“I felt like I knew so many people around me and really got to invest in the community when I was in rural Minnesota“
Erica Bjelland is a board member here at 100 Rural Women. She joined 100 Rural Women while living in Brainerd, MN and working for the Region Five Development Commission. Erica has since moved to Boulder County, CO and works on land use projects.
We are excited to feature her through our Spotlight Profiles and for our community to get to know one of the incredible women making the decisions for our organization.
Tell us about yourself!
Thanks for having me, this is so fun. My name is Erica Bjelland and until a few months ago, I was living in Brainerd, Minnesota. My partner and I recently moved to Boulder County, Colorado.
In Brainerd, I was working for the Region 5 Development Commission. I loved it; It’s a great place. I was doing a lot of community engagement and energy and environment work there. Now, I’m working with the county on land use projects in Boulder. So, it’s been a change. I’m still working in rural places and the wider county but it’s definitely a different type of rural work here than what I was doing in Minnesota.
How did you get involved with 100 Rural Women?
I first got involved with 100 Rural Women when I met Teresa Kittridge, the founder, at an event in the Brainerd area. She pitched the idea to me and one of the other board members, Rachel Juritsch. We started a leadership exchange in the Brainerd area, which was really fun. So, I’ve been involved ever since and have loved to see how this whole idea has evolved and gotten to involve a lot more people.
Tell us about the Leadership Exchange project!
Yeah! It was really fun. So, we reached out to a bunch of different women that we knew in the area. Some were younger women maybe just starting their careers and some were women that are big leaders in the community. The idea was for there to be an exchange between someone who’s been in the workforce longer and had more experience with a person that was newer to the workforce. So, not just like a traditional mentorship like, “I’m going to give you all of the information I know.” But rather that they can learn from each other. So, each person was paired with someone else and then they met together. We also had some bigger group meetings. We actually started that in January or February of 2020 so, it evolved very quickly into something else. Which was great. And a new challenge in itself.
What drives you to want to work for rural and in rural communities?
I kind of think it just happened to me. I grew up in a small town in Iowa. I went to school near Fargo, North Dakota, Right out of school I started working in Bacchus, Minnesota. So, my first job out of school was in rural and then from there, it’s just kind of kept going.
What I’ve really enjoyed about working in rural places is that it seems like people are ready to go try new things. I think it’s because people know each other and know whom they’re working with. Sometimes it’s just like, “Well, yeah let’s try that.” Instead of overthinking it.
I also love that connection to community. I felt like I knew so many people around me and really got to invest in the community when I was in rural Minnesota. Now, I’m in a new place to start over and try to make those connections. It’s difficult but it’s also fun because there are so many eclectic rural places that are so different from each other but so close in proximity. And I found that here as well.
Can you tell us about a time that you were discouraged and how you overcame it?
First, I’ll share about moving to a new rural area. I think it’s always hard to insert yourself into a new place where people know each other so well. Rural has people with really deep roots in places. So that is the new challenge of figuring out where you belong in the community and everything.
Something that comes up when I think I was discouraged and overcame is actually related to 100 Rural Women. Right at the beginning of the pandemic, it was still a relatively new organization. We had been doing this Leadership Exchange in person and had plans to do a bunch of other meetings in person. Then, we had to quickly adapt and be like, “How are we going to connect with people?” and “Will it be as meaningful?” That connection was the whole goal. As everyone kind of found out, if you’re intentional about it, you can still make good connections and have it be effective.
I really love the way 100 Rural Women approached it. For example, leaving time for informal conversation and one-on-one connection as part of bigger meetings. It also reduced barriers of travel, which is a big issue in a lot of rural places.
Who is someone that has been an inspiration to you?
I feel like I could list so many people that have been inspirations to me. Almost all of them are related to 100 Rural Women. My previous boss, Cheryl Hills, was a really big inspiration. She’s been involved with 100 Rural Women. Teresa Kittridge, founder of 100 Rural Women, is an inspiration. I’ve had some previous bosses and coworkers too and I’m having trouble picking just one person. All of them together had something unique that really impacted me. As a young person in a rural place, I was able to try new things which was really cool. I don’t think that’s always the case in a bigger city where there are more people and it’s harder to move up the ladder. Take the Leadership Exchange, for example. We didn’t really know what we were doing but Teresa supported us along the way that’s been my experience with almost all the leaders I’ve had in that Brainerd area in general.
If you could give one piece of advice to your former self, what would it be and why?
It would be to just keep trying new things, even if it seems scary and unknown. You don’t have to always go for them, but do try a lot of the things that make you scared. Because they ended up not really being that scary. I had a lot of doubt going into so many things and then found out that there were always people around me to support me, answer questions that I had, and that wanted to see me succeed.
So yeah, I would say just keep going for it. Try to find the connections and the people along the way that really want to see you succeed, and then… you will! most likely!
