Hello from Katie, 350PDX Community Engagement Manager
Hello everyone!
My name is Katie Hutchinson (she/her), and I am so thrilled to be the new Community Engagement Manager for 350PDX. To those of you I’ve met already, thank you for your warm welcomes, and I look forward to hopefully connecting with the rest of you soon.
A short bit about me: I grew up in Portland, and graduated from Portland State University in 2013 (after changing my major about seven times) with a Liberal Arts degree. I started doing some activism in college, becoming part of Student Action Coalition (StAC) and advocating for a disarmed campus police force. After that, I tried my hand as a barista, line cook, farmer’s market vendor, and Waldorf teacher, but I kept reading, having conversations, volunteering, and protesting. While getting a graduate degree in Creative Writing at Oregon State, I became involved with my graduate employee union as VP for Social Justice, doing community outreach and organizing during the pandemic.
The Community Engagement Manager position is essentially my dream job. I am so excited to meet people who want to get involved in the climate movement and help them feel plugged into a role that feels personally meaningful, exciting, and nourishing while supporting our different campaigns. I’m also really passionate about deepening our work around cultural resilience and mutual aid, and I’ll be assisting Campaign and Outreach manager Denise Lopez with our Neighborhood Teams project, as well as supporting the organization through fundraising and grants work.
Lastly, I want to send out a huge thank you and a fond farewell to Chris. In my six weeks on staff, I’ve felt how deeply committed he is to this work, how integral he has been to the 350PDX community, and how much he has truly impacted the climate movement in Portland for the better. It’s a big loss to grieve, and I’m right alongside you in that feeling. I’ll miss him (and Edin and Leon, who I’ve come to adore too) so very much. I am so grateful to have gained his friendship and mentorship. Read his leaving blog post here.
Please feel free to get in touch, my contact information is below. Send me an email, a text or phone call, or schedule a virtual 1:1 with me. I’m an open book! Looking forward to learning, absorbing, and making good trouble with you all.
Onward,
Katie
katie@350pdx.org