Email: augusta@willamettevalley.org
Title: Destination Development Coordinator
Organization: Willamette Valley Visitors Association
Community: Willamette Valley
Population: 1,076,744
County Served: Yamhill, Southwest Clackamas, Marion, Polk, Linn, Benton, and East Lane Counties

Meet Augusta Stockman (she/her):

Augusta is thrilled to be continuing with the Willamette Valley Visitors Association for her second service term, having made a home away from home for herself in the Valley. Augusta grew up in Mid-Coast Maine before attending Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. She graduated in 2023 with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Hispanic Studies, then drove across the country to join RARE. Having lived in a small, rural, tourism-dependent town and seen firsthand the complex dynamics between visitors and locals, Augusta is driven to understand how the trends she has seen at home are playing out elsewhere. An avid runner and outdoor frolicker, Augusta is excited to continue experiencing all Oregon has to offer. She feels lucky that her RARE position allows her to get to know and learn from a wide array of communities in the state.

Community and Organization:

The Willamette Valley Visitors Association is based out of Salem but serves the entire Willamette Valley, a region best known for producing high-quality wine grapes. However, the area boasts far more than world renowned wine. Thanks to the Missoula Floods 14,000 years ago, the region’s alluvial soils, coupled with an overall mild climate, allow for the growth of a vast array of crops. Among these are filberts (hazelnuts), hops, a wide variety of berries, grass seed, nursery stock, and Christmas trees. The Willamette River runs the entirety of the Willamette Valley, historically providing a means of commerce. Today, the Willamette Valley Visitors Association focuses on the promotion of recreational opportunities that foster the invaluable relationship Oregonians have with their natural environment.

Projects:

Augusta serves the Willamette Valley Visitors Association (WVVA) as their Destination Development Coordinator, aiming to enhance and promote the tourism offerings of the region through stakeholder collaboration and community engagement with a focus on inclusive outdoor recreation. Her projects include the expansion of trail accessibility assessments to help hikers make informed decisions about enjoying outdoor spaces; coalition building and community outreach around improved river access points to enhance visitor and local experiences; and development of two new, destination-level adaptive mountain biking systems.