Today we’d like to introduce you to Bonnie Harper.
Hi Bonnie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
My story starts off in the dancing and theater world, as growing up my real passion was dancing and performing on stage – from dance recitals to high school musicals all the way to the Muny stage. In between performances, however, I could be found exploring the creeks and woods in my neighborhood in south St. Louis county.
I didn’t grow up in an outdoorsy family – actually the one float trip I took with my parents as a kid ended in a flipped canoe with all our gear floating away downstream. My family was very community service focused and my mom volunteered a lot through our church. I would go along with her to food pantries or to help in efforts after a natural disaster.
I joined up with my neighborhood kids for Saving Earth club and we introduced recycling at our school. I attended Nerinx Hall high school and then on to college at Loyola University Chicago. Volunteerism, community service, and social justice were pillars of both schools and that’s probably when I started thinking about what should I be doing with my life after school that can contribute in a positive way and makes a real change in our world.
I started out as a theater major in college, but after taking an Anthropology course on the human impact on the environment, I knew that was how I wanted to spend my life making a difference. I enrolled in a study abroad program and during my Junior year, I spent a semester abroad at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. It’s hard not to completely fall in love with a country as beautiful as New Zealand. I spent those 6 months completely immersed in its culture and environment – which are intertwined. A new adventurous side of me came out that I didn’t even know I had.
I white water kayaked, hiked up mountains, hiked up glaciers, went sky diving, went sea kayaking, sea fishing, whale watching, and black water rafting (rafting through caves). I may have also met a kiwi boy during my adventures. I did have to go back to Chicago to finish my senior year, graduating with a B.A. in Environmental Studies. Shortly after graduation (3 weeks later) I returned to New Zealand for what was supposed to be a short-term stay while my new boyfriend finished up his senior year. I ended up enrolling in a Master’s degree program, graduating, and landing my first job in my career as an Environmental Planner for a local government agency in New Zealand. This met moving from the large city of Auckland in the North Island of New Zealand to a small farming town at the southern tip of the South Island of New Zealand.
Working in small-town met wearing multiple hats in my new job – which looking back was an incredible opportunity because I had to learn so many skills – from working with farmers to scientists, to elected officials, that job really helped me grow professionally. I eventually took a new job back up north in New Zealand closer to my boyfriend’s family. A few years later we married and a few years after that had our first son. After 9.5 years living in New Zealand, it felt like the right time to move back to St. Louis to be closer to my family. It took us about a year to get settled in St. Louis – including finding a job. I really didn’t know the network of environmental or conservation professionals in St. Louis so it was a slow process to figure that out.
I put myself out there and did the networking – attended conferences, sent my resume to friends and family to pass along to anyone they knew, and eventually, it worked. My 9 years of environmental planning experience led me to a perfect fit job as a Sustainability Planner at East-West Gateway Council of Governments. Through my job there, I quickly became familiar with the circle of environmental professionals in St. Louis. I had my second son and decided I wanted more time off with him than just the 12 weeks I was given (back story – in New Zealand women are given 26 weeks of paid maternity leave and up to 12 months of unpaid maternity leave which is what I had when my first son was born).
After 9 months at home with him, I was ready to return to the workforce. During my 9 months home, I did try and stay connected to my circle of environmental professionals. As a result, I became aware of the opening with the Open Space Council during the summer of 2019. I became Executive Director with the Open Space Council in September of 2019. Little did I know what March of 2020 would bring!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s been a smooth road relatively speaking – though now that I’m older I understand this in large part due to the sacrifices and hard work of my parents. I came from a middle-class suburban family who worked hard to send me to private grade school high school and college. I was on a partial scholarship to college, but I did take out some substantial student loans which I am still paying off today. Moving to New Zealand actually went pretty smoothly because I could navigate the visa process because of my student status there. As their years passed there, it was hard to know what to do sometimes.
I often found myself asking am I living here permanently? If not, when am I going back? In my 20s though, I could shrug it off and just go where the wind took me. When I hit 30 and had my first child the struggle became real. It hit me that being a new mom on the other side of the world from my family felt like the most lonely and isolating experience of my life. I was surrounded by natural beauty and I had an amazing husband and job waiting for me when I was ready to return, but it didn’t matter. I never really felt like I couldn’t figure out how to overcome a challenge – I had plenty of them in my job and love life, but as a new mother for the first time I felt like I had no idea what I was doing.
Again, moving back to St. Louis actually went pretty smoothly because my husband could get a green card relatively easily since we got married in St. Louis and we could use my parent’s address as our home and I had kept my U.S. bank account and credit card active the whole time I was in New Zealand. This was important because we had good credit after moving back. The first year back was a struggle. I felt like I needed to get a job because that’s how I measured my worth – by making sure I was providing equally to the household. During the year I was looking for a job, I didn’t embrace being a stay-at-home mom, I probably resented it to some degree. I did eventually land a full-time job and then I was thrown into the working-mom role which I thought is what I wanted.
After 2.5 years of that, I became pregnant with #2. Faced with having to go back to work 12 weeks after he was born, I realized this was my time to do the stay-at-home-mom thing “properly” this time around. 9 months in, I realized I wanted both – I want to work and make a difference to my community through my work, but I also want to be able to pick my kids up from school, do the mom-and-me classes with my toddler and help keep the house running.
My role at the Open Space Council is challenging and requires a lot out of me, but I can be flexible and work around my kid’s schedule for the most part. I’m still struggling with being the most effective employee and the most effective mother – some days I feel like I fail at one or the other. But, each day is different and a chance to try again.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am currently the Executive Director for the Open Space Council for the St. Louis Region, a non-profit organization with a mission to conserve and sustain land and water resources. I oversee a team of 4 staff and I work with a 27 member Board of Directors. I am in charge of the financial health of our organization and our overall program development and implementation. I specialize in collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders from different organizations to strengthen and sustain long-term partnerships that ensure our programs continue to make the St. Louis Region a better place to live.
I am known for being persistent and for finding creative solutions to problems that may arise when there are differences in opinion during collaborative projects. I am most proud of leading the Open Space Council through a challenging 2 years of the pandemic after only being in my position for 5 months before it started. I am also most proud of how I have gotten to where I have by putting myself out there for ambitious opportunities and stepping up to the challenges that come with such roles, especially when it involves navigating living and working in a foreign country with no other family or friends to rely on.
I built a solid career foundation in New Zealand through sheer ambition and a willingness to take a chance, even when it was unclear where that would lead. I think what sets me apart from others is my steadfastness to never letting any balls drop. When I say I will follow-up on the email, or phone call, or do that report, I always do so, no matter what it takes. I keep my word when I say I will do something, I will do it – no matter how large or small.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I work in the non-profit sector, and more specifically in the environmental non-profit sector. I think our sector will see an influx of new interests – in terms of volunteers wanting to give of their time and resources to support our cause, but also in terms of increased financial support from more corporate funders and private funders.
This will be due to increased awareness and interest in doing something “green” to help our region’s environment. I think environmental issues will increasingly become higher priorities and our programs will have to be able to grow to adapt to the increased demand for them.
I also see even more collaboration between organizations working together to solve larger issues in our regions such as climate change adaptation, biodiversity loss, and water quality in the abundance of rivers and streams we are lucky to have. I see collaboration between the public/private/non-profit sectors as being the main driver for addressing these larger issues in our region.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@openspacestl.org
- Website: www.openspacestl.org
- Instagram: @osc_stl
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/openspacestl
- Twitter: @OpenSpaceSTL
