Cate Bradley / Board member

I feel aligned with the mission and focus of swnmACT on many fronts. My art is nature appreciation, most specifically the US southwest. As a retired Landscape Architect with the National Park Service, my attention is drawn to observe the slow but constant changes to ecology, landform, habitat and, of course, the light, colors and textures of each season. Art helps a community express itself, get to know itself and nature heals. I will support the on-going, diverse and captivating regional art expressions as a swnmACT Board member. Culture means a lot to me. My origin story rides on the coattails and courage of my grandmother who immigrated to Boston in 1916 from Ireland at the age of 16, alone. It took me decades to understand the significance of my heritage and the Irish diaspora story – all the pain, pride and adaptation required to become yourself in a new place and new culture. I want to help swnmACT draw out and make known the rich regional multi-cultural stories of Grant County, to celebrate who we are and why each of us matters. Tourism, to me, is the vast act of seeking the welcome and stories of places to which we travel. Within that welcome and storytelling is the human and cultural connection that feeds the soul and reminds us of our oneness with all. Through my service to the swnmACT mission, I intend to create avenues for locals and visitors to explore, romanticize and enjoy the various and compound dimensions and curiosities of Grant Count. On a personal level, I teach the Yoga Teacher Training program at WNMU, I swim, hike, walk, read and hold optimism for the day when peace is the common agreement.