Hopa Mountain News Blog

Join Hopa Mountain for a virtual seminar with leadership educator, Arthur T. Matthews on December 14 at 10 a.m. MST. Mathews will lead a Hopa Mountain virtual seminar entitled “Beyond Leadership: Are you Really an Engaging Leader?” As Matthews states, “many leaders have been exposed to transactional, transformational, situational and the authentic leadership concepts but only a small percentage have been exposed to what I call “The Engaging Leader.” Participants will be exposed to the characteristics of “Drivers” and “Builders” which are the two fascinating leadership types that make up “The Engaging Leader.”

Arthur T. Matthews serves as a speaker, presenter and subject matter expert in areas impacting the human condition. His areas of expertise include but are not limited to leadership, diversity & inclusion, conflict resolution, team building, public speaking and labor relations. He serves on the faculty at NYU, Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the University of Arkansas. He earned a Juris doctorate degree from Howard University School of Law. Visit him at www.diversityofficers.com

“We are so pleased to be able to offer this free virtual seminar with Arthur T. Matthews, that anyone can participate in by phone, says Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer, Executive Director of Hopa Mountain. Mr. Matthews is a nationally-known expert on leadership and this is a unique opportunity to learn from him” she noted.

To participate in this free Hopa Mountain virtual seminar on December 14, please dial (213) 342-3000 at 10 a.m. The participant access code is 189808.

Hopa Mountain invests in rural and tribal citizen leaders who are working to improve education, ecological health, and economic development. For more information, please visit www.hopamountain.org.

The Governor’s Office of Community Service and Hopa Mountain, a Bozeman-based nonprofit organization, announced today a training program and opportunity for competitive grants for youth program leaders through Youth Leaders in Service. This National Corporation for Community Service grant program is designed to train and support adult leaders of youth service as they engage rural and tribal youth, ages 11-17, living in Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota’s Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River Reservations, in leading service activities that create healthier communities. Teams of youth program directors will have the opportunity to participate in a three-day training program January 20-22, 2012 and apply for grant support to implement their youth-led initiative throughout the spring and summer of 2012. The application deadline is December 12, 2011. The application is at http://www.hopamountain.org/YouthLeadershipInService.php.

Participating teams may also choose to apply to receive up to $7,500 in support to launch a service-learning afterschool program. Funds must be matched 1:1 in cash or in-kind support by grantee organizations. Rural and tribal youth program leaders working in communities with populations under 35,000 are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to participating organizations that serve a high percentage of children that are eligible for free and reduced lunch programs.

“We are so pleased that more teens will have an opportunity to implement service projects that contribute to rural and tribal community vitality through Youth Leaders in Service,” said Jan Lombardi, Executive Director of the Governor’s Office for Community Service. The Corporation for National and Community Service and Hopa Mountain are partnering to engage young people in service-learning projects that simultaneously support student development and meet community needs in areas such as health and education. “Hopa Mountain is committed to engaging youth and their program leaders in service learning that supports civic engagement and social entrepreneurship,” said Lombardi.

Hopa Mountain’s mission is to invest in rural and tribal citizen leaders, adults and youth, who are working to improve education, ecological health and economic development. “Through Youth Leaders in Service, rural and tribal youth will have the opportunity to design and implement innovative service projects in cooperation with local community partners,” said Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer, Executive Director of Hopa Mountain. Hopa Mountain will provide ongoing training and technical assistance to selected youth program leaders and teen citizen leaders throughout the Northern Rockies.

For more information about Youth Leaders in Service, please call (406) 586-2455 or email info@hopamountain.org. Two, hour-long conference calls will also be held on Thursday, November 17 at 11 a.m. and Wednesday, December 7 at 12 p.m. to provide more information about Youth Leaders in Service and how to apply. Interested participants can dial 1-866-200-5786 and enter conference ID 7759909# when prompted to participate.

Join Hopa Mountain for a virtual seminar with Charisse Rudolph, author of Words Hit Hard as a Fist, with 18 Tips on How to STOP being Bullied on Wednesday, November 16 at 10 a.m. MST to discuss how to support youth and adults as they take charge of their lives and move past the harmful judgments and actions of others.

“Hopa Mountain is pleased to be able to offer this free virtual seminar with Charisse Rudolph, that anyone can participate in by phone, says Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer, Executive Director of Hopa Mountain. Rudolph’s new book, Words Hit Hard as a Fist, is designed to give teenagers, parents, teachers and counselors strategies for dealing with bullies and for helping others to do so, she noted.

Dyslexia made Rudolph a compassionate activist. Growing up in the 1950s made Rudolph want to learn how she could have a powerful life as a female, and being dyslexic made that more of a challenge. She experienced what it’s like to struggle through school not feeling able, or good enough, to achieve. At college, she had to tape the lectures and sit next to someone who would share his or her notes.

The author and public speaker still struggles with words and yet, Rudolph has not let her disability or anything else stop her; she truly is at peace with being “different.” She has been coaching people since 1992 and won the Leadership Award for Contribution to Women in 2002. She has established a ranch for equine-assisted psychotherapy, ran an online forum about bullying intervention for the Ellen DeGeneres show, and co-created an experiential team-building company working with many Fortune 500 organizations.

To participate in this free Hopa Mountain virtual seminar with Rudolph on November 16, please dial (213) 342-3000 followed by access code 189808# at 10 a.m. MST.

Hopa Mountain invests in rural and tribal citizen leaders who are working to improve education, ecological health, and economic development. For more information, please visit www.hopamountain.org.

What better way to learn about the food system than by experiencing it first hand? Students from Bridger Alternative School will have the opportunity to see local farms, talk to the farmers, and taste the bounty of Montana agriculture on Wednesday, November 9, 2011 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. This field trip is part of Tour de Food, an educational pilot program organized by Gallatin Valley Farm to School and Bridger Alternative School.

Bridger Alternative School students have been critically analyzing and discussing food systems in class under the direction of their teachers and Nic Acker, a volunteer for Gallatin Valley Farm to School. With this base of knowledge, they will then see, feel, and taste a local food system by visiting two local farms—Amaltheia Dairy and Gallatin Valley Botanical.

Amaltheia Dairy raises goats for their certified-organic cheese processing plant and also raises certified-organic pigs. Gallatin Valley Botanical grows produce for local markets using crop rotation, cover crops, compost, diverse crop plantings. These practices build soil fertility while managing pests.

The students are visiting the farms at the end of the growing season, and there will still be plenty to see and discuss. The goats at Amaltheia will be happy to have visitors and the greenhouses at Gallatin Valley Botanical are still lush with baby and micro greens. This trip will connect the students with where their food comes from while learning about agricultural practices and local farms.

Gallatin Valley Farm to School, a program of Hopa Mountain, strives to connect children with their food. Hopa Mountain, a Bozeman-based nonprofit invests in citizen leaders, adults and youth, who are working to improve education, ecological health, and economic development. For more information, visit www.gvfarmtoschool.org.