Big Change ahead for Outdoors Empowered Network

December 6, 2019

Dear Friends of Outdoors Empowered Network,

I am writing today with important news: In 2020, after seven amazing years of growing our national network, I will be stepping down as Executive Director of OEN. I will shift my role to one of a volunteer, as I usher in new leadership. I owe an immense debt of gratitude to so many of you, who have supported me and this Network over the years.

Growing this network has been both an honor, and an incredible journey. It has afforded me the pleasure of traveling to many communities and getting to know both small non-profits and large park districts excited to create access to the outdoors through our powerful training and support program model that has spread throughout the country. I could not be more proud of what we have done together.

I also know that I am an entrepreneur and that my strength is in bringing new ideas to life. When OEN started in 2013, there were three organizations that did this work (two in California, plus YOP in Boston/NYC). By the end of this year, we will have grown to ten member organizations as we welcome The Mountaineers, from Seattle, Washington to the Network. Collectively, we are reaching 50,000 youth annually, providing them with immersive outdoor experiences and building communities that increasingly see public lands and the outdoors as a shared treasure.

In the coming year, we will focus on three priorities:

• Supporting current member organizations with continued gear acquisition and distribution.

• Growing the network by adding new member organizations

• Evolving our Summit to make it more sustainable for everyone involved. We are thrilled to announce that the 2020 Summit will be in Chicago, hosted by the Forest Preserves of Cook County.

I share this news with mixed emotions, including great excitement about the future of Outdoors Empowered Network. The OEN Board is the strongest it has ever been. They are excited to lead a search for a new executive in the coming months that will help write the next chapter for the Network. We will need your continued support as we navigate this important moment, with recommendations for new leadership and donations that will help make my transition successful.

Feel free to contact me with questions or reach out to our Board Chair Mitch Mitchell at <mitch.mitchell@gmail.com>. I look forward to talking with you more about our important, shared work in the coming months.

We are the Network!

Warmest regards, and best wishes for a Happy Holidays,
Kyle Macdonald