Maybe You Should Go Ahead and Be an Academic: 25 years of activism, writing and implementing projects as a rural progressive
Maybe You Should Go Ahead and Be an Academic: 25 years of activism, writing and implementing projects as a rural progressive
with Bryce Oates
Sustainable Agriculture Writer
Washington
This presentation will feature 25 years of experience as an activist, organizer, entrepreneur, farmer and writer. I will speak for 15-20 minutes about my freelance life working on local food, farm policy, climate, rural economic development, conservation and social justice issues. The bulk of time will be spent on Q-and-A. Possible discussion topics include: farm and food policy, rural policy and politics, local food entrepreneurship, failing on a multigenerational farm, public lands and conservation issues, agriculture and climate change, making a living as a freelance writer, rural economic development via grants and project finance, and more.
Wednesday, August 19 - Zoom Meeting
3:10 - 4:15 p.m. Presentation with Q&A Session
Bryce Oates is a freelance writer covering rural policy, people, places and politics. His work includes news reporting, news features, narrative nonfiction, analysis pieces, commentary/opinion and longer-form Q&A interviews. His interests and topical experience include federal farm and food policy, public lands and conservation issues and policy, racial and gender equity in rural, climate change, economic inequality, rural demographic data and the many iterations of “rural poverty.” Oates is a Rural Policy Correspondent for the Daily Yonder, author of the Medium blog “Rural Policy Diary,” author of the Daily Yonder’s weekly email newsletter “Keep It Rural,” a curator for RuralOrganizing.org’s Morning Rural News Clips, a Strategic Advisor/grantwriter for nonprofit organizations. Oates also freelances for rural, farm and food, conservation and political-focused publications.
Currently residing in Western Washington’s peninsular tidal zone and doug fir woods (occupied S’Homamish land), Oates is a product of West Missouri cow-calf country and Missouri's finest public schools. He was raised in a family of small town butchers, farmers, begrudging woodcutters and hunting and fishing types.
He has done time as an Honors Student, dishwasher, researcher, grantwriter, activist, policy analyst, tomato picker, greenhouse gas emission accountant, solar panel installer, truck driver, construction laborer and economic development mercenary. He is a failed farmer and homesteader, struggles to pay the bills and is sometimes hard to reach. He is game for most adventures and has the scars to prove it.