Welcome to two new Stewardship & Education staff
Jacob (left) is our new Stewardship & Education Program Director, and Kassidy (right) is our first-ever Climate Impact Corps member.
Our Stewardship & Education team is growing!
We're welcoming a new director this fall, as Natalie Warren finishes her transitional time with us. For Natalie, the river calls, as do a few book ideas. We're grateful to have paddled a stretch with her, and we know she will continue to be a friend of the Mississippi.
We're also excited to announce that our first Climate Impact Corps member has joined the Stewardship & Education team.
Welcome Jacob Cunningham, Stewardship & Education Program Director
Jacob Cunningham (he/him) has spent more than two decades in various leadership positions, including Director of the Office for Service and Social Justice at the University of St. Thomas. He has led and supervised a team of 13 professional staff, developed program budgets and implemented multi-year strategic plans. A key part of Jacob's role was leading the VISION program, where he oversaw the development and growth of youth programs and organized over 300 service immersion trips for more than 3,000 college students.
Jacob has a strong environmental ethic. He's a river lover, paddler and fly angler and has worked as a canoe guide. He also has a master's in environmental education.
Jacob will lead the Stewardship & Education program, deepening partnerships and providing opportunities for the public to engage with the Mississippi River. He'll support staff and enhance existing programming — volunteer events, youth education and career pathways — through fundraising, grant writing and project management.
Outside of work, Jacob enjoys "the whiz and whirl of raising teenagers, playing music with his wife and good friends, backyard pond-building, time at the cabin and in the outdoors, and the beautiful game of soccer."
Welcome Kassidy Swanson, Water Knowledge Network Coordinator
Our first-ever Climate Impact Corps member, Kassidy (they/them) will work with the Stewardship & Education team's youth education program, bringing FMR's classroom lessons to K-12 groups in the Twin Cities metro area. They'll also support our curriculum development.
Kassidy is a student at Metropolitan State University studying environmental science and a second-year Climate Impact Corps member. In their first term, they worked on environmental justice initiatives and community forestry stewardship and found a passion for the intersection between social justice and the environment.
Outside of work, Kass enjoys "hiking, admiring bugs and frogs, volunteering, playing video games or board games, standing outside barefoot during rainstorms, trying new foods and drinking too much coffee."
Farewell, Ivy Song!
Ivy Song, our event assistant for the past year, is stepping away this fall to focus on school at the University of Minnesota.
She was one of the original Environmental Stewardship Institute (ESI) council members in 2021, and spent the next two summers supporting the program as an ESI assistant. We were excited she was able to join us on staff and work alongside the Stewardship & Education team in planning and facilitating our storm drain stenciling program and water quality education, as well as other community stewardship events and programs.
Ivy was a crucial part of the team through a year of transitions. Volunteer Program Manager Carrie Pomeroy reflected, "Ivy stepped in at a time when we really needed her support to keep our busy event season running smoothly, jumping in to learn a new role at FMR while adjusting to her first year at the U of M. She was unfailingly reliable and capable, able to learn tasks quickly and take initiative to do what needed to be done in a timely way. She was also a wonderful presenter who connected with audiences of all ages with sincerity, authenticity, depth and thoughtfulness. I will miss Ivy but know she is going on to great things."
Thank you for everything, Ivy!