LEAD Agency Capacity Building VISTA Summer Associate-AmeriCorps

 

 

Position Title:  Capacity Building Summer Associate – VISTA Summer Associate

Conservation Legacy Program: Stewards Individual Placement

Site Location:

LEAD Agency

223 A Street SE, Miami, OK 74354

Terms of Service:


* Start Date: 6/1/2026


* End Date: 8/9/2026


* AmeriCorps Slot Classification: 300 hours (Minimum-Time)

Purpose:


* Much of the poverty in Ottawa County relates to geographical isolation (no city or 4-year college within approx.

20 miles) and the consequences of legacy mining, both of which make Ottawa County unattractive to industry and business.

Lifting people out of poverty under these conditions is a long-term challenge that requires long-term goals.

Accordingly, the VISTA's work will often be foundational to later improvements to poverty.

This VISTA project will continue efforts to restore a healthier relationship with the natural world for area residents.

By engaging with the community and LEAD staff to build scientific knowledge and capacity, the VISTA will lay the first stones in a path we hope will foster a community that understand how to safely interact with their environment and better communicates this knowledge.

This VISTA project is premised on the belief that economic development and poverty reduction are directly tied to the extent to which local communities are personally invested in healing their local environment.


* It will help us understand how to use some specialized scientific equipment we've acquired over the last two years.

It will also spread that knowledge among volunteers who can continue the VISTA's work beyond this summer.


* Your work will focus on expanding our scientific capacity, infrastructure, knowledge, and procedures.

You'll design protocols and guides to help staff understand and properly use scientific testing and measurement equipment.

You'll help us develop a stream team of local volunteers.

You'll provide training, collect samples, and design and conduct research projects.

You'll also find and help us write (as time allows) grants to fund future work.

 
Description of Duties:

The Summer Associate will focus on capacity-building activities that produce internal planning resources, documentation tools, and community engagement materials.

Duties may include compiling labor market research summaries, developing workforce resource inventories, creating community asset maps, organizing environmental data sets, drafting partnership coordination frameworks, designing planning templates and resource guides, and assisting with public-facing informational workshops, outreach campaigns, or site observations.

Activities are designed to strengthen host organizations’ capacity, guide long-term workforce and environmental program development, provide tangible connections between planning tools and community needs, and support measurable outcomes in workforce access, environmental stewardship, and community engagement.

Your work will focus on expanding our s...