Willow Ryon

Email: wryon@uoregon.edu
Title: Educator Housing Project Manager
Organization: Eastern Oregon Regional Educator Network
Community: Eastern Oregon
Population: 60,000 (across five counties served)
Counties Served: Grant, Harney, Lake, Malheur, and Wallowa

Meet Willow Ryon (she/her):

Growing up in rural Southern Oregon, Willow experienced first-hand the socio-economic issues that can plague rural spaces. Receiving PathwayOregon, a scholarship through the University of Oregon that pays tuition for low-income rural Oregonians for all four years, Willow was able to fulfill her dreams of attending college. Knowing that her attending college had only become a reality because of the support of her community back home, she dedicated her time in college to getting a degree that would allow her to someday give back to her community. Graduating with her Bachelor’s of Science in Planning, Public Policy and Management with minors Nonprofit Administration and Economics, Willow desired to help bridge the gaps rural communities face specifically in regards to access to affordable housing and higher education.

Community and Organization:

The Eastern Oregon Regional Educator Network (EOREN) is located in a small town, approximately 12 miles west of the Idaho border, called Vale, OR. The EOREN was formed in order to provide Eastern Oregon educators with equitable access to sustained, quality professional learning in order to: recruit and retain high quality educators, and develop the capacity of regional educators to improve student learning. Serving educators in 40 districts across the counties of Grant, Harney, Lake, Malheur and Wallowa, the EOREN is the largest educator network in terms of landmass, covering approximately one-third of Oregon.

Project:

Serving large low-density counties in Oregon, the EOREN has identified that many districts lack access to affordable housing within driving distance of schools, which creates huge barriers to recruiting and retaining certified teachers and other educational professionals. Willow serves as the Educator Housing Project Manager for the EOREN where she works on addressing these barriers by:

  • Conducting an asset map to identify any resources they may currently have that will aid in recruitment along with gaining a better understanding of what resources they believe they may need.
  • Creating a regional construction CTE camp that gives high schoolers an opportunity to participate in a hands-on learning experiences and explore potential career opportunities through the production of a small home that will be given to a district identified through the asset mapping.
  • Raising awareness of the recruitment issues identified through data visualization methods and also by participating in meetings with other stakeholders in the region to curate and steward potential partnerships to further implement place based solutions to issues affecting rural communities in Eastern Oregon.