Welcome Makayla Tedder!

Hello ACRES Community! I’m excited and honored to be your new communications manager.  With over six years of experience in communications and graphic design, I’m eager to learn more about, and share with our members and community, ACRES impactful work.

In a world where being human sometimes feels like an extreme sport, nature’s been a consistent source of grounding for my life. Some of my happiest memories are climbing high branches of trees as I grew up in Fort Wayne, listening to the wind whisper as it passes through creaking limbs, and watching critters as they spent their day foraging. Recently I’ve been exploring the woods with my sketchbook to draw the wildlife I see around me; in these moments, I feel most at peace.

Although I’ve always felt connected to outdoor life, it wasn’t until 2020 that I devoted much of my time to researching what is happening to our environment. From the information I gathered, I felt a deep calling to work towards sustaining our environment for future generations of humans and other species. I’ve witnessed and met many people like me who want to work towards helping our planet and exploring its natural beauty but don’t know how or where in the Midwest. I’m excited to explore creative ways of sharing the many opportunities ACRES provides for people to practice their passion for nature.

One skill I’m eager to use comes from my experience as an online personality with my greyhound, Cheese (together we are Mak and Cheese). I created my own brand, connecting people from all over the world to engage with one another and create a community that helped fund different charities important to me. I look forward to bringing my social media knowledge to ACRES and hope to connect with a variety of people in the online community. 

I have much to learn and am confident my curiosity will fuel my continuing to grow and connect with everyone I meet. I’m blown away by members of ACRES and their passion and commitment to environmental work–to the many reasons ACRES work is important to them. It’s an honor to work for an organization that carries the legacy of protecting land. Forever.