Sierra Jobs First Shindig takes Place in Sonora

Sierra Jobs First Stakeholders Gather in Sonora, Highlighting the Impacts of Rural Investment and Regional Collaboration

Sierra Jobs First stakeholders and Catalyst projects from across the seven-county Jobs First region gathered Friday, August 21st, in Sonora for a day of in-person updates and collaboration at the second annual Shindig. Last year’s Shindig was held in Mono County, highlighting the important lift of convening both East and West slopes of the Sierra to create a community-led, climate-forward, and inclusive financial future for our region.

Organized by Sierra Jobs First Industry Sector Coordinators at MLTPA and hosted by Motherlode Job Training, the day kicked off with networking and updates, followed by an afternoon of touring local Catalyst projects including a visit to Mariposa Arts Council’s Re-Vamp creative reuse store, Sierra Sourced,  and the Sierra Compost program at Suchumumu Farm.

The day ended with the opening of the final leg of the travelling art exhibition From Here to There at the Chakachi-no Learning Center in Jamestown, presented by Sierra Seven Arts Alliance, a Catalyst-funded project that brings together arts organizations from across the Sierra Jobs First region, and which visited all counties in the region. 

In the opening remarks of the first show of the exhibition series, Naomi Hart Johnson stated that the goal of the exhibition was to bring the stories of our region to life through art and collectively problem-solve the challenges rural communities face in accessing resources. Sierra Jobs First on the whole has been a demonstration of exactly that– putting $9M in development funding in the hands of the community to collectively problem-solve across healthcare, recreation and tourism, working lands, energy resilience, workforce development, and infrastructure.

Sierra Jobs First was originally expected to end in September; however, program administrators at Go-BIZ have extended that window through May 2027 for qualifying projects. Keep an eye on the Sierra Jobs First website to hear more about collective program impacts as they become available.