As the executive director of Fishline, I have a front row seat to the affordability crisis impacting all of us. Whether it’s higher costs for food, a lack of affordable housing, rising medical costs or the price of gas; we all know that these are challenging times.
How do you lead when there is so much adversity in the world we live in?
For me, it is all about our values. At Fishline we have six core values that we aspire to: collaboration, compassion, integrity, innovation, resiliency, and commitment. Each one helps guide our decisions and how we show up each day to serve our community.
Valuing collaboration is more than just working together as Team Fishline. It means recognizing that we cannot do this work alone. We must engage with other organizations to meet the needs of our community. It means looking for ways to work with others to improve efficiency and allow more resources to go directly to those we serve. It also means we work with those in need to better understand their situation and come up with solutions together. Only by working together will we begin to dismantle the systemic issues that prevent us from thriving.
We approach our work with compassion. When someone new comes to Fishline for service, we recognize that it is extremely difficult to ask for help, especially the first time. That is why it is so important to approach the work with compassion. By seeing each person as an individual and each situation as unique, we uphold the dignity that we all have and deserve.
Integrity means doing what we say we will do. It shapes how we show up for our community each day, grounded in service and support, and guides how we responsibly steward our resources to create conditions for people to thrive. At Fishline, we don’t just state that we value integrity—we demonstrate it by publishing our financial information on our website and conducting an external audit each year. This transparency helps our community feel confident that their support is used as intended to serve our neighbors.
Integrity also motivates me to try new things, celebrate what works, and learn from what doesn’t so we can continually improve.
We have a culture of constant improvement and that is why innovation is one of our core values. By constantly asking how we can do better, we are able to create dynamic solutions to better respond to our community’s needs. That is what is driving us to partner with the Great Peninsula Conservancy to grow fresh produce on two acres at the Petersen
Farm. And to bring a mobile food market into neighborhoods that might otherwise struggle to access our free food market.
The need for our services is growing at an increasing rate. More people that never needed us are coming to us for assistance. When you meet people who are working hard but it is not enough, it can wear you down. That is where resiliency comes in. We show up each day to serve our community because we are resilient. We support one another in service to our community so that when you need us, we will be there.
Finally, our sixth core value is commitment. We are committed to serving our community; no matter what. Next year marks Fishline’s 60th anniversary. We are busy planning for the next 60 years because we know how important it is that we continue to serve the community for as long as it takes. We have been here and we will continue to be here because we want everyone to thrive.
Whether you are someone who utilizes our services or someone who supports our mission, know that Team Fishline leads with our values of collaboration, compassion, integrity, innovation, resiliency, and commitment.
If you or someone you know needs assistance, Fishline is here to provide for basic needs in extraordinary ways. Our Free Food Market is open to all Monday – Saturday from 10:00 – 5:00. To meet with a navigator and learn about other services, please visit our website: www.fishlinehelps.org or call us at 360-779-5190.
