Sisters Trails Alliance hires program manager

Sisters Trails Alliance has hired a new program manager. Thanks to a grant from the Robert W. Chandler Discretionary Subfund of The Oregon Community Foundation, STA now has Kate Donovan as its first-ever paid staff member to support the work of the organization.

In 2017 the STA board of directors completed a three-year strategic plan, crafted with feedback from many key community stakeholders. The overarching strategy coming out of that plan was the need to strengthen organizational capacity by bringing on a part-time paid staff member to help manage and coordinate STA's varied activities and volunteers.

Donovan will be the primary connection to membership and ensure the community is informed about STA's events and activities. Having Donovan at the helm allows STA's board members to focus less on the day-to-day management and to spend more time deepening relationships with key donors, directing the work of trail building and maintenance, and advocating for trails and trail users at the local, regional, and state levels.

Donovan said she is excited to combine her interest in the outdoors and enthusiasm for community engagement by joining STA. Her professional background is in recreation programming with emphasis on inclusion and community integration. She looks forward to deepening her involvement with the trails and STA members alike. Most evenings, Kate will be found walking or running the local trails with the family pup - Sunny dog. She is also the current volunteer program coordinator for another local nonprofit: Sisters Folk Festival, Inc.

Sisters Trails Alliance is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to connect people and communities to each other and their natural surroundings. With the support of more than 100 volunteers, STA maintains the Peterson Ridge Trail system, produces a free trail map, hosts an annual speaker series, and supports trail-related activities and events throughout the year.

For more information visit www.sisterstrails.org.