STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Amy Mattias has been named the new executive director of the Sun Valley Institute for Resilience.
Mattias, who has been serving as program director for the past five years, will replace Nate Twichell, who is leaving the Institute to work at a new green building company in the Wood River Valley. Mattias will assume her new leadership role on June 30.
“Amy has been a driving force at SVIR for more than five years,” said Board Co-Chair Nina Tooley. “As program director, she demonstrated an unparalleled ability to evaluate systemic challenges, craft innovative solutions and push their execution for the greatest community impact. The SVIR board has complete confidence that Amy will be the strong leader who inspires this organization to take significant and impactful strides.”
Mattias was instrumental in launching the Impact Idaho Fund, which has provided low-cost loans to help businesses like Lookout Farms, Itty Bitty Farms and the American Ostrich Farm ramp up production. She also was instrumental in launching the Wood River Valley Locally Grown Guide, 5B Resilient and other initiatives.
She is the chair of FARE Idaho’s Farm and Agriculture Committee, board secretary of Idaho Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and she just joined the Idaho State Steering Committee for the new Northwest and Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center where she will co-lead the right-size investing and infrastructure team.
The center is one of 12 regional centers established through a $400 million initiative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in May. It serves Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. The purpose is to support agricultural producers in accessing local and regional supply chains, new markets and federal, state and local resources
Prior to moving to Idaho, Mattias earned a degree in Sociology and Organizational Communications at Western Michigan University. She also has taken professional courses at Chico State’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems and is currently enrolled in a Master’s of Science in Sustainable Food Systems program at Arizona State University.
Mattias said she is grateful for the work Twichell did ahead of her and pledged to work towards an even greater impact.
“As an organization, we are moving from strength to strength with this transition,” she said. “We have strong board leadership and a talented committed team ready for the next phase.”