Welcome Kris, MTN’s newest staff member!
Kris (R), with Moxie
MaineTransNet is thrilled to welcome Kris Pitts as the Community Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator! Kris is taking over the role previously filled by Micaela Cassidy, and just starting up this month. Kris has been living in Maine for a handful of years and brings great experience with working in nonprofit organizations. I spoke with Kris and was happy to get to know a bit more about our new force behind outreach and volunteer work!
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Emily: Thanks so much for talking with me! I’d love to hear a little bit about the position as you’re joining MTN, and what you’re looking forward to about the role.
Kris: We do have a tentative job description, it is what Micaela was doing and I think there are some pieces that are a little different that we are still sorting out. I will definitely be doing volunteer coordination and recruitment, and I will also be doing outreach both for just getting the word out about what’s going on with MTN, what’s happening with programming, but also doing some fundraising and grant writing. A little bit of this, a little bit of that.
Emily: It seems like a role where you’ll get to reach out into the community a lot and get to know a lot of different people.
Kris: Yeah, absolutely, and I’m pretty excited about that.
Emily: What drew you to working with MTN?
Kris: I have been working in nonprofits for upwards of 25 years combined experience, so I am looking to be doing a little bit less in direct service programs. Through my more recent roles I have been diving into the development space, and that’s something I’m really interested in. So it’s an opportunity for me to use my skills, but also grow the skills that I’m interested in using. And so the work itself was really aligned with where I want to be career-wise.
But that doesn’t really answer the question of why MTN. You know, this is a really tenuous time politically for queer communities in general, and particularly for trans and non-binary folk, and so to be able to do work that really stands up and supports folks in the face of some of that injustice and to be a voice within my community and for my community right now is really important. I’ve always worked with organizations that support LGBTQ+ folks in various ways but never as the sole focus of the mission, and to be able to be here at this time politically and personally feels really meaningful and really is a mission alignment for me.
Emily: That’s wonderful, and it sounds like you’ve got some great experience to bring to the role too. Could you share a bit more about your background? This article is an opportunity for MTN to get to know you a bit more, and know who they’re going to be hearing from about volunteer roles!
Kris: I have worked in social justice based organizations supporting service learning and leadership development programming. I’ve worked in all facets of interpersonal violence primary prevention, intervention, response, and long term support. I’ve worked with folks who are underhoused or are experiencing houselessness, and so there is a lot of intersections with the work that I’ve done and the communities I’ve served. There’s a lot of population overlap, and like I said, the organizations I’ve worked with have always supported LGBTQ+ communities broadly, but what we find really is that disproportionately the clients that we were serving were members of those communities just due to health disparities, other disparities, and instances of violence. So to be able to do work that sometimes will be a response and prevention mechanism in those ways, sure, but also to do work that’s designed to build community and help people experience joy, is pretty exciting.
Emily: I’d love to hear a bit more about what you excited about for this role and getting to be working with MTN?
Kris: I’m really excited! You know, it’s still a small organization, and foundationally, it’s an organization where folks can really come together and work together intentionally, so there’s really not so much policy and bureaucracy in place so that you can’t get things done. There is structure, certainly, and there is policy where it’s necessary, but it’s small and grassroots enough still at this point where you can get the work done, in community with the people who are working alongside you. And you can pull in those volunteers and really let volunteers connect in meaningful ways and be present with you in that work.
Emily: One of the things that I’ve really appreciated about volunteering with MTN was how great Micaela was at keeping in touch. It’s such a great, warm community to get to work with and I’m glad you will get to be a part of it, too!
Kris: Yes, I’m really looking forward to getting to collaborate and spend time with the volunteers!