Bold Nebraska is proud to announce Linda Anderson as our new State Director.
Linda will carry the work of Bold Nebraska forward as the entire Bold family continues to grow in rural states across the country. Amy Schaffer, the previous Bold leader will continue to take a stand to protect the Sandhills and Ogallala Aquifer as she transitions into other opportunities and focuses on being a mom.
The Bold states of Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma and Louisiana — and a growing number of Regional Pipeline Fighters — are all possible because of the work Bold Nebraska did to model what a “small but mighty” group can do in a “red and rural” state. All of these states and regions make up the Bold Alliance.
My work as President of the Bold Alliance is now focused on developing, with other allied national and regional groups, a “Fighter and Protector Hub” for all pipeline fighters, fractivists, oil train fighters and water protectors. Much of my attention in the coming years with the new Fighter and Protector Hub is about creating an unlikely alliance to end eminent domain for private gain.
In Nebraska, our work relies on the dedication of loyal Bold supporters across our state. Linda is the perfect person to take our fights to the next level in order to protect our land and water.
Linda is a long-time activist who got her organizing start at the age of 16 at her high school. Her love of politics and activism was fueled by voracious reading about activists she admired, like Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Omaha native Malcolm X, Gloria Steinem and many more, as well as being glued to CSPAN coverage of our government.
Linda has served her community since childhood, first volunteering with her mother at the Good Neighbor Center, and has been a La Leche League Leader and breastfeeding and natural birth advocate, as well as a volunteer at Foodnet for over 16 years. Linda has worked on campaigns for issues relating to the opposition of the death penalty, and is a big proponent of healthcare for all, clean water, clean air, clean energy development, affordable college tuition for students (as her daughter will be going to college in 4 short years), family farms, eating locally, and legalizing hemp production.
Linda volunteered for nearly two years at the helm of the Nebraskans for Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign, bringing the state to a victory in the presidential preference primary. She is now the chair of the volunteer-based group Progressive Nebraska, which is carrying out grassroots politics.
At Bold Nebraska, Linda hopes to use her talents and passion to organize Nebraskans in another fight against the Keystone XL pipeline, as well as Bold’s other core work to protect our land, water and climate.
Amy Schaffer and I both pass the Bold bullhorn to Linda. We hope she gets cowboy boots soon, and we leave the closing words to her, as both Amy and I transition to new roles in our mission to protect the land and water:
“I want to acknowledge the brave women who have come before me in this fight and paved the way for progressives and populists to have a strong voice in our state,” said Bold Nebraska state director Linda Anderson. “Jane Kleeb is a fearless fighter whom I relate to on many levels. She is unrelenting, but not without compassion for those without a voice in our society. Jane fights for the rights of those individuals and seeks justice in places when there isn’t much to be found. Amy Schaffer is a kind and warm individual, whose empathy and ability to listen rivals that of the most calm spirits. Her quiet strength is something to be admired and sought. Both of these women are true heroes and have my deep respect as I carry on their legacies in the work of Bold Nebraska.”
