(Re)Introducing Putsata Reang, Hedgebrook’s new Alumnae Impact & Engagement Officer
(Above) Putsata giving her parents a tour on the land. Photo by Lisa Siders Kenney. (Below) Putsata and her "Ma" in front of Waterfall cottage. Photo by Todd Sperry.
Exactly ten years ago this month, I arrived at Hedgebrook with a bag of books, a stack of yellow-colored grid notebooks, a MacBook desktop, and a notion that I might have something to say that someone else might like to read. I was a journalist, not a writer, or so I told myself. But, as with a lot of Hedgebrook residents, you come to Hedgebrook one way and leave changed. I came as a journalist and left not only with a new identity as a writer, but more crucially, as a Hedgebrook alumna, instantly inducted into a sisterhood of Hedgebrook’s 2,000+ Writers in Residence Alumnae.
I dreamed about returning to the land that so gently held me when I wrestled onto the page a flotsam of heartbreaking truths that became the bones of my memoir. I never imagined that the way I’d come back would be as Hedgebrook’s new Alumnae Impact & Engagement Officer. I’m thrilled to take on this role as a connector between alumnae, Hedgebrook, and the stories we share.
As Hedgebrook moves quickly towards its 40th anniversary, now is a natural time to pause, reflect, and carry forward lessons into our next 40 years and beyond. Our history is rooted in the writers who built fires and poetry and plot lines in one of our six cottages. These women are part of Hedgebrook’s DNA and a defining feature of founder Nancy Nordoff’s pay-it-forward ethos to raise up women’s voices. We are—individually—powerful women; multiplied, we are an even greater force for change.
Central to my job will be understanding and communicating our collective influence as an undeniable voice in shaping communities and culture. I’ll use a combination of archival materials, electronic data, interviews, and direct engagement with alumnae to connect the dots between when you were on the land, your experiences in residence, and notable updates since your time here. Our aim is to gather and analyze this data to gain a better view of the richness, diversity, and strength of our alumnae network. In doing so, we can better understand the impact of Hedgebrook over forty years to better see the cumulative effects of Nancy's mission to help amplify women' s voices.
Many of you have kept in touch (thank you!), and we’d love to hear from more of you. Watch for a survey in the coming months where you can share what you’ve been up to since your stay at Hedgebrook. I’d also like to personally welcome you to visit the land during Hedgebrook’s annual Open House on Sunday, September 27, for a special meet-and-greet alumnae reunion. And feel free to drop me a note any time or share your update Alumnae News form.
Hedgebrook—and the memoir I started in Waterfall cottage—changed my life. I learned an important lesson in 2016 on those wooded acres on Whidbey Island: rest is writing. This lesson remains foundational to my creative process in every endeavor, and the fact that my Hedgebrook story is not exceptional speaks to the hard work and dedication of the Hedgebrook team and the environment of radical hospitality they create.
I am very excited for the opportunity to serve as your Alumnae Impact & Engagement Officer. We know that our alumnae have built and continue to build better worlds. Now we have the capacity to capture all the ways you are doing so and to celebrate the worlds you dream into being, today and 40 years from now.