Ruby Barrera

RARE Member Ruby BarreraEmail: community_outreach@maxvilleheritage.org
Title: Community Engagement Specialist
Organization: Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center
Community: Joseph
Population: 1,189
County Served: Wallowa County

Meet Ruby Barrera (she/her/ella):

Ruby graduated from the University of Portland, where she earned her B.B.A. in Marketing and Sociology. She is a proud daughter of immigrants who settled in rural Eastern Oregon. Growing up in Eastern Oregon has greatly influenced her passion for rural development, community engagement, and diversity, equity, and inclusion work. In addition to being eager to learn and expand her current skillset, she is prepared to experience the diversity—and challenges—of a new rural community. Ruby is excited to serve Wallowa county!

Community and Organization:

The town of Joseph, situated at the base of the Wallowa Mountains at the southern edge of the three valleys of the Wallowa River, is the cultural and tourism center of northeastern Oregon. Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center (MHIC) serves as a platform to catalog, preserve, and interpret the history of “Maxville,” a segregated, company-owned logging town. During a time where exclusionary laws were still in place, Maxville was home to the only segregated school in Oregon and employed African American loggers. Through the collection and preservation of life on Maxville, MHIC shares and interprets this unique American history in rural Eastern Oregon.

Projects:

Ruby will add capacity to Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center’s mighty team of two. She will take a leading role in partner engagement, as well as develop and facilitate ongoing and new programming initiatives. Ruby will be working on several projects focused in areas such as education, historical interpretation, volunteerism, and community engagement.

  • Education: Ruby is providing support in expanding MHIC’s current education curriculum by working with educators in the county and the state. Additionally, she will support an initiative tackling the complexities of rurality, multi-cultural narratives, and trauma and healing.
  • Historical Interpretation: To be good stewards of Maxville, MHIC aims to also share an inclusive and pre-colonial narrative of the land. Ruby will help facilitate partnership engagement with Tribes in the area to create inclusive signage focusing on language and interpretation.
  • Volunteerism: Ruby will design and create a sustainable, long-term volunteer management program by creating systemic processes, conducting outreach, training, and implementing volunteer appreciation initiatives.