![]() We are pleased to announce the appointment of Ira Shadis as our new Executive Director. You might recognize him - he has been with us since 2018 and has served in an interim leadership role since November of last year. Ira brings over a decade of experience working with conservation and community focused non-profits. He initially joined Friends to help launch our Storm Smart program, through which he has helped 'spongify' the Valley at dozens of properties. His role expanded in 2020 when he began to work closely with our former director on a diverse suite of projects, from riparian buffer restoration to climate-focused community conversations. Ira has done great work with us, and we couldn’t be more pleased to have him step fully into the leadership of this organization. He brings a strong background as a program manager, community builder, and steward of the watershed. You can see his appreciation for the Valley in the care and curiosity he brings to his work every day. In his new role, Ira will lead our 34-year-old organization in its mission to steward clean water, healthy land, and a vibrant community. We will continue to deliver regular programs, like Storm Smart and Mad River Watch. Ira will also continue to participate in the many collaborative efforts ongoing in the Mad River Valley, like the Conservation & Recreation Visioning project, the Mad River Valley Black Bear Initiative, and StewardMRV, to name just a few. Join us in welcoming Ira to his new role and in our excitement for the future of Friends and the whole Mad River Valley. Matt Williams, Friends Board President A Note From IraA small organization like Friends can’t do its work alone, we need the support of the community to really make an impact for the health of the river, the land, and the diversity of life in the Mad River Valley. I’m excited to deepen our existing relationships, build new connections, and foster a network that can not only protect this place, but celebrate it for years to come. I want people in this community to feel free to reach out, share ideas, and tell me about all the ways you connect with the Mad River and the surrounding the valley.
A little about myself; I live in Montpelier with my partner, Debbie, along with our six chickens, four (indoor) cats, and one dog. When I'm not at work building resilience in the Mad River watershed, I can be found practicing cello etudes, riding my bike down dirt roads, skiing along the Catamount Trail, playing pick-up basketball, or reading a good book. Please don't hesitate to get in touch with me at info@friendsofthemadriver.org or 802 496 6127. Ira Shadis, Executive Director ![]() While a handshake might start the conversation with a neighbor, we all know it takes a tremendous amount of work to build lasting and trusting relationships between the people in a community. And for the last three decades, Friends has kept this focus on community building front and center. Whether it’s with our Mad River Watch volunteers or Storm Smart land stewards, we have worked to connect as many people as we can with the opportunity help build a more resilient watershed community. This is why, when opportunity arose to work alongside the Mad River Valley Planning District, the Mad River Path, The Mad River Recreation District, The Mad River Chamber of Commerce, and the Mad River Riders on the Mad River Valley Vermont Outdoor Economic Collaborative grant, we jumped at the chance. This grant is funding several exciting projects, from the establishment of a new welcome center to the building of a new bridge and trail connector across the Mill Brook. One of these projects is the establishment of a Community Recreation Visioning initiative tasked with helping us create a ‘gold standard’ for recreation in our community that balances our love of playing in the outdoors with our responsibility for acting as its stewards. Friends staff serve on the initiative’s steering committee alongside representatives from conservation and recreation groups in the Valley. With the support of an experienced facilitator, the Community Recreation Visioning initiative members will continue to meet throughout 2023 and 2024. Our hope is to chart a path forward for a vibrant community full of diverse recreation activities that takes seriously our collective role as stewards of this valley. ![]() Back in October, Corrie Miller stepped down from her role as Friends’ Director after leading this organization for the last eight and a half years. Her leadership helped our Mad River Valley community tackle issues of climate change, flood resilience, and watershed health. We have been so lucky to have Corrie on our team these last few years and now, as she begins her new job with the Lake Champlain Basin Program as the Aquatic Organism Passage Restoration Specialist, we want to celebrate all she has accomplished. Early in her tenure as director, Corrie worked with twenty community members to lay the foundation for Ridge to River, and then led the 5-town coalition through extensive explorations of the challenges and opportunities posed by a watershed-wide focus on flood resilience, water quality, and increasingly, the realities of a changing climate. Stemming from Ridge to River, Corrie led the development of critical stormwater management projects across the Valley. She developed Road Roundtables to bring Valley road crews and Select boards together to solve common challenges and enhance communication. In 2018, she was joined by Ira Shadis, Friends Stewardship Manager, and the two worked to develop the Storm Smart program which has since worked with dozens of community members to find opportunities to build resilience at more than 120 properties across the Valley. Corrie’s ability to bring together strong conservation networks was a hallmark of her tenure. She led a partnership of federal and state agencies, contractors, and road crews to reconnect native trout to their upstream habitat. This work leveraged more than $1.5 million dollars and countless hours of scientific expertise to replace critical town road infrastructure and restore healthy streams and fish habitat. Starting in 2020, Corrie and Ira led an expansion of the Storm Smart program with partners that brought the Valley-originated program to the greater Winooski River and Lake Champlain basins. And just in the last year, Corrie has been instrumental in the early success of the multi-partner Mad River Valley Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative grant by spearheading important conversations about how to strike a balance between healthy ecosystems and great recreational opportunities in the Valley. Corrie’s leadership was instrumental in all phases of Friends work. Since she came on as director she has driven the technical work of identifying and implementing real projects on the ground, fundraised and leveraged partnerships across the state to help make our community more resilient, and provided vital technical assistance to countless community organizations and individuals. While we will certainly miss her, Friends board and staff are eager to congratulate Corrie on her successful tenure as executive director and wish her the best at the Lake Champlain Basin Program. |
Friendsof the Mad River Archives
May 2023
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