Staff Spotlight: Raina Rhea
As our Development Associate, Raina supports all of our fundraising work including donor stewardship, events, planned giving, database management, and much more.
“I think most people want to live in harmony with nature, but our modern approach to how we live our lives and make our livings is out of sync with the natural world. Working with donors at SNW allows me to guide them toward projects that do both.”
How did your childhood influence your decision to work in sustainability?
I grew up in the Texas panhandle where my dad was a farmer, hunter, and rancher, dependent on the land for our dinner (which he called supper). I developed a love of the outdoors and learned to camp, ski, and fish in the nearby mountains of New Mexico. Moving to the Pacific Northwest after college only increased my love of the natural world.
How did your educational and career path lead you to Sustainable Northwest?
With a degree in Art History, I started my career in fundraising at the Portland Art Museum and Lan Su Chinese Garden. But a move took me out to the Columbia River Gorge where I found a job in the office of a river trip outfitter. My time with NW Rafting Co. taught me about Oregon’s recreation economy and also deepened my understanding of river conservation. During Covid, I was living back in Portland on a property abutting an urban forest that was overrun with invasive species, and I embarked on a journey of habitat restoration that bordered on obsession. As I tended that land, and the surrounding watershed, removing invasive species and replacing them with native plants, I developed a relationship with the land that only exists for humans that are fully immersed in the care of a place. I decided when I went back to work full time, I wanted to use my background in fundraising to support the work of people doing large-scale land tending projects. SNW does that everyday; we support the land by supporting those that tend it: the Tribes, private landowners, ranchers, and rural communities.
What do you like most about your position at Sustainable Northwest?
I was always interested in conservation after witnessing the negative effects that irrigation and chemical-reliant agriculture had on the land I grew up on. I think most people want to live in harmony with nature, but our modern approach to how we live our lives and make our livings is out of sync with the natural world. Working with donors at SNW allows me to guide them toward projects that do both. I believe that humans can and must develop updated strategies to sustain us as well as the land that we depend on. My work is inspiring every day because I get to meet people that are passionate about the things I care about and either working professionally or offering their financial support to find solutions to the problems that affect us all.
Passions outside of work: Trail running, boxing, hiking. Growing native wildflowers. Lying next to a river reading Mary Oliver and eating berries warmed by the sun. Calligraphy. Yoga. Cooking/baking. Writing creative nonfiction. My son thinks I have too many hobbies, haha.
Something you think is overrated: Horses (sorry, y’all!)
Favorite thing to do on a day off: Walk in the woods and point out all the native vs. invasive plants to my mildly interested companions.
Favorite place in the PNW: Anywhere amongst the trees
Book recommendation: The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett (my absolute favorite); Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer; Nature’s Best Hope by Douglas W. Tallamy
Cats or dogs?: Plants
