Filming on location at Kalama River, a 2025 update for supporters of Cascadia Stack
Welcome Drew, we are thrilled to have you on board, adding to the Cascadian community of care!
The Community Steward works to build networks, onboard, and support efforts across the bioregion. This includes project coordination; supporting events, and local projects. Drew (pronouns: they/them) will also assist in the development of products at the Cascadia Dept. of Bioregion store and website management.
Why Bioregionalism Matters to Me
According to Drew, they can readily pinpoint the need for bioregionalism as a means to bridge humanity within a climate adaptation frame. “The mission of Cascadia Department of Bioregion is crucial at this precarious intersection of extreme capitalism, over-extraction, and natural resource depletion. I am grateful to be a part of this movement because it feels so inclusive, and gives me a sense of belonging. In this role, I will foster an ecological identity in my interactions with others; knowledge-rich and asset-based, which will be empowering at a time when democracy is in peril. People are looking to come together for collaboration and to find joy”
What I’m Bringing to This Role
Drew’s experience in change management, forest advocacy, social entrepreneurship, and climate justice will bring a courageous spirit into the next chapter of the Cascadia Movement.
With degrees in social science and organizational leadership, Drew recently completed a Master’s Certificate in Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Portland State University, which led to the 2023 founding of Cascadia Stack, offering– (and training facilitators to become peer support leaders for) climate grief meetings. Drew also advocates for forests in SW Washington with Alliance for Community Engagement (ACE) and is a member of the steering committee for the Portland chapter of Transformational Resilience Coordinating Network (TRCN). As a membership director and volunteer, at other organizations, Drew has had years of experience in different systems and databases. Drew’s connections to individuals, movers, shakers, and the business and entrepreneur community has influenced their approach and sharpened their listening skills.
What I’m Most Excited to Support
Besides being an unapologetic systems-nerd, Drew said, “The one aspect of this role at C-DoB is the opportunity to help members find their own path and pace in the Cascadia Movement.”
“I am really looking forward to working with rural areas and welcoming people of color, and differently abled folks, and when capacity and organizational bandwidth increases, providing language access (including ASL) into the Movement’s spaces.”
As a 6th year resident of Cascadia, Drew has become an active climate advocate, a lifelong student and consumer of climate resilience content adding that “expressiveness is the thread that binds us to one another and how many people new to the Movement will find us. These paths are especially important to nurture as we enter into what Joanna Macy termed The Great Turning. I will be paying close attention to the talents, and gaps in community bonds that can bring people together based on their interests, hobbies, passions, and learning journeys. I would LOVE to form a solarpunk guild that has both an innovation aspect and a strong storytelling / art & creativity blend!”
Invitation to Connect
Join us in welcoming Drew! Ask them about how “mending past wrongs while seeking a just transition to a resilience-based bioregion will sustain a courageous spirit into the next chapter of the Cascadia Movement.”
Send a welcome message to Drew, here: community@cascadiabioregion.org
Also— see Cascadia Stack on Instagram @cascadia_stack
