By Matthew Kincanon | FaVS News Reporter
Recently, Salish School of Spokane hired Joy Peltier to be their new development director as part of their ongoing efforts to revitalize the Salish language, get their story out and connect with people who want to be part of their mission.
Chris Parkin, principal and business manager of the school, said they met her when she was a development director for Camp Fire several years ago, and she has been a regular supporter of the school since then.
When the school needed to fill the empty position, Parkin said it was a blessing that she was looking for a position that involved more service leadership.
“I was inspired by LaRae’s [Wiley’s] bold vision to build a Salish village along the Spokane River where the Salish School of Spokane can expand our impact and grow the community of Salish language speakers, revitalizing the Salish language,” Peltier said.
She added she is inspired by the school’s mission of dynamic Salish language revitalization and loves the strong sense of community it creates with families, teachers, staff and community members.
Stepping into the role
For the moment, Parkin said, Peltier will be helping with other duties while the school’s capital campaign manager is on paternity leave.
When she fully steps into her new role as development director, she will develop a robust fund development system that exceeds annual fundraising goals on a consistent basis. This will be done by sharing the school’s story with community members and funders.
She will also sustain meaningful connections within the community and foster new relationships with individuals, organizations, foundations, companies and community partners who want to share in their investment to revitalize the Salish language.
Parkin said Peltier will help them get onto a sustainable funding footing, and they can only do that if people hear about and join them in their efforts.
“I am excited to utilize my skills and experience to build upon the strong development strategies that are currently in place,” she said. “I’m also excited to start taking Salish language classes.”
Previously, she held development and community engagement positions with several local community organizations. These included Eastern Washington University (EWU) Center for Entrepreneurial Activities, Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest Mentoring Programs, Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho, Upstream USA, Camp Fire Inland Northwest and City of Spokane City Council.
Track record of innovation
“Over the years working in the non-profit sector, I have found that I have a knack for launching new initiatives and for evaluating systems within organizations by identifying which mechanisms are working well and what could be altered to be more effective in reaching the desired outcomes,” Peltier said.
At EWU, she launched the Spokane Business Assistance Program for the Center for Entrepreneurial Activities while she was a graduate student in the Urban and Regional Planning program. At Goodwill she helped grow the youth mentoring programs to include families impacted by parental incarceration and students with disabilities.
During her time at Planned Parenthood she overhauled the development department to increase annual fundraising and ran the capital campaign to build a new $5 million Health and Community Education center in Spokane.
At Upstream USA she helped launch Upstream Washington, a state-wide initiative to increase access to contraception and overhauled the development department to increase fundraising at Camp Fire.
At the Spokane City Council, under the direction of Lisa Gardner, director of communications and community engagement, she helped launch the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) Community Engagement plan to gather information and listen to stakeholders concerning how the City of Spokane should allocate the over $80 million in ARPA funds they received.
“I thrive when I am launching a new initiative and/or finding ways to make departments more effective in reaching the desired outcomes,” she said.
LaRae Wiley (Sinixt), co-founder and former director of the school, said she is excited about all the connections they are going to be able to make with funders and community members who are looking for ways to connect with organizations that are doing justice work.
“In these times, there’s a lot of social and political shifts happening in the United States and the world, and as old systems melt away we have to be actively building something that is a vision for the future for our kids, grandkids and generations to follow,” Parkin said.
Wiley and Parkin, who are also married, said Peltier is a highly-skilled individual with a lot of contacts and a strong network who is great with people and a team player.
Peltier said she loves making connections and anyone interested in partnering with the school are encouraged to reach out to her at 509-808-6438 or joy@salishschoolofspokane.org.
“I have heard LaRae Wiley say, ‘It took many hands to push our language and our culture down, and it will take many hands to lift it back up again. We invite you to partner with us to restore what was nearly lost,’” she said.
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