Sustainability coordinator starts new role in Fairfield

FAIRFIELD — Fairfield has a new sustainability coordinator.

Pathfinders Resource Conservation & Development announced that Rachel Hillier had accepted the position, and began her duties on Monday, July 18. The position was created by Pathfinders RC&D with seed money from the City of Fairfield and Maharishi International University, and in collaboration with the Southeast Iowa Sierra Club.

The Southeast Iowa Sierra Club issued a news release stating that 40 resumes were received for the position, and that 14 candidates were interviewed.

“From several highly qualified finalists, Rachel emerged as the best match for the Fairfield community,” the news release stated.

Hillier’s position has been funded for three years, with donations coming from 56 businesses and individuals. Hillier will be working closely with the Resilient Iowa Communities program of the University of Northern Iowa “to move our community forward toward greater resilience, flexibility, and quality of life,” stated the Southeast Iowa Sierra Club.

Margaret Dwyer, co-chair of the Southeast Iowa Sierra Club’s Executive Committee, said the sustainability coordinator’s job will include providing expertise and advice on innovations in sustainability and pursuing partnerships needed to implement them.

“Adapting our community to the realities of more frequent and more extreme weather events cannot wait for state or federal solutions; we need increased self-reliance and resilience now,” Dwyer said. “The top-notch people in our roads department, engineering, waste management, and city planning areas already have full time jobs. To ask them to take a ‘timeout’ to research and integrate all the latest eco-developments without some guidance would be unfair.”

Dwyer said Hillier was chosen for the job because of her work in food security projects, renewable energy initiatives, and community organizing, just to name a few.

“We expect this position and the collaboration that brought it about to yield significant tangible, practical, measurable benefits to the community,” Dwyer said. “If it does, we think commitment to its continuation will be strong.”

Fairfield has not had a sustainability coordinator since Scott Timm held the position from 2010-15. Timm’s position was funded partly by the city and partly by Iowa State University Extension.

Rachel’s background

Hillier grew up in Pleasant Valley, Iowa, and attended the University of Iowa, where she obtained degrees in Political Science, Asian Languages and Literature. Soon after graduating college, she joined the Peace Corps, which sent her to the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific.

“Two years of subsistence living as a Peace Corps volunteer meant I had to gather my own food from my garden, the jungle and the ocean,” she said. “I had wonderful local guides and friends who showed me where and when to harvest. Most importantly, I learned the seasonal nature of food harvesting and how to sustain ‘wild’ crops so they would keep providing for me and the community.”

Hillier said that, in Solomon Islands’ culture, the most generous and productive members of society held the highest status.

“I took that knowledge home and applied it to nearly every aspect of my life,” she said. “I always grow a garden, restore native habitat when it’s under my control, practice reciprocity, and live as respectfully as possible.”

Micro farm

Upon moving back to the states, Hillier made her home in New Mexico, where she lived for more than 20 years. While there, she ran what she calls a “micro/urban farm.” She restored depleted and compacted soil on her irrigated property, which attracted crickets and later frogs, hawks and songbirds.

“At that time, I realized my desert soil had developed enough life to sustain cash crops like tomatoes, peppers, squash, and herbs,” she said. “My restoration efforts increased the land’s abundance and inspired me to share what I had learned with others.”

Hillier put one-third of her acre into intensive crop production, and thus began her micro farm, supplying food to local restaurants.

Renewable energy

Hillier has worked extensively in the renewable energy sector. She joined her first startup solar company in 2010. She studied the development of renewable energy business and policy in California and Hawaii to anticipate market opportunities and challenges the company might face as the industry grew.

Later, she became president and then the executive director for the nonprofit trade organization the Renewable Energy Industry Association in New Mexico.

“I spent most of my time negotiating with businesses, policymakers, legislators, NGOs and utility companies to create more business opportunities for local solar companies,” she said.

Move to Fairfield

Hillier said she attended a visitor’s weekend at MIU, but it wasn’t until she heard a presentation from former Mayor Ed Malloy in 2020 that convinced her Fairfield should be her new home.

“He boasted about Fairfield's sustainability projects, vibrant entrepreneurship, and suggested Fairfield should be considered the best place to live in America,” Hillier recalled. “The energy in Fairfield felt unique and welcoming. Since then, I have met an openhearted community open to possibility.”

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com