To Get the Job Done: Hotshot Wildland Firefighter Amanda Monthei

Meet Amanda Monthei, a hotshot wildland firefighter and creative who has made it her mission to empower women and all qualified firefighters to know there is space for them in wildland firefighting. We spoke to Amanda about her path to fighting fires as well as her project “The Women Before Me” that celebrates the women of the Zig Zag hotshot crew, the legacies they humbly left behind, and the qualities they brought to the US Forest Service.

In this episode, we learn how the common traits women bring to the firefighting field are important and why it’s valuable to have those traits in any typically male-dominant field. Amanda wants more women to be wildland firefighters, as well to do other outdoor work like trail building or outdoor management. She encourages them by showcasing the impact and lives of the women who have paved the way for her and asking others to be open to alternative career paths.

Featured in this episode: Amanda Monthei

Hosted & Produced by Gale Straub

A production of Ravel Media

Sponsored by Sierra Designs, South Dakota Tourism, and Better Help

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In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How Amanda got from Michigan to the Pacific Northwest to become a wildland firefighter.
• What a hotshot firefighter is and what the job entails.
• How women bring a unique and important perspective to the group dynamic of a crew.
• About the legacy other female firefighters have left Amanda to carry on and why she wants to honor them.
• How Amanda’s “The Women Before Me” project came about and how she came to pursue it.
• Why everyone should believe they belong in the jobs they might not see themselves in yet.
• The value of feeling companionship while breaking barriers.

Resources

• Amanda Monthei’s Website
• Amanda Monthei’s Instagram
• “The Women Before Me”
• Outdoor And Travel Work: Instagram & Website
• Getting Started in Outdoor & Travel Work: Guide
• She Explores Landing Page
• Ravel Media

Sponsors and Discount Codes

• Sierra Designs: Learn about their Reach Out Initiative.
• SheJumps: Find out more about what they do to empower girls and women in the outdoors
• Travel South Dakota - Get your FREE South Dakota vacation guide at travelsouthdakota.com
• Better Help - Get 10% off your first month by heading to Betterhelp.com/explore using the code EXPLORE

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