About Us
Board
Mission
History
RiverWise organizes community voice and power so that residents can reclaim agency over the future of communities along the rivers of Beaver County, PA. RiverWise does this through:
Community-Informed Storytelling
We believe storytelling isn’t simply a part of promoting community change. Storytelling is the primary engine for disrupting existing narratives about who communities are and what they might become. RiverWise employs high quality and patient storytelling to change the hearts and minds of residents so that they become unwilling to cede agency over the future of their communities.
Community-Informed Storytelling
We believe storytelling isn’t simply a part of promoting community change. Storytelling is the primary engine for disrupting existing narratives about who communities are and what they might become. RiverWise employs high quality and patient storytelling to change the hearts and minds of residents so that they become unwilling to cede agency over the future of their communities.
Community voice and power can be organized in many different ways. Because of this, RiverWise has made a principled decision to work alongside residents on an unusually broad range of projects. Any time residents are awakening to the agency they can have over the future of our communities, RiverWise is eager to amplify, support, and resource such efforts.Daniel Rossi-Keen, Director
Project Identification and Management
RiverWise works primarily in postindustrial Justice 40 communities that have experienced historical disinvestment of all kinds. In such communities, we work to identify and manage high impact projects that demonstrate what a more organized, healthy, and visionary future for the region looks like. By relentlessly showing residents what is possible, we are deliberately and patiently leading our communities into their future.
Partnership Building and Funding
Change isn’t possible when communities are siloed and have little capital to invest in their future. RiverWise works to prepare communities to absorb various types of capital by growing more sophisticated partnerships, engaging in thoughtful planning, and steadily growing organizational capacity. We are patiently changing how our residents and institutions relate to one another so that they can more effectively take advantage of opportunities and resources available to them in the present and the future.
RiverWise works primarily in postindustrial Justice 40 communities that have experienced historical disinvestment of all kinds. In such communities, we work to identify and manage high impact projects that demonstrate what a more organized, healthy, and visionary future for the region looks like. By relentlessly showing residents what is possible, we are deliberately and patiently leading our communities into their future.
Partnership Building and Funding
Change isn’t possible when communities are siloed and have little capital to invest in their future. RiverWise works to prepare communities to absorb various types of capital by growing more sophisticated partnerships, engaging in thoughtful planning, and steadily growing organizational capacity. We are patiently changing how our residents and institutions relate to one another so that they can more effectively take advantage of opportunities and resources available to them in the present and the future.
Executive & Managing Staff
Daniel Rossi-Keen
Executive Director
Kelly Powell
Managing Director
Communication & Storytelling Staff
Dani Brown
Director of Strategic Communication
Christopher Padgett
Director of Storytelling
Erin Ninehouser
Photojournalist
Joseph Chaney
Videographer
Environmental Justice Staff
Ahmed ‘Tacumba’ Turner
Environmental Justice Community Coordinator
Tyler Schaub
Environmental Justice Project Manager
Board of Directors
The Work of RiverWise is Made Possible By
