RARE AmeriCorp Member Alice Weston Reflects on Her Year at ODOE
Last fall, ODOE welcomed RARE AmeriCorp member Alice Weston to the agency to serve as a liaison between ODOE and central and south-central Oregon communities to help better connect Oregonians with ODOE programs and opportunities. We’ve shared several stories from Alice and the Community Navigator team on our blog, and now we express our sincere thanks and bid Alice a fond farewell as she wraps up her RARE term. In her final blog post, Alice reflects back on her work and what she’s learned over the past year.
As I come to the end of my year of service as the RARE AmeriCorps member for the Oregon Department of Energy, I am filled with gratitude. I am thankful for all the people who have taken the time to teach and mentor me as I learned about energy, Central and South-Central Oregon, and community building – as well as the opportunity to contribute to ODOE through my workplan focusing on needs and priorities in this region. I have had the opportunity to learn from the amazing team at the Oregon Department of Energy and from experts within all the communities that I visited and served. I have been truly amazed by the knowledge and kindness that drive energy and resilience work in our region.
It was an honor to learn from incredible community members and advocates who are working to create an equitable clean energy future for all Oregonians. I met energy experts who had been working in the energy sector for decades who were incredibly encouraging and supportive as I learned more about their work. I was also inspired by the many people I met who were also new to the energy sector and brought their own knowledge and creativity to the work. I was pleasantly surprised to find Oregon’s Energy network to be very open and excited for people to come join the conversation.
A highlight along my journey has been connecting with the folks at the newly named Oregon Rural Energy Network or OREN – of which ODOE is a part of, in particular, through the Oregon Rural & Agricultural Energy Assistance Program. This network has brought together people with a shared vision to support rural Oregonians by providing accessible and affordable energy resources and technology. I recently had the opportunity to attend their annual conference at PLAYA in Summer Lake, Oregon, and it was a truly inspiring experience. The location was beautiful and filled with passionate individuals dedicated to helping their communities navigate the energy space. The workshop was marked by a great deal of sharing, creativity, encouragement, and collaboration. OREN is a testament to the strength and heart of Oregon's community-building capacity. Despite being small in number, their collective drive has propelled Oregon to become a leader in rural energy initiatives. I am grateful to have been invited to be a part of their group and I am excited to see their future endeavors.
While attending the energy conference, we had a dinner hosted by Quincy Warner, the Business Director of Lake County Resource Initiatives (LCRI). Quincy invited ranchers and agricultural producers from the local community whom she’s known for many years. She used her strong relationships with the community to gather them for dinner at the venue, where they could learn about the resources and opportunities provided by OREN members. Her trust in the genuine motivations of the OREN members to support her community was reflected in the enthusiastic and thoughtful conversations around the dinner table that evening.
OREN members heartily discussed how they could help dinner guests access resources to support their businesses and families. Many of the guests brought their families and there were lots of children running around. One of the producers shared that their children would be eighth-generation farmers in Oregon if they choose to farm their family land. This was a clear reminder to us all of the purpose of our work – to create resources and support for future generations, enabling them to thrive.
I heard a similar principle at a recent Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Council meeting, during which ODOE’s Director and staff members and the Tribal Council discussed Oregon’s energy future. Council members discussed their decision-making philosophy around considering the affects energy projects could have on future generations and the plants, animals, and food for the tribal members. Historically, and more recently during droughts, many have seen the Tribes and agricultural producers in the region as opposed factions — at the same time I have seen many examples of energy and community leaders like Tribal leaders and farmers working to bridge those divides and be willing to have complex and nuanced conversations around our differences and commonalities. At the beginning of my service year, I think I would have been hesitant to make these connections. I now feel inspired by those leaders in our communities who are having those complex conversations every day.
While our region or state can seem like an often-divided space, we are all working to a collective goal of a better place for future generations. In ODOE’s mission statement we state “The Oregon Department of Energy helps Oregonians make informed decisions and maintain a resilient and affordable energy system. We advance solutions to shape an equitable clean energy transition, protect the environment and public health, and responsibly balance energy needs and impacts for current and future generations.” It has been an honor to have experienced and learned from the collective will of ODOE staff and the community members in my region working toward a clean and affordable energy future for all Oregonians.
More Gratitude ….
I am thankful for the support and guidance I have received from the Strategic Engagement Team at the Oregon Department of Energy. During my time here, I have received valuable guidance and support from amazing colleagues. Sarah Moehrke, ODOE’s Community Navigator, has been instrumental in teaching me about community building and outreach. Seeing her dedication in establishing a new program and engaging with individuals across the state to understand their energy needs has been amazing. Ruchi Sadhir, ODOE’s Associate Director for Strategic Engagement has provided invaluable knowledge about the history of energy work in Oregon and has inspired a culture of curiosity and knowledge sharing. Lauren Rosenstein, ODOE’s Equity and Inclusion Analyst, has been a tremendous resource in helping me understand how we can integrate justice and equity into our work and lead with kindness and collective care. I am grateful for her support and guidance as I consider my future contributions to this important work. Thank you also to ODOE’s Michelle Miller Harrington and Christy Splitt for helping me troubleshoot questions and ideas and supporting my work and journey along the way. The Strategic Engagement Team's advice and guidance have allowed me to learn and grow so much in such a short period of time.
To ODOE’s Rob Del Mar and the Oregon Rural and Agricultural Energy Assistance team — Tom Elliott, Wendy Simons, Stephanie Kruse (and Edric!) — thank you for allowing me to learn from you all. I appreciate your kindness, encouragement, and valuing of my work. I can’t wait to see what you all do next.
To the whole ODOE staff, thank you for welcoming me and sharing your knowledge. It has been a joy being part of the team through the RARE Program!