Staff Spotlight: Becca Shively

Becca Shively was born in Portland to a “typical active Oregon family.” Road tripping, camping, learning to fly fish on the Deschutes River with her dad — in NorCal, too, spending summers at her mom’s family’s cabin tucked in the redwoods — she enjoyed her share of Northwestern beauty.  

After graduating from the University of Oregon, and with an interest in social services and international development, Becca worked for a women’s microfinance bank in India. Seeing the work her colleagues were doing there led her to continue her career in social work in Humboldt County, CA. 

But around the time of the Great Recession — and with economic conditions straining social services — Becca took a job with USDA working on food security. After various roles, including a political appointment in the Obama administration, she began working in natural resources.

While working in D.C., Becca met SNW’s Dylan Kruse, who was working with the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition (RVCC) at the time. She later worked with RVCC, and after a few years, she joined SNW as the Senior Wildfire Program Manager. 

Since 2023, she has helped coordinate the Oregon Prescribed Fire Council, a group promoting the use of prescribed fire in Oregon’s fire-adaptive ecosystems. Becca now devotes most of her time to post-wildfire recovery initiatives—such as those following the 2020 Labor Day Fires—by supporting small private landowners with land stewardship and restoration. 

“We all know how devastating that year was — communities were completely obliterated in some instances — and so it feels really meaningful to be directly helping people that were impacted.” 

While Becca finds wildfire recovery rewarding, she also loves working with her program’s partners—the ones on the ground conducting site assessments, conservation planning, treatment prescriptions, and more. 

“They’re just awesome,” she says. “They’re really knowledgeable people and they’re delightful to work with. They know a lot, and I'm learning a lot from them.” 

In her spare time, Becca enjoys being outdoors — anything from hiking to fly fishing or biking with her husband. Recently, she’s been making fun home improvements in her Southeast fixer-upper. Among her book favorites and recommendations: There There by Tommy Orange and Encounters with the Archdruid by John McPhee.