Thrive Hood River hires Silvan Shawe

Shawe, 33, studied sustainable community food systems at the University of Hawaii, and her work both for non-profits and county government has focused on creating policy and programs that support low-income food access, community resilience and small farms.

“It took leaving, traveling and working with wide-ranging perspectives to truly appreciate life in the Gorge,” said Silvan. “I’m excited to be back and leading Thrive’s outreach.”

“Silvan has built her career supporting rural farming communities as they struggle to be resilient,” Staten said. “Her hands-on, can-do nature will add so much to Thrive’s work and to helping the Hood River Valley thrive into the future.”

Shawe will be on hand as Thrive Hood River hosts its fifth annual H is for Harvest Auction and fundraiser Oct. 19 from 6-9 p.m. at The Ruins in downtown Hood River. The event is a harvest-inspired evening of delicious food, local wine and auction items that celebrate Hood River and its bounty.

“From mushroom hunting to biking safe trails with friends and family, my local favorite places have been preserved for public use,” Shawe said. “These parks, neighborhoods, and forests need to be planned for and I respect the decades of work by Thrive to preserve this incredible valley as a livable community.”

Thrive Hood River (formerly called Hood River Valley Residents’ Committee) is a nonprofit created 42 years ago to protect Hood River’s farms, forests, wild places and the livability of its urban and rural communities.

According to Staten, Thrive advocates for protection of the Hood River Valley’s fertile orchard land and iconic wild places sprinkled throughout the Mount Hood region and Columbia River Gorge. In urban communities, Thrive is working to increase housing and transportation choices and improve quality of life through investments in parks and off-road trails.