We are proud to share some exciting news from Alaska Fresh Seafood. Our co-owner, Adra Kusnirova, has been named one of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association’s 2026 Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch, an honor recognizing women making a meaningful impact across Wisconsin’s hospitality industry.
For Adra, the recognition represents something that has always been central to Alaska Fresh Seafood: building a business around people and relationships, not simply selling seafood.
The Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch, also known as WATCH, Women Achieving Trailblazing Careers in Hospitality, recognizes women working across all areas of Wisconsin hospitality.
The Wisconsin Restaurant Association selected its 2026 honorees from nominees throughout the state and across career levels. Each nomination was independently evaluated by members of the Women in Hospitality Advisory Group, with the highest-scoring candidates selected for the Top 20 recognition.
Adra joined an accomplished group of women representing businesses and organizations throughout Wisconsin, each contributing to the future of hospitality in a different way.
The 2026 honorees were celebrated during the Women in Hospitality Conference on Monday, September 28, 2026, at Monona Terrace in Madison, Wisconsin, where the Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch Awards Celebration and Luncheon formally recognized this year’s recipients.
What started as bringing fish home for friends and family grew into Alaska Fresh Seafood, a small family business connecting customers across the United States with premium, wild-caught Alaskan seafood.
Adra has played an integral role in that growth. As Alaska Fresh Seafood expanded from selling seafood to friends and family to farmers markets, a storefront, nationwide shipping, and partnerships with restaurants and retailers, she remained focused on something just as important: building genuine relationships with the people the business serves.
Through education, transparency, and a commitment to sustainability, Adra has helped make buying and preparing wild seafood feel more approachable. Whether helping a customer understand where their fish comes from, introducing someone to a new species, or creating opportunities for employees to learn and grow, her approach has always centered on trust.
That commitment was specifically recognized by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, which highlighted Adra’s hands-on leadership, employee mentorship, commitment to sustainability, support of women in the food industry, and ability to build lasting customer relationships.
Today, that sense of hospitality reaches well beyond Wisconsin. It can be found at our seafood market and farmers markets, in relationships with fishermen and partners, and in every box of wild Alaskan seafood shipped to customers across the country. For Adra, hospitality has never been limited to a place. It is about helping people feel informed, confident, and connected to the food they bring home.
"Hospitality is often measured by the experience we create. Our next honoree reminds us that sometimes, that experience begins long before a guest ever sits down at the table."
As co-owner of Alaska Fresh Seafood, Adra Kusnirova has helped transform a small Wisconsin startup into a growing business serving consumers, restaurants, retailers and wholesale partners throughout the Midwest. But what truly sets her apart isn't simply the company's success. It's the way she's built it.
Recognizing that seafood can feel unfamiliar or intimidating, Adra has become an educator, storyteller and trusted guide for her customers. Through authentic conversations, recipes and personal relationships, she's helped make sustainable seafood approachable while remaining deeply committed to ethical sourcing and environmental responsibility. Inside Alaska Fresh Seafood, her leadership is equally inspiring. Employees describe a mentor who teaches by example, celebrates learning, and creates a workplace where people feel supported, respected and empowered to succeed. From personally training farmers market staff to helping employees build confidence in new responsibilities, Adra believes that investing in people is every bit as important as investing in the business.
When she learned she would receive this award, Adra reflected:
"Building a business is a messy, creative, stressful, beautiful roller coaster. This recognition is an awesome pause to reflect on where I'm at in the middle of my professional career. "
Today, we celebrate a woman who has proven that great hospitality begins with education, grows through relationships and leaves a lasting impact on every person she serves."
- Ileana Rivera, Chief Creative Officer of Lowlands Group
For everyone at Alaska Fresh Seafood, this award is an exciting milestone, but it also represents many of the values that have shaped our company from the beginning!
Growing a business takes hard work. Building one that people trust takes something more.
It takes relationships, consistency, education, care for your team, respect for where your product comes from, and a genuine commitment to the people you serve.
Those are qualities Adra brings to Alaska Fresh Seafood every day, and we could not be prouder to see her recognized among Wisconsin’s 2026 Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch.
Congratulations, Adra, on a well-deserved recognition and an incredible milestone for you and Alaska Fresh Seafood!
