Outdoor Allies: Maria Povec
Ever wondered how you can do more for public lands but you aren’t sure where to start? Outdoor Alliance’s Outdoor Allies series explores how other outdoor adventurers got their start in advocacy work and their advice for how you can harness your passion for the outdoors into advocacy for the land and water you love. Maria Povec is a Mainer back in her natural habitat, and a long-time advocate diving into state government as a Senior Policy Analyst in the Maine Governor’s Policy and Planning Office, called the “Office of Innovation and the Future.”
Tell us about what you like to do outside.
When I was living in Colorado, I spent a lot of time climbing, mountain biking, backcountry skiing, trail running and gazing at mountain wildflowers. Now that I have two-year-old, my time outside is mostly focused on playing “swords” with sticks, making “cakes” out of mud, and watching him rip around the neighborhood on his Strider bike.
What first got you into advocacy work?
I grew up with socially engaged, activist parents so at an early age, I was imbued with the understanding that we all have a responsibility to advocate for people and the planet. I went to a few protests as a middle schooler and made some local advocacy efforts in my town and my school. My professional advocacy work began in 2013 when I worked on political campaigns in Maine and got engaged with state issues. Since then, I’ve been involved primarily in education advocacy and public lands/environmental advocacy.
Right now, you’re transitioning from a role at the American Alpine Club to a role in your home state of Maine! What are some of the issues you’re keen to work on in your new role?
Making Maine’s way of life and the environment better!
As an advisor in the Governor’s office, my portfolio will mostly focus on rural economic development and workforce development. More specifically, that will include strengthening and promoting the recreation economy, green jobs, and improving the higher education/workforce pipeline. We’ll be playing the long-game and the short game. I’m sure it will be like Luis Benitez told me, “The hardest job I ever loved.”
“[Advocacy] can be as simple as picking up the phone and calling your members of Congress and saying, “Hey, I care a lot about x, y and z and I would like you to make it a priority.” You might not be intimate with the policy details, or have any clue at all, but as a constituent your concerns are important to the people who represent you. ”
What do you wish more people knew about getting started in advocacy work?
I wish people realized that it’s actually not that hard. I think some assume that they don’t know enough to engage or think that policy is too complicated or distasteful. But it can be as simple as picking up the phone and calling your members of Congress and saying, “Hey, I care a lot about x, y and z and I would like you to make it a priority.” You might not be intimate with the policy details, or have any clue at all, but as a constituent your concerns are important to the people who represent you.
How does being a parent affect your approach to policy and advocacy work?
So there’s the obvious answer: I’d like to make the world a better place for my kid and his generation. On a personal level, being a parent is a lot of work and it’s time consuming. For example, the other night I spent from 7 to 9 trying to get my kid to go to sleep (damn sleep regression!). Being a parent, I have to be really efficient. When I need to get something done, I pick up the phone and talk to people directly, instead of sending 17 emails back and forth. My take is that Millennials (I’m an “elder Millennial,” yes it’s a thing) tend to be reluctant to pick up the phone. They text and email more. There’s definitely a place for that but when you need to connect with a partner, a policymaker, a community organizer or whoever else to make something happen, it tends to be more effective and efficient to speak directly to people. Also, I find that I get more information out of people when they don’t have to create a permanent record by putting it in writing.
Lightning round:
Your advocacy hero: Probably my parents. My family and I lived in Zimbabwe for three years when I was a kid. My parents worked in a hospital in a rural village on the border with Mozambique (my dad’s a family practice and infectious disease doc and my mom is a nurse). Living and working in a third-world and war-torn country is tough but it’s where people really need help. My dad is running a major HIV study in South Africa right now and actively advocates for human rights, access to healthcare and the environment, among other things. My mom is a huge advocate for children’s health.
Next destination on your bucket list: They say that when you become a parent, you don’t go on “vacations”, you go on “trips.” We’ve done a lot of travel and trips as a family so far. But I have to say, I’m pretty stoked to travel less right now and spend my time paddling around Penobscot Bay, hiking and skiing the mountains in my backyard and adventuring more locally.
Current favorite piece of gear: I don’t go anywhere without my sarong. I use it as a quick-drying towel, a skirt, a dress, a pillow, a thing to wipe up liquids that my kid spills. It’s beautiful, cheap and functional. I also really like my Patagonia Houdini Windbreaker.