Katie Fields

Email: staff@swfcollaborative.org

Meet Katie Fields (she/her/hers):

Katie graduated from the University of Oregon with concurrent master’s degrees in public administration and conflict and dispute resolution. These two degrees advanced her knowledge and experience in the fields of collaborative governance and environmental policy. During her time at UO, she worked as a graduate employee with the Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP). In this role, she supported rural community partners including the cities of La Pine and Silverton in matching UO classes with community projects. Katie also interned with the Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative and the National Policy Consensus Center during her studies. For these internships, she co-authored a stakeholder engagement strategy and the Oregon Atlas of Collaboration.

Community and Organization:

Oakridge, OR is a small rural community located 40 miles east of Eugene. There are approximately 3,200 residents in Oakridge and 5,000 residents in the greater Oakridge/Westfir area combined. Oakridge is surrounded by the Willamette National Forest and has abundant outdoor recreation opportunities.

South Willamette Solutions (SWS) is an Oakridge community based organization with the mission to promote, coordinate and support creative solutions that strengthen rural communities, economies and landscapes. SWS is the fiscal agent for the Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative (SWFC), which is how the SWS is known in the community. SWS/SWFC is overseen by an 8 person board of directors comprised of Oakridge community leaders and partner organizations. SWS is a 501(c)3 organization that administers grant projects that achieve the mission through independent contracts with individuals and organizations.

Project:

In her RARE role with the Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative, Katie served as the organization’s outreach coordinator. She worked closely with SWFC partners and stakeholders to accurately represent and communicate collaborative projects to the communities the SWFC works in. Her work involved implementing the SWFC stakeholder engagement strategy, assisting in all SWFC committee meetings and workgroups, and providing updates about SWFC events and meetings across multiple platforms. Katie was the main point of contact and facilitator for the SWFC recreation committee. With assistance from the SWFC coordinator, she took lead in resuming the Recreation committee and coordinating and facilitating monthly meetings. The this committee focused on the Lane County/Willamette National Forest Creating a Sustainable Recreation Economy recommendations and additional goals and objectives identified by the committee participants. Katie also supported the Oakridge Air and Community Firewood programs.