Mazama Staff Changes

Claire Nelson, our

Education and Culture Manager, is departing from her Mazama role and her last day was June 17. Claire came to the Mazamas in January of 2017 and over the last 4-years she has put her expertise to use in many and varied ways—developing partnerships to offer climbing opportunities to local organizations; growing Mazama Wild into an 8-week summer camp program that is in high demand; engaging in the Mazamas diversity, equity, and inclusion work (DEI); supporting Education committees; and over the past year, managing the Mazama work in the Mountain Education Alliance. Claire has shown dedication to collaboration, increasing our financial equity through scholarship and sliding scale payment programs, and inspiring the next generation of Mazamas.

What was your favorite thing about working for the Mazamas?

My favorite part of my job was all the great partner programming and culture projects I was lucky enough to get to support, such as Unclimb Nights, the Melanated Mazamas, our DEI group, and more. The Mazama knowledge base and facilities are such a resource to the greater mountain community, and I hope we continue to leverage our assets to support all groups who love the mountains.

What did you find most challenging? One of the challenging things as a staff person can be keeping track of all the things. We do so many things! Also, when working with a team of staff, everyone more or less is on the same schedule, and has time in their work day to execute projects together. However, Mazama volunteers all have lives outside of the organization and are doing a lot of work during the free time they have. It takes practice in this role to slow the process down, and give people the space they need to do the work.

What will you miss about working with and for the Mazamas? My favorite thing about working at the Mazamas was the people I got to work with along the way. There are absolutely wonderful people who dedicate so much time to this organization, and I’m going to miss working with them on a regular basis. Also, I couldn’t be more grateful to the amazing staff team here. It really feels like we’re a community, and I’m going to miss seeing them as much as I have over the last four years.

Kelsey Shaw, our

Membership Services Administrator, joined the Mazamas in September of 2017 and immediately took to the unpredictability of Mazama life. Her first month at the Mazamas revolved around not only doing all the things she was hired to do—managing phones, office volunteers, the day-to-day office needs, and member inquiries— but also helping ensure the Portland Alpine Fest was a success. Kelsey quickly demonstrated her ability to juggle multiple projects and think on her feet. Over the past few years her position at the Mazamas has grown with her and has come to include our weekly member communications; supporting our activity committees; updating our website; managing our Salesforce database; and so much more. Kelsey is pursuing her law degree and will be starting at Lewis & Clark in the fall. Her last day with us will be July 29.

What was your favorite thing about working for the Mazamas? My favorite part of working for the Mazamas is the look on people’s faces the first time they do something they previously thought out of their abilities, like rappelling or climbing to the top of the wall. At that moment, you can see the person’s confidence blossoming right there as they release their pent-up breath and smile. The best for me is helping groups of teenagers have that moment together in the Holman Auditorium. Watching the embarrassment fade as a teenager gets into the flow of climbing, and then the smile on their face as they hear their peers cheering them on from the floor has definitely brought tears to my eyes. It is a magical thing!

What did you find most challenging? One of the hardest aspects of working in the inherently risky mountaineering business is our proximity to injury and death. We have been lucky not to have had a lot of incidents during my time at the Mazamas, but that has made the few that have happened all the more devastating. I think the anxiety that comes whenever I hear of a climbing accident or when I am near a mountain and hear a helicopter overhead will stay with me for a long time.

What will you miss about working with and for the Mazamas? The reason that anxiety is so present for me is because of my connection to the Mazama community. I will deeply miss the people I have befriended while working here. My coworkers have become part of my little Portland family, especially during this past year. Members and volunteers have become friends and advisors— encouraging me to test my limits, exposing me to new perspectives and ways of thinking, and trusting me with the locations of their secret outdoor spots. I will be forever grateful for the people I have met while working here.