Relationships, team building and letting go

Relationships are our greatest resource.

This is a mantra I spotted on a t-shirt more than a year ago in Brooklyn while participating in a series of community events centered on protecting wild salmon habitat. I realized almost immediately that sentiment was at the heart of much of what I do.

Whether I’m coordinating repeat classroom visits with teachers, connecting with fisherfolk about policy shifts, or collaborating with chefs on hosting a Chefs Camp or KNOW FISH Dinner, relationships are the currency driving the community building and education that I do.

The past few months have illustrated how relationships, both longtime and emerging, are essential to effecting substantive change in our seafood systems.

The reality of this dynamic recently fortified me after fate knocked me down a peg or three.

A full plate

It has been an extraordinary couple of months, at times deflating and inspiring, stupefying and enlightening, draining and energizing, dispiriting and heart-warming… and humbling. I love the work that I do building community around local food systems and the people I do that work with. It is challenging and rewarding and has commanded a bit too much of my time in the