Hank McKinnell, 83, spent more than three decades tackling problems and climbing the leadership ladder at Pfizer, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies on the planet.
Now, the Jackson Hole resident has turned his attention to a new problem: finding housing solutions for Teton County sheriff’s deputies. The high cost of housing has pushed too many deputies to live down the Snake River Canyon in Star Valley or over Teton Pass in Teton Valley, McKinnell said.
Only two deputies live in Jackson Hole. In McKinnell’s view, that’s a real community safety problem.
“We are now a community at risk for health and safety,” he said in an interview Friday at the Club at 3 Creek. “We can deal with that.”
McKinnell has connected with Sheriff Matt Carr, and the two presented a plan to county commissioners in April to pay up to six deputies a “readiness allowance” of up to $3,000 — money to live in and respond to emergencies in Jackson Hole. As county commissioners worked through the budget, that plan evolved and commissioners opted to change policy to prioritize first responders for county employee housing.
That’s a step in the right direction, McKinnell said. But, in August, a bigger discussion is coming.
County commissioners and Jackson town councilors are set to decide whether to give preference to first responders in housing stock managed by the Jackson/Teton County Affordable Housing Department. The department manages more than 1,000 units — far more than the 23 units the county owns for workers.
McKinnell’s background
McKinnell retired from a 36-year career at Pfizer in 2006. He departed as both CEO and chairman of the board of directors.
He was born in Victoria, British Columbia, and grew up in Vancouver. McKinnell worked on ships starting at age 15 and went off to business school at 21. He earned his doctorate from Stanford at 25 and studied operations research and decision theory.
McKinnell was preparing for a career in academia teaching about business, but he figured he’d better — at least for a little while — work in business for the experience.
“I’ve been a first mate captain on a merchant marine ship. I’ve driven race cars for automobile companies. I’ve done interesting things, but I’ve never actually worked in a business,” McKinnell said, thinking back on his decision to join Pfizer. “If I ever am going to get that experience, this is the time to get it.”
His first job for Pfizer was assistant to the president in Japan. Over 36 years at the company, McKinnell worked across the globe in places such as Afghanistan and Iran. He had four kids in four countries. In 2006, he retired and moved to Jackson Hole.
McKinnell thinks of Pfizer fondly.
“The company has saved the world at least two times,” McKinnell said.
During World War II, Pfizer led the charge to mass produce penicillin and saved the lives of countless soldiers through the treatment of bacterial infections. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Pfizer rapidly developed a mRNA vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Getting involved
Once retired, McKinnell moved to the mountains. He was drawn, like many, by the outdoors and the opportunities to ski and hunt in wild places. McKinnell also owns a ranch an hour and 20 minutes from Jackson in Idaho. The ranch is dedicated to the shooting sports, hunting and fly-fishing, he said.
McKinnell felt the tug to get involved with his community and served on a few nonprofit boards. He didn’t find that fulfilling enough.
The organizations didn’t have metrics to measure success and spent a lot of time talking about how wonderful its staffers were but not the mission of the organization, McKinnell said.
He was familiar with the world of law enforcement.
McKinnell had served on the New York City Police Foundation Board for 25 years and, as an executive with Pfizer, sometimes traveled with security professionals. The people assigned to protect McKinnell were often retired law enforcement officers.
McKinnell wanted to be “a participant in his own protection,” so he trained with and learned from those professionals.
In Jackson, McKinnell met and befriended Carr before he was the elected sheriff.
When McKinnell was uncertain about how to make a contribution, he turned to Carr.
First, McKinnell supported Community Safety Network and Teton Youth and Family Services. Then, he helped Carr create a peer counseling program to support first responders’ mental health. That program grew, and Jackson police officers, Jackson Hole Fire/EMS firefighters, Teton County Search and Rescue volunteers and Grand Teton National Park rangers are all eligible. It’s now called Teton Interagency Peer Support, or TIPS. It’s still a challenge to overcome the stigma associated with asking for help, McKinnell said.
McKinnell then expressed a concern to Carr: About 20% of Jackson Hole’s population is Hispanic, but the sheriff’s office doesn’t have Hispanic officers. The sheriff has deputies who speak Spanish, but that doesn’t cut it, McKinnell said.
“The issue is not bilingualism,” McKinnell said. “It’s bicultural.”
McKinnell created a scholarship program for high school graduates to pay for college. In exchange, students commit to serve three years in either the sheriff’s office or police department. He has expanded the program to include children of deputies who live in Star or Teton valleys.
He then turned his attention to affordable housing, where he saw another problem.
While many affordable or workforce homes are occupied by ski resort, hotel and supermarket workers, few go first responders. In McKinnell’s eyes, first responders are the ones who most need to be in Jackson Hole, particularly in the event of emergencies in the middle of the night.
“Whoever’s going to save your life at 3 in the morning, they probably ought to live here,” McKinnell said.
Housing for deputies is a community safety issue, McKinnell said. It’s also a key tool for recruiting and retaining talented law enforcement professionals.
Officers who live here will spend their money here, McKinnell said, providing a boon to the economy. Importantly, in his eye, having deputies live in the communities they serve is key to building trust in law enforcement.
“If first responders are hired guns who come in four times a week from some other area, they don’t know this community very well, frankly, and they’re looked on with suspicion,” McKinnell said.
If, on the other hand, people meet law enforcement officers in line at the grocery store and see them at community events, they’re more likely to trust them, McKinnell said. He’ll be watching closely as the town and county revisit housing rules and regulations in August.
In the meantime, McKinnell has a bit of advice for those seeking to contribute to the Jackson Hole community.
“There’s a lot of wealthy people in Jackson, and that’s creating a problem,” McKinnell said. “Obviously, it’s pricing a lot of people out of the real estate market, and that is a problem for everybody, but particularly for those who are critical to the community.”
Talented, successful people have a lot of expertise and money. Many write checks, McKinnell said. But there are other ways to pitch in and perhaps be more effective in doing so.
“If they gave of their expertise, their experience, their managerial ability, their strategic thinking ability, that may be as important as writing checks,” McKinnell said. “You can contribute in ways that you’re not aware of yet, so get involved.”