C o m m u n i t y   S e r v i c e

A well-known wilderness activist once said Jim was the best grassroots organizer he had ever met. Jim Olsen has succeeded in advocacy campaigns that have changed his community and state for the better, working on the leading edge of movements that often do not have majority support and bringing them to a point where the community accepts them and sometimes embraces them. 

• I was asked to be on the board of Supporters for an Abuse Free Environment (S.A.F.E.) just as it was about to transition from an all-volunteer, women-helping-women group. The organization grew to become the leading domestic abuse organization in the state, providing both crisis intervention and long-term transition services and housing. The mission is embraced by elected officials of all political parties and the local justice system. 

• Went on to provide the infrastructure for a home-like setting for forensic interviews of child victims of crime — the best in the state — Emma’s House.

• Working with a clinical social worker, developed a business plan and advocated a community-based mental health crisis center for the county, interacting with people with mental illness, their providers, and the justice system to create a humane, effective process for dealing with crisis events. When on to provide an Internet Café that was a place for high-functioning people with mental illness to interact with members of the general community staffed with high-functioning people with mental illness in a safe, HIPAA compliant environment.

• A prime mover and spokesperson for promoting improved bio-safety and Rocky Mountain Laboratories, a BSL-4 lab of NIAID. Organized litigation and reached a settlement for enhanced safety, community engagement, and transparency.

• Forest and Wildlands. Succeeded in bringing marginalized groups in controversial subjects for wildlands and endangered species protection to be seen as a necessary part of the dialog. These campaigns reached to Congress and national campaigns. These involved grassroots organizing, comments to environmental impact statements that provided the technical and legal framework for possible litigation, press work, organizing town meetings, demonstrations, coalition building, and, in some cases, litigation. 

• Subdivisions and planning. Participated in, and sometimes organized, local campaigns to question subdivisions, and water and septic permits. Serve with a state-level coalition to help craft and influence state legislation.

• Pesticides. A principal in a campaign to get the county to provide notice of roadside pesticide spraying and allow local landowners to opt-out if they do their own weed control.

• Highway expansion. A principle in a campaign that led to improvements in safety for the expansion of Highway 93 from two lanes to four lanes and improved public participation and a valley-wide bike path. This led to a request for assistance by a group in Ketchum, Idaho, and an invitation to a regional tribal highway conference in Rapid City, South Dakota. 

• Housing Insecurity and Homelessness. Participated in the local housing insecurity coalition on occasion. 

• Air and water polluting industry. Worked with Missoula groups working to bring a cardboard factory to account. 

 

The important thing in these campaigns is that Jim was never alone — he is a coalition builder, bringing in multiple organizations to work on a common interest. He works across political and ideological divides using non-violent activism practices inspired by and informed by Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi and Reverend Marin Luther King, Jr., and their writings. 

 

While Jim has run as a Democrat, been a delegate to the state convention, and been on the Montana State Democrat Executive Committee, when he taught a course on grassroots activism at the Bitterroot College, the local Republican Central Committee paid the tuition for two of their members to attend.

 

One of the originators of the Yellow T-Shirt campaign in the Jon Tester 2006 Senate Campaign.

 

Jim Olsen has always been a volunteer activist and has never been paid.

 

C u r r e n t  A c t i v i t i e s

Completion of a three-year book project:

This book is rooted thoroughly in 2,500 citations, 500 from peer-reviewed science. A narrative set in Ravalli County and national responses to COVID, COVID WARS a true story from both sides examines the successes and failures of the United States in all dimensions, research, mandates, public health institutions, and politic in a non-fiction narrative. The Republican chair of the Ravalli County Health Board and County Commissioner has reviewed the book, saying Jim “Nailed it.”

 

Also, a Dog Point of View, nonanthropomorphic, Middle Grade to Adult, Hazel's Great Adventure. 

 

I Ching of the Thousand Doors by James R. Olsen is published. Further, Jim works in collaboration with this sister, Valerie Anderson, for a series of non-fiction books, and has provided extensive research for Pearl Harbor’s Final Warning and Money Eater: Bernard Otto Kuehn: A True Story about A Pearl Harbor Spy. Our mother was a high school senior in Honolulu on December 7, 1941.

 

P r o f e s s i o n a l   E x p e r i e n c e             

Business Owner and Entrepreneur.                                                                 2000 to 2017

Jim Olsen owned and managed Human Interactive Products, Inc. The company is dedicated to both profitable operations and social good. 

·      Native Plant Restoration and Nursery (Trade Name: Great Bear Restoration),

·      Commercial Real Estate and Management,

·      Consulting for Large Scale Engineering Developments in Program Management.

·      Competitive Strategy and Proposal Manager of pursuits large and.

Raytheon                                                                                            1982 to 2000

Business Development and Program Support (Half-Time) – 1992 - 2000

Developed win strategies, conducted teaming negotiations, led proposal teams, demonstrations, senior review teams, and proposal authoring for several new business opportunities. 

    Data Acquisition Directorate. (Full Time) – 1982 - 1992

    Director of a $500 million per year profit center. Prior to that, Jim Olsen engaged in engineering and program management with increasing responsibilities for large-scale engineering development defense and air traffic control programs.

United States Air Force, Captain                                                                    1970 to 1982

Cobra Judy Deputy Program Manager  (Shipborne Intel. Data Collection)

Cobra Dane 14th Air Force Test Team (Intelligence Long Range Sensor)

AN/FPS-85 Software and Systems (Spacetrack, Missile Early Warning)

 

Non-Professional Work                                                                                         1963 to 1969

Paid for College and lived on the economy – while take a full engineering load at college

     Residential Fences and House Painting Partnership with a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer.

    Valley Lumber– Full time.  Truck driver, forklift, retail and wholesale sales, and minor woodshop.

    Lipkin’s Lumber– ¾ time. Truck driver, forklift, prehung doors, lock keying, glass, lumber yard management and grading, retail and wholesale sales, and minor woodshop.

    Naval Air Station Commissary – ½- ¾ time.  Grocery bagger. 

    Fry cook and server in a Dairy Queen.

    Day labor, hiring hall.   

 

C o m m e r c i a l   P r o d u c t   D e v e l o p m e n t

Help Yourself To Natural Health Organized 20 professionals to create a multimedia, reference, 

which because of advances in the Internet bandwidth never came to market.                                          1995 to 1997

Letter Drop: Developed a word game. Licensed to Centron Software.                                             1990 to 1995

Bridge Scoring Calculator (Patented):  Endorsed by Charles Goren and licensed to Tri Sigma.   1977 to 1984

 

E d u c a t i o n

University of Florida       MS Industrial and Systems Engineering.                                            1975

University of California at Berkeley  BS Electrical Engineering & Computer Science           1969

Del Mar College  AS Engineering                                                                                               1966

Other Education: Conservation Activist Training (Sponsored by Patagonia)                              

                             Advanced Management Course, Harbridge House (Sponsored by Raytheon)

                             Squadron Officers School, Air War College, US Air Force

                             Candidate Training (League of Conservation Voters)