Each week we feature “Meet the Staff Mondays” to help our viewers (and even our own staff members) learn more about the folks who work behind the scenes, out in the community, at locations around the state, and in front of the cameras here at Idaho Public Television. Today we introduce one of our newest employees, Education Specialist Lenea Pierzchanowski.
IdahoPTV’s Carol Beres sat down with Lenea to learn more about what she does as a member of the education team serving the northern part of the Gem State. Lenea describes her job as “sharing the resources that Idaho Public Television and PBS Kids have to the folks up here in northern Idaho. Mostly, what I am doing right now is building relationships and building connections.” She says that the focus of her job right now is conducting a Community Assets and Needs Assessment (CANA) for the Ready to Learn grant that the Idaho Public Television education department received. Lenea adds, “It’s a lot of building connections and asking questions in rural areas about what kind of resources they have, and what they might like to do within the community to enhance learning for children to provide them with a better step up.”
To reach one of those rural communities, Lenea made a trip to a town called Elk River. “I was given directions that the library was at the end of the road. So, I drove to Elk River and literally, at the end of Highway 8, you look to your right and there is the library,” Lenea laughs. “It was literally at the end of the road. When I met the librarian, she was so excited that I had taken the time and that I had even thought of her library, let alone come out to see her, due to being what she called ‘geographically isolated and snowbound.’ She told me that the road that they have [that connects them to] a town called Orofino, where their designated hospital and supplies are, they cannot get to for a large part of the year. So, they drive all the way to Moscow [about two to two and a half hours round trip] for resources. There are a lot of northern Idaho towns that are like that.”
Lenea is a longtime Idaho resident who was born in Germany. “My dad is a native Idahoan; my mom is from California. He was Idaho’s first conscientious objector; when he was drafted he was sent to Germany, which is how I was born there,” she says. “I have lived most of my life in Moscow. Then I married a navy guy from Long Island, and we traveled the world. When we had our first child, we decided we wanted to raise our kids here, so we came back. We have lived here now for 20 years.” Lenea may well be the most educated person at Idaho Public Television: she earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Idaho (family and consumer sciences) and has since earned a master’s (human relations through the University of Oklahoma Overseas) and a doctorate (health psychology at Walden University). “My dissertation was on the motivation of rural volunteers, because I have this belief that if we can build a volunteer workforce, communities could strengthen themselves due to the pride they’d have in helping and giving back to their own communities.”
Lenea feels strongly about the lifelong learning and connecting communities mission of Idaho Public Television. “I like working for nonprofits. That is where my heart is. I am called to give service,” she says. “I am very eclectic, and I like traveling around. I thought it [the job] would be a wonderful way to get to know northern Idaho. I did not realize that there had not been an education department rep in North Idaho for years, so that is exciting.” Lenea is also excited to work with IdahoPTV/PBS Kids because she and Sesame Street were born in the same year. She is looking forward to a new show called Work It Out Wombats! “We are doing a screening of it at our local theater, the Kenworthy, and I am excited that Kari Wardle, our education department manager, is coming up to help me out with it.”
In her downtime, Lenea keeps busy with a lot of pets at home, scrapbooking, reading and binge-watching shows. And in the snacking realm, she prefers an unusual flavor. “I like black licorice. I especially like black licorice ice cream, but it is hard to find. I also like dark chocolate and coconut (fresh or flakes).” Lenea prefers the quieter parts of the rivers and lakes of the Gem State.