Brian Saunders

Email: info@saveoregondunes.org
Organization: Oregon Dunes Restoration Collaborative/Travel Lane County
Community: Florence/Siuslaw Watershed to Coos Bay/Coos Watershed
Population: 8,800 and 16,292
Counties: Lane, Coos, Douglas

Meet Brian Saunders:

Brian grew up in a small town of 6,000 people in Connecticut. After completing his Bachelor’s degree in Geography in the Spring of 2019, Brian was eager to come back to Oregon where he has been visiting for the past 6-7 years. During his senior year of college, Brian worked as an intern for a local non-profit food security organization. Brian loves to spend his
time playing soccer, snowboarding, and biking.

Community and Organization:

The Oregon Dunes Restoration Collaborative (ODRC) is a collaborative organization made from different groups that use the Oregon Dunes for recreation, have businesses that rely on the dunes, or work to preserve the dune habitat. The collaborative includes tribal nations, politicians, non-profits, volunteers, county, state, and federal agencies. The Collaborative seeks to restore the famous Oregon Dunes to their original state. Since the 1940’s, European Beach Grass and human development has been encroaching on the dunes, slowly decreasing their surface area on the Oregon Coast.

Project:

The RARE Participant, Brian Saunders will be primarily focusing on facilitating the development of a 3-5-year strategic development plan for the ODRC. Brian will help implementing this plan by securing funding from various grants and fundraising opportunities. Brian will utilize feedback to develop a plan that includes specific goals, objectives, and timelines for each working group and the collaborative. Important to note that for this to be successful, he will have to facilitate a series of meetings with the various working groups. In addition to the strategic planning process, he will also regularly maintain and update the ODRC website and social media platforms. Not only that, but he will be targeting specific media outlets each month and make pitches for outlets to cover dune related stories. His target outreach will be to critical stakeholders, opinion leaders/influencers, and potential funders.