Friends of Rio Vista distributes bimonthly bulletins via email and publishes key information from these bulletins here. To start receiving our bulletins, sign up here.
In this issue, we focus on volunteers: the diverse and dedicated individuals who make Friends of Rio Vista’s work possible. We introduce the many roles that volunteers play in park conservation, highlight one of our board members, and mourn the loss of a much-loved supporter.
Friends of Rio Vista Volunteers: A Force of Nature
Volunteers are the power behind Friends of Rio Vista’s work for science-based conservation at the park. Our organization has no paid staff. As a nonprofit, Friends is fortunate to have many individuals who contribute, pro bono, their wide-ranging skills (in biology and in many other fields). Here’s an overview of the many roles played by our outstanding volunteers:
Board members: Members of the Friends of Rio Vista board of directors guide the strategic direction, policies, and projects of the organization and collaborate directly with the Tucson Parks and Recreation Department. They also provide financial oversight, play a central role in fundraising, and evaluate the effectiveness of programs and initiatives. But board members also push up their sleeves to work on the ground at the park and to carry out the day-to-day needs of a nonprofit.
Advisors: Conservation advisors support the board of directors by donating their expertise in key areas of conservation ecology, like the natural history of desert organisms and ecosystem processes. Organizational advisors provide guidance in important functional areas, like administration, governance, communications, and education/outreach.
Coordinators/managers: Coordinators and managers work directly with the board and other volunteers to accomplish Friends of Rio Vista’s conservation goals. Our website manager designed the site and keeps it current. Coordinators will manage volunteers, oversee events, and handle administrative tasks, among other contributions.
Project leads: Project leads work with the board and other key volunteers to design and manage conservation projects based on sound scientific principles. They also recruit, train, and inspire the program volunteers who carry out these projects.
Program volunteers: Program volunteers take on many tasks in the field and beyond: watering and weeding the plants in our Paths to Habitat plot, recording and removing invasive plants through our Rio Vista Weed Watchers project, leading birding trips for Tucson Bird Alliance in the park, and much more. We even have volunteers who donate the precious rainwater from their cistern to keep the Paths to Habitat plants thriving.
In addition to these wonderful volunteers, Friends of Rio Vista is deeply grateful to our donors, partners, and mentors, as well as the participants in our March 2025 planning workshops, who were generous with their time, knowledge, and creativity. We are also indebted to our attorney, Melissa (Mimi) Noshay-Petro of Udall Law Firm, LLP, and to our accountant, Cindy Beving of Beving Books, LLC, for their generous commitment to our mission.
Stay tuned for information about new volunteer opportunities!
We always welcome new volunteers — please email us at friendsofriovistanrp@gmail.com if you’d like to join our efforts. And please stay tuned: we’re recruiting for two coordinator positions (volunteer/pro bono) and will post details soon!
Spotlight on Board Member Jeff Anderson: Standing up for Public Parks and “What We All Have in Common”
Friends of Rio Vista is fortunate to count Jeff Anderson as a member of our board of directors. Jeff retired in 2018 from the Portland Parks Foundation, where he served as Executive Director and led successful fundraising efforts for public parks. The centerpiece of his work was a $4 million bridge designed as both a practical safety measure and a public art installation, allowing users of a 30-mile trail in the city to cross over a busy urban arterial. Before his stint at the Parks Foundation, Jeff served in senior philanthropic and fundraising positions at The Oregon Community Foundation and Lewis & Clark College. His experience also includes community organizing, working with neighbors to improve health and safety, and increase local residents’ impact on decisions affecting them.
Jeff’s interest in Rio Vista stems both from his work and from his personal appreciation of the many facets of city parks — from playgrounds and sports fields to opportunities for family gatherings, outdoor education, or, simply, solitude. He sees public parks as our common ground — the shared places that literally make us healthier and happier. He notes that natural resource parks like Rio Vista have a special role in keeping cities sustainable and offering urban neighbors quick access to a natural landscape. Thank you, Jeff!
We Miss You, Malice: A Loss to the Rio Vista Community
All of us at Friends of Rio Vista were deeply saddened by the passing of Mary Alice (Malice) Keller, park neighbor and longtime conservation advocate. Malice gave her voice to protection of Rio Vista even before it became a natural resource park. During the evolution of the Rio Vista Conservation Project and its successor, Friends of Rio Vista, she contributed photographs of signage and wildlife, weather data, ideas for addressing threats to the park’s wild community, and nonstop encouragement. Malice also donated her skills as a graphic designer in creating Friends of Rio Vista’s logo. Memories of her good humor and no-nonsense observations will inspire Rio Vista supporters whenever we walk the paths through the park. We send heartfelt sympathy to her family.