Email: tucker@agreaterapplegate.org
Title: Resilience Hubs Coordinator
Organization: A Greater Applegate
Community: Applegate Valley
Population: 19,207
County Served: Jackson & Josephine Counties

Meet Tucker Grinnan (he/him):

Tucker was born in Virginia, but grew up abroad in Hong Kong. He made his way back stateside to attend university in Eastern Washington and fell in love with the area, graduating from Whitman College with a B.A. in History and Chinese. He has experience in conservation, after working several seasons for the Forest Service as a Wilderness Ranger, and has held positions in education, agriculture, and communications. He recently had the opportunity to conduct research on issues facing gateway communities across the West while interning with Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative in Jackson, Wyoming. This experience cemented his belief that the way in which we construct and develop our communities has a huge impact on their natural surroundings, as well as how equitable and sustainable they become. Wanting to play a greater role in this sort of community development led him to the RARE Program and into his current position with A Greater Applegate as their Resilience Hubs Coordinator. When he’s not in the office, you can find him running on dirt roads, browsing library shelves, and sometimes baking (but mostly eating) cookies.

Community and Organization:

A Greater Applegate (AGA) is a community-building organization serving the Applegate Valley in Southern Oregon. The Applegate stretches almost 50 miles long, between Medford and Grants Pass, and contains more than 19,000 residents dispersed across five unincorporated communities. Due to this dispersed nature, AGA acts as a focal point through which community voices and visions are turned into projects that aim to benefit all residents. Supporting local businesses, promoting community cohesion, and enhancing emergency preparedness, are just a few of AGA’s many goals. The valley itself has a plethora of small farms and vineyards that aid its beautiful surroundings in producing a unique rural charm. Folks from all different walks of life find their way to the Applegate in search of natural beauty, rural values, and a simpler way of life.

Projects:

On Sep. 8, 2020, the Almeda Fire scorched its way across the Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon. By the end of the day, 2,600 homes were burned to the ground, with towns like Talent and Phoenix being almost completely destroyed. The memory of the Almeda weighs heavily on folks’ minds across Southern Oregon to this day, including residents of the Applegate Valley just to the West. This region is acutely prone to natural disasters and wildfires. The Applegate is no exception, with an uncontrolled wildfire breaking out in the Upper Applegate just this past summer. Applegate residents have realized it is not a question of if a natural disaster strikes, but when, and that their communities need to be prepared. This is where AGA is stepping in, working to bring folks together from across the valley to form emergency preparedness plans, develop lines of communication between relevant parties, and acquire necessary supplies in centralized locations. This project, known as the Resilience Hubs Initiative, is what Tucker will be helping to coordinate over his time with AGA.