Mae Hollister

Email: mhollister@iknowledge.us
Title: Disaster Program Manager
Organization: Archie Creek Fire Long Term Recovery Group, Douglas County & Glide Revitalization
Community: Douglas County
Population: 1,300
County Served: Douglas County

Meet Mae Hollister:

Originally from Umpqua, Oregon, and a first generation college student, Mae obtained her Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Oregon in 2004 with a focus on Cross-Cultural Communications and Latin America. After a series of apprenticeships in the fields of politics, business, government, and nonprofit via the Great Valley Fellowship program in the Central Valley of California, she fell into the world of small business and nonprofit start-ups and went on to complete a Masters in Sustainable Business Management at Marylhurst University in 2012.

These days Mae wears the hats of Business Analyst, Organizational Queen, and Digital Nomad, with more than 15 years of experience successfully leading mission-driven initiatives and teams for social, environmental, and economic well-being. Currently an independent consultant specializing in organizational performance improvement, Mae’s genius work is bringing systems thinking that translates program goals into efficient operating processes and insightful metrics. A passionate, slow traveler and minimalist, she considers the globe to be her office and classroom, roaming the world with her four-legged sidekick, Zorro, at her side.

She is demonstrably passionate about servant leadership, having completed two previous AmeriCorps service programs (via the Confluence Environmental Center in 2010 serving as business manager for the Oregon Wave Energy Trust in Portland and via the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) in 2017 serving as a project manager for Umpqua Economic Development Partnership.) On her third round of AmeriCorps service, Mae is looking to bring her organizational development expertise and passion for community resiliency together with a second year of RARE, to pivot her career into the field of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.

Community and Organization:

Glide Revitalization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving the rural region of the North Umpqua Scenic Byway, which encompasses 1,264 square miles, extending from Roseburg to Diamond Lake. Programs are dedicated to the social, environmental and economic well-being of one of the state’s best-loved areas, well deserving its “Wild and Scenic” designation. The overall mission is to improve region’s community prosperity, with a specific focus on disaster preparedness and relief programming.

In September 2020, the Archie Fire burned more than 131,000 acres along the North Umpqua Scenic Byway (HWY 138). The fire devastated the community, with over 100 homes lost. Glide Revitalization provided disaster relief by assisting those who were evacuated and aided families who lost homes by providing basic needs. It was from this grassroots effort that the Archie Creek Fire Long Term Recovery Group (LTRG) evolved, ultimately being established by FEMA as the LTRG for all of Douglas County. As the sponsoring organization of the Archie Creek Fire Long Term Recovery Group, Glide Revitalization is fostering partnerships and collaborative programs across the county to build greater regional resiliency in the face of natural disasters.

Project:

  1. Umpqua FLASH – Coordinating multi agency proposals for the Community Wildfire Risk Reduction grant opportunity via the Oregon State Fire Marshal Office. Funding will be to launch the Umpqua Fire-adapted Landscapes and Safe Homes (FLASH) assistance program. Umpqua FLASH is designed to help create defensible space around homes and property across Douglas County. Umpqua FLASH will be a multi-agency collaboration with the Archie Creek Fire Long Term Recovery Group (LTRG), Glide Revitalization, Douglas Forest Protection Association, and Glide Rural Fire Protection District to offer private landowners funding and technical assistance to carry out wildfire risk reduction actions as outlined in the Douglas County Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
  2. Glide Community Resource Toolkit – Comprehensive compilation of community resources and education related to disaster preparedness: emergency preparedness kit list, county hazard alerts sign up, evacuation routes, flooding and landslides, home weatherization, wildfire risk mitigation, CERT training, and reforestation information. Deliverables will be a printed brochure, website page and complimenting social media promotional content.
  3. Archie Creek Fire Reforestation & Recovery Partnership – Landowner outreach, planting documentation and grant reporting. The Partnership facilitates reforestation projects on private forestland for Archie Creek Fire survivors through various funding opportunities, technical assistance, education, and outreach, through diverse partnerships. The overall scope encompasses planting approximately 400,000 trees and coordinating with over 17 land owners across 1,300 acres.
  4. Sasquatch Festival – Assist with sponsorship outreach and development of disaster preparedness partnerships and materials for public education at the event. This Glide celebration of Summer and good times was launched in 2022 with a turnout of more than 2,500 people. This event was such a success that it has been deemed a new tradition for the Glide community.
  5. Douglas County Citizen Corps Feasibility Analysis – Outreach and research to assess the social and economic capital, organizational strategic fit, and community engagement level for a Citizen Corps program across Douglas County. The Citizen Corps mission is to bring community and government leaders together to coordinate the involvement of community members and organizations in emergency preparedness, planning, mitigation, response, and recovery. The goal would be to implement rural adaptions of the “Map My Neighborhood” and “Zone Captains” approaches in order to establish a coordinated volunteer network of community liaisons and neighborhood groups to recruit and maximize the potential of every Douglas County citizen to strengthen their ability to prevent, respond to, and recover from emergencies and disasters. Simultaneously strengthening existing volunteer groups and affiliate programs, such as Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT).