Music, the Outdoors, and the Human Experience: Meet our Development Coordinator, Ian

Meet one of our newest team members—Ian Kerr-Mace.

A native of the Capital Region, Ian has lived in several places round the state before returning to make Rensselaer County, and PTNY, his home. With a background in historic preservation and restoration, Ian has spent more than a decade in arts administration and advocacy, and brings six years of campaign and event management experience to PTNY. His love of nature and the outdoors expresses itself through cycling, soccer, and (very) amateur gardening. In his “spare” time, he is an active multi-genre musician, and has recording and performance credits throughout the United States.

We sat down with Ian to learn more about his music, his interests, and what he likes most about working at PTNY.

Q: What drew you to work in the non-profit fundraising world?

Ian: Not to sound corny, but it kind of chose me. When I started working in the non-profit world, I was lucky to have the choice between pursuing marketing or development (fundraising).I dabbled in both for a while, but I found development far more rewarding.

I had always thought I was an introvert, but I love the human interaction aspect of development work. It’s really rewarding getting to know the people who support your organization. It’s exciting to learn about what people are passionate about, what they care about, what they support… not just what makes them able to give, but WHY they give.

I love the relationship-building aspect of development work. It’s beautiful creating and fostering those relationships.

Q: So we understand why you chose the development field but what led you to work protecting New York’s public lands?

Ian: Put briefly, I love New York’s outdoors.

I have been the fortunate beneficiary of a lot of incredible experiences in NY’s public lands. I was introduced to hiking in summer camps and I had the opportunity to enjoy parks and trails close to my high school. I grew up adventuring on local trails, and I love to explore new trails, as well as old ones.

When I lived in Buffalo Letchworth State Park was close, and that was an amazing resource to have. In the Capital Region, I am a devotee of Thacher State Park. I also got to see the incredible impact of public green space on communities while working on the Canalside project in Buffalo. It was amazing to see the impact on a community when a parking lot is turned into a vibrant waterfront area. That was my first experience in working on public lands and realizing the transformational benefits access, awareness, and a sense of community ownership for public green spaces can have... and how it can really impact the human experience.

Q: You’re a classically-trained musician with degrees in music theory and performance. How does that fit with working to support the environment?

Ian: Honestly, for me, it’s all about relationship building through the enjoyment of a public good.

Music, at its best, creates an immersive experience for someone in the moment. I love watching that experience take someone and change their evening. Watching people interact with public green spaces is really similar… you see people in the moment, interacting with the space they are in an immersed and engaged way.

Also, both music and the outdoors are generally pretty accessible—things that we have built into the fabric of our communities in most places. There are so many options and versions—chamber music to funk, the Erie Canalway Trail to a local park—and they can all create experiences full of beauty and a depth of emotion, a magical experience. They both really unite folks for in a shared public experience that is also so beautifully individual.

Q: You’ve been with PTNY for about a month now; what’s one of your favorite things about our work you’ve discovered?

Ian: I’ve been really amazed by the work that we do in around cycling advocacy and awareness. Prior to joining the team, I was like “they do a bike thing here and there. ”Now I’m like, “wow, we do A LOT.” Thanks to joining Parks & Trails New York, I’ve kind of rediscovered my love of biking as a hobby versus purely for exercise. PTNY has so much to support NYS cyclist: we have guidebooks, maps, trail itineraries, all right here.

I mean, honestly, overall I’m amazed at just how much a team of 10 gets done. There is so much that goes into advocating and caring for public green spaces. Stuff that a lot of folks don’t know about. Definitely more than I knew prior to joining the team!

Q: What’s something you’re excited about working on at PTNY?

Ian: I’m excited about continuing to grow the Park & Trail Champions Program (Park & Trail Champions are PTNY supporters who give monthly).We just finished an online-only campaign to build this group, and support for the organization. It’s amazing to see the responses and know that, through those folks’ monthly gifts, we’ll be able to keep doing all the work to ensure our public green spaces are the best they can be.

Q: Tell us a little about your history (and present!) as a gigging musician. What’s one of the wildest shows you’ve played and why?

Ian: One of the most fun gigs I’ve ever played was in Buffalo in 2017. At the time I was playing drums in a New Orleans style brass band and we opened for the Rebirth Brass Band at a sold out venue. At the end of the show, we got to play some songs with them on stage—19 people on the tiny stage all together!

It was some of the most beautiful, chaotic, amazing music I’ve been a part of. I was out in the audience with my snare drum and my cymbal playing and dancing. That was an amazing experience, probably the coolest gig I’ve ever done