Application letter from Seth Truby to the LEAP Board of Directors
December 2021
Dear LEAP board members,
When I planned the first all-staff summer outing for BRAVO, the nonprofit I co-founded and led for nearly ten years, I took our crew on a guided rafting trip down the lower Deschutes. While our staff made the trip in a couple of rafts with professional guides, I followed along in a kayak and managed to navigate Wapinitia and Boxcar Rapids without flipping my boat.
When my adopted brother and I reconnected after many years, we went flyfishing on the Deschutes near Warm Springs, and we both caught rainbow trout within ten minutes of setting foot in the river. He has faced just about every challenge life can throw at you. I knew a fishing, camping and hiking trip would be healing for us both, and it was one of the best weeks of our lives.
As the leader of BRAVO, I made sure our young musicians had chances not just to play at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, the State Capitol and City Hall, but that they also got to visit Mount Hood and the Oregon coast. For most of these children growing up in poverty, it was their first time to the mountains or the beach though this incredible beauty is just 90 minutes from where they have spent their whole lives.
Nature heals us all, but access to these restorative experiences is not equitably distributed. LEAP knows this and removes the obstacles to participation that prevent many from benefiting from our region’s natural beauty and the sense of self and community found outdoors. As a nonprofit executive and fundraiser with a proven track record of excellence over the past decade, I would be honored to help LEAP bring transformational experiences to more people in need while strengthening the organization and nurturing the concentric circles of relationship that comprise any healthy nonprofit.
As a longtime advocate for youth and social justice, my career path has given me organic connections with many state and local leaders and policymakers. I know Governor Kate Brown and Mayor Ted Wheeler, and have spoken in person with both of them in the past couple months. Speaker Tina Kotek’s recent announcement of her candidacy for governor featured a photo of her wearing a BRAVO shirt. I regularly meet and correspond with members of Portland City Council, Multnomah County Commission, the legislature and our federal elected representatives (and their staff). My broad network would serve to build awareness of LEAP and advance our cause, and a position of leadership there would also open new doors of connection for me professionally.
I have several decades of experience serving on boards, building them, reporting to them. I have hired, trained and supervised dozens of employees. The nonprofit I co-founded balanced our budget and met or exceeded revenue goals in every year, and passed audits successfully in each of the past five years. I hope there’s an opportunity to discuss further to find out whether there’s a match between LEAP’s needs and my experience and skill set. A lifelong backpacker, mountain climber, boater and outdoor enthusiast, I’m excited at the chance to bring many threads of my life together in this new position.
Sincerely,
Seth H Truby
