The George Wright Society recognizes that government service, non-profit civil society, and unfettered academic inquiry are foundational to the well-being of the American nation. While the current administration’s policy and budgetary decisions are designed to undermine these values, the Society continues to support them in our focal area—parks, protected/conserved areas, cultural sites, and other forms of place-based conservation.  We particularly want to support conservation colleagues who have recently lost their jobs: people we refer to as Recent Involuntarily Separated Employees (RISEs).

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RISEs can result from outright firings, layoffs, or RIFs (reductions in force); early retirements taken under duress; terminations or disruptions of grants, fellowships, or contracts; or unplanned resignations for any number of reasons resulting from the current climate of uncertainty and antagonism, including the planned politicization of the civil service. The common factor is that RISEs are leaving conservation-related government service, academia, non-profit employment, or for-profit contractor positions for reasons unrelated to their job performance. Losing the wisdom, experience, and service of RISEs is doing incalculable damage to American society.

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The George Wright Society would like to make a contribution to stemming this loss by providing a platform for RISEs who worked in place-based conservation to share their insights and experience as part of a permanent repository that will be made available to the public: the RISE Declarations.

 

What is a RISE Declaration?

A RISE Declaration is a written or oral statement that lets RISEs summarize in their own words the most important aspects of their career in place-based conservation, along with lessons learned. Doing this will ensure that their achievements and record of public service/benefit are not lost. Collectively, RISE Declarations will be a powerful affirmation of the value of public service and free academic inquiry and a rebuke to the current administration’s claim that they are of little or no value.

 

Who can make a RISE Declaration?

GWS invites anyone in the place-based conservation community who is a RISE to participate. People in any and all jobs, whether field-based or administrative, are welcome. It includes people who are looking for, or have found, new jobs, whether in place-based conservation or some other field. It includes people who were working in government, academia, and the non-profit sector, as well as contractors in the for-profit sector, on anything related to parks, protected/conserved areas, cultural sites, and other forms of place-based conservation.

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To be clear: when we say a separation is “involuntary,” we mean that it occurred earlier than the person intended. For example, if you retired early against your wishes, from our perspective that is an involuntary separation and you are a RISE — even if you signed official paperwork saying your retirement was voluntary.

 

How do I make a RISE Declaration? Can I remain anonymous?

To make a RISE declaration, fill out the form below.  You can remain entirely or partly anonymous if you wish (see Part 2 of the form). We ask for your email address so we can correspond with you, but we will never publish or otherwise share your email address. 

 

Part 3 of the form is where you share your experience. There are seven questions, and you can answer as many as you like.

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If you prefer to answer the questions below in an oral interview format, please email RISE@georgewright.org to arrange this. Interviews will be recorded and transcribed, and submitters will have an opportunity to review and correct them as needed. Regardless of whether you submit your RISE Declaration in writing or via oral interview, all requests for anonymity will be respected. 

 

What will GWS do with the RISE Declarations?

GWS will create a permanent repository of RISE Declarations by publishing them as individual articles in our open-access journal, Parks Stewardship Forum. PSF is co-published by GWS and the University of California, Berkeley, on the University of California’s eScholarship platform. Because PSF is open access, these important Declarations will be freely available to people everywhere. We will encourage academic analyses of the Declarations so that researchers can share their findings within the academic community and the broader public. We will also share Declarations on our website and develop outreach products (including stories and syntheses) to highlight the importance of government service, non-profits, and academia in place-based conservation. With the permission of RISE Declaration submitters, we will also explore outreach through social media. In all cases, RISE Declaration submitters will be given the opportunity to review and approve any proposed edits and a page proof of their Declaration before it is published.

 

Key points to keep in mind

• We are looking to share your insights, accomplishments, and experience. We are not looking to publish critiques of the current administration.

• We expect contributors to be truthful, respect privacy laws, and avoid language that could be considered libelous.

• We understand that many RISEs may wish to remain anonymous, for any number of reasons. If you choose to publish anonymously, you will also need to decide what level of detail you are comfortable providing about your career and experiences. If you have concerns about anonymity, you are welcome to answer only those questions you feel comfortable with. You could, for example, not mention the name(s) of the organization(s) you worked for, or you could remain silent about the exact positions you held. But be aware that some people who know you might be able to deduce who you are. The bottom line is: if you feel that doing a RISE Declaration might leave you vulnerable in any way, we recommend that you don’t participate.

• All RISE Declarations will undergo standard copyediting protocols (for clarity, grammar, punctuation, etc.), but we will not publish your Declaration until you have had the chance to review and approve any proposed edits, as well as a final page proof.

• We would like to share some RISE Declarations via social media to put faces and personal stories to the critical roles that you have played in government, non-profits and academia. If you are comfortable sharing your story publicly on social media, please check the box on the submission form and we will work with you on posts that can be shared through the GWS Facebook and/or LinkedIn accounts.

 

Questions?

Contact the GWS Rise Team at rise@georgewright.org.