I live in a state where the seasons are pretty distinct. Snow, snow, snow in the winter. Muck and snow come spring. Muck to muddy in the summer. A few weeks of dry trails, and then fire season (also known as late summer). Finally, there’s hunting season, or as it’s called in other parts of the country, fall.
Yes, I live in Montana. And from my red-state, glitzy-mountain town-in-the-middle-of-the-rural West-perch, I am serving as Resource Media’s Interim Executive Director, following longtime ED Scott Miller’s departure in October 2019.
From where I sit, so many things are in transition. In Montana, winter slowly gives way to spring. The snow, dark with dirt, recedes inch by inch, leaving brown matted grass and patches of dirt in its wake. It’s when things seem most gray – and winter endless – that the first tiny buds appear on aspen and chokecherry trees, and delicate and surprisingly tough green fronds poke out of the ground where summer lilacs will bloom. And then we know summer is coming.
In much the same way, signals of hope are all around us: A small but mighty Swedish teenage girl takes the world by storm, and with her comes an entirely different conversation about climate change. With the most left-leaning democratic primary in US, progressive thinking takes center stage and issues like reparations, economic injustice and universal healthcare are finally part of the mainstream conversation.
Looking a little closer to home, Resource Media is experiencing its own transitions. We recently took a look back on a six-year diversity and inclusion initiative, and we were happy to see how much the forest had changed while we were navigating things one tree at a time. You can read more about our equity journey and the work ahead of us here.
We also welcomed Gail Wilson-Webber to our board and Sharon Huerta to our staff. Gail is a retired attorney based in Bend, Oregon. In addition to her legal expertise, Gail volunteers for Oregon Adaptive Sports and brings her passion for and interest in disability access issues to the Resource Media Board of Directors.
Sharon is based in Seattle and comes to Resource Media through the Green Pathways Fellowship Program, a partnership between Rainier Valley Corps and Got Green designed to cultivate green leaders through a racial equity and intersectional lens. Sharon most recently was part of the REU Belize Citizen Science GIS project, where she worked with locals in Hopkins, Belize, to identify how the marine debris on the village’s coast was affecting their lives. Sharon has also done research in the Galápagos Islands focusing on the sociopolitical dynamics between locals, tourists, and outside development companies on their impact on the islands.
One final transition we’re very excited about: Resource Media will be posting a job announcement for our new executive director in the coming weeks. Following a very thoughtful process with the board and staff, Resource Media partnered with Axis Talent Partners, a search firm with a strong focus on equity and inclusion earlier this year. Over the last few months, Axis has been helping board and staff members to get crystal clear on what we’re looking for in a new executive leader.
Recruiting a talented new ED marks an important part of Resource Media’s evolution and an opportunity to strengthen our mission and deepen our commitment to equity and social justice. Stay tuned for the ED job announcement and please help us spread the word and find a new leader to join our team!
In the meantime, let’s keep our eyes trained on the signs of spring and know that summer is coming.
–Amy Frykman, Interim Executive Director
