HomeMy WebLinkAboutStatement of Interest and Qualifications_Francesca Pine-RodriguezTO: Bozeman City Commission
FROM: Francesca Pine-Rodriguez
DATE: September 28, 2020
SUBJECT: Vacancy on Bozeman City Commission
Greetings,
My name is Francesca Pine-Rodriguez, I am Apsaalooke (Crow) and Tsitsistas (Northern
Cheyenne) from South Eastern Montana. I am excited to be invited and considered for the
position of Bozeman City Commissioner.
I was born in Crow Agency and raised between the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservations
and Billings, Montana. My wonderful husband, Joaquin Small-Rodriguez, and I have an 18-year-
old daughter who attends Bozeman Public High School. She has been in the Bozeman Public
Schools the majority of her young life and will be graduating in Spring 2021.
I have been watching this city grow and thrive since I first officially made Bozeman my primary
residence in 2006 to continue my higher education at Montana State University. As an MSU
Alumni, I bleed blue and gold and love to watch Bobcat football. I have graduated with a
bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies, with an emphasis on public policy. I am now slowly
working on a Master’s in Public Administration at MSU.
I am employed by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors as a Program Associate for an indigenous
women’s leadership program called Spirit Aligned Leadership Program. Having always loved
Bozeman, I feel fortunate that my career has blossomed here. My office is downtown, above
the Montana Gift Corral.
Since Covid-19, my travel schedule is cancelled, and my tasks have moved into a less rigorous
work routine. This new routine has given me time to pursue my passions and dedicate more
time for professional development.
I am particularly interested in contributing to Bozeman city government and I offer a stable and
balanced perspective that could be helpful. I bring a deep-seated commitment to this area and
have strong relationships with local public schools, working parents, diverse local community
members, and Montana State University. I believe that I would be the first indigenous person
to serve on the Bozeman City Commission and this would be an honor that I’d take very
seriously.
I value transparency and innovative problem solving. Our world is ever evolving, and we are
carving out a new way of working and living during Covid-19, one that I am embracing. My
personal strengths include strong public speaking skills while being a respectful listener. I’m
also a team player, with no desire to micro-manage.
I’ve been working for three years as a Program Associate for Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
This is exciting work with indigenous women elders throughout the United States and Canada
to design educational projects for future generations. Our goal is to identify and share
indigenous knowledge to meet today’s global contemporary challenges.
Prior to this, I worked for Montana State University, as the Graduate Program Coordinator of
Native American Studies and Program Manager of American Indian/Alaska Native Student
Success Services.
I appreciate the diverse responsibilities of leadership. I credit my grandmother with instilling
my sense of leadership obligation. I’m an alumnus of the Montana Policy Institute’s Leadership
Seminar Series, Class of 2013. I have personal experience in channeling a community’s negative
frustrations into something meaningful. For example, in 2016, I helped to organize a broad-
based community network to officially establish Indigenous Peoples Day in the City of Bozeman.
Lasting relationships resulted from this inclusivity work.
In closing, I am an active member of the City of Bozeman and serve on the Bozeman Public
School’s Native American Parent Group. I serve as a board member of The Montana Racial
Equity Project and Indigenous Peoples Day Montana. For the past five years, I’ve been a
consultant for Mountain Time Arts and am a forever friend of the Extreme History Project.
Including diverse voices in planning, public safety and other responsibilities of the city
commission is crucial and is just good governance. I look forward to adding my perspective and
voice to our City Leadership.
Warm regards,
Francesca Pine-Rodriguez