Staff Spotlight: Kathryn Fenneman, new Development Director
By Lily Gordon, Program Coordinator
When Kathryn Fenneman pulled into the Nature Linc property in Lincoln for the first time, she said it “felt like home.” This was both literal (Kathryn was raised on a farm in rural Iowa and the property reminded her of childhood) and figurative; Kathryn remembers feeling immediately comfortable, especially amidst a team that clearly cares so much about each other. Since joining the Nature Linc team in January as Development Director, Kathryn has connected with each staff member, learned about the ins and outs of our programs, and started planning a team-wide fundraising strategy that will support our mission of connecting youth from systemically marginalized communities with nature.
Kathryn is well-equipped for the role with her wealth of experience in equity-focused nonprofits. She spent eight years, seven of those as Executive Director, with Tutoring Plus, a Cambridge-based nonprofit that provides free tutoring to Cambridge students. She also worked at GrubStreet, a creative writing nonprofit, and Boston SCORES, which provides free soccer afterschool programming. Kathryn has held many roles in Communications, Development, and Administration and deeply understands how nonprofits function.
Kathryn has always been drawn to equity work, but nature equity holds a special place in her heart from her rural childhood in Iowa. She spent “pretty much all of [her] free time outside” running around with dogs and sheep, making potions, and exploring the nearby creek. She very much “took it for granted” at the time, and had a “wake up call” when she moved to Boston, realizing that her childhood experiences weren’t something all young people can access. “Recognizing how powerfully [nature] impacted me in becoming the person that I am today,” Kathryn said, “I want to be able to broaden that opportunity for more people.”
In order to run the programs that broaden these opportunities for youth, Kathryn pointed out that the behind-the-scenes work of fundraising is essential. Kathryn sees fundraising as fundamentally “relationship building… “ being able to make connections for people between things that they care about.” Kathryn is looking forward to getting to know our donor community better through face-to-face coffee chats and other conversations, deepening relationships, and ultimately providing a stable foundation of support for Nature Linc’s work. She’s also looking forward to June Bug, Nature Linc’s annual fundraiser, and is excited to think about how to expand upon the event.
Kathryn’s favorite part of the past month and half at Nature Linc has been experiencing the team environment: she loves being around people who “genuinely want to support each other, want to get to know each other, [and to] work together towards our shared mission.” The team has enjoyed getting to know Kathryn as well, from her love of soccer and reading to her excellent listening skills and joyful laugh. The Development Director position is a brand new and much needed role: it reflects a key piece of our Strategic Plan to build our internal infrastructure towards long-term organizational sustainability. We look forward to having Kathryn lead our organization towards this sustainability so Nature Linc can continue doing and expand the impactful work of nature equity.