008. After election by his fellow commissioners, he began serving as Chairman of the Commission on July 1, 2008. In 2014 Governor Sean Parnell appointed Commissioner Pickett to a second term. In 2020 Governor Mike Dunleavy appointed Commissioner Pickett to a third term.

Before his appointment to the RCA, Commissioner Pickett had more than 30 years of statewide experience in Alaska’s housing industry, in both the private and public sectors. For twenty-one years, Commissioner Pickett worked for Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) in a number of roles including Property Disposition Manager, Planner, and Program Manager. Promotion of public-private partnerships in the housing industry, and interagency coordination with housing related infrastructure were areas of Commissioner Pickett’s emphasis while working at AHFC. His prior work experience also includes consulting, real estate sales and marketing, management of a materials testing laboratory for the Alaska Department of Transportation, and surveying for the U.S. Forest Service in Southeast Alaska.

Commissioner Pickett has a B.A. in Public Administration/Political Science from the University of Idaho, and has been married for more than 30 years to his wife Jane.