The Katahdin Collaborative has announced the hire of an initiatives director, Tracey Perry, effective June 12. Perry has been involved as a collaborator for over a year as the operations manager for Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness’ Millinocket facilities.
Established in 2015, the Katahdin Collaborative (the Collaborative) is a network that supports people and groups working to revitalize the Katahdin Region. The Collaborative facilitates communication, leverages resources, and fosters collaboration among businesses, nonprofits, municipalities, and individuals to fulfill the goals of the “Katahdin Gazetteer” (the Gazetteer): a regional vision and action plan consisting of six big ideas.
Since the Gazetteer was launched, the Collaborative has been focusing its efforts on outdoor recreation, inventorying the region’s trails and recreation resources, standardizing regional signage, and working to understand the barriers facing people in the outdoor recreation field. In her new role, Perry will help build, activate, and support the continued implementation of the Gazetteer’s big ideas.
The new position is funded through the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation and the Working Communities Challenge, a program of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston that advances local collaborative efforts to build strong, healthy economies and communities. The Katahdin Region is one of six WCC grantees in Maine.
Accepting the position of the Katahdin Collaborative Initiatives Director stems from Perry’s desire to contribute to the important work of building a sustainable future for the region. Perry states, “Katahdin called me back to Maine; it shaped my past year and calls to my future service of these woods and waters.”
Perry will be spending the first few months on the job meeting with stakeholders, attending community events, and listening and learning throughout the region. The Collaborative’s next quarterly meeting is coming up on June 15 at 6 p.m. at Fiddlehead Gifts & Florals/Flatlander’s Catering & Events in Patten. Anyone from the public is welcome to attend to meet the new initiatives director and learn more about the Collaborative’s work.
