Diverse Environmental Leaders - Speakers Bureau

Diverse Environmental Leaders Speakers Bureau

Hear from world-changing diverse thinkers and innovators in the environmental community.

The Diverse Environmental Leaders (DEL) National Speakers Bureau represents Rock Stars of Conservation who have climbed Earth’s highest mountains and sailed her Seven Seas; leading authors, artists and scientists; policy, climate, energy and environmental justice experts; urban revitalization strategists; natural resource managers; outdoor recreation leaders and cultural ambassadors. DEL coalesces a wide range of talented and accomplished environmental professionals of color who can help shift the environmental conversation in America to become more inclusive and equitable at all levels.

OUR SPEAKERS

DEL coalesces a wide range of talented and accomplished environmental professionals of color who can help shift the environmental conversation in America to become more inclusive and equitable at all levels. Click on a speaker profile below to learn more.

Audrey Peterman

Audrey Peterman is Co-founder and President of Earthwise Productions. She is nationally renowned as an author and advocate for our National Park System since stumbling upon the system in 1995. Mrs. Peterman is widely recognized as a leader in efforts to expose the greatest diversity of Americans to these natural, cultural and historic treasures as a means of securing the future of parks and people. She speaks prolifically around the country on the benefits of our public lands and waters, and shares them widely through social media.

Her work has been recognized with multiple national honors including the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s Environmental Hero Award, 2000 and Black Meeting & Tourism Distinguished Service Award 2013. Mrs. Peterman has served on the boards of in multiple conservation-focused organizations including the National Parks Conservation Association (5 terms) the Association of Partners for Public Lands (2 terms) the National Parks Promotion Council (2 terms) and the Delaware North Parks and Resorts Advisory Board.

She is a founding member of community-focused grassroots organizations including South Florida Community Partners and Keeping It Wild, Atlanta. Mrs. Peterman and EPI were the impetus behind the famous conference, “Breaking the Color Barrier in the Great American Outdoors” 2009 which is widely credited as the spark that rekindled a nascent grassroots movement into a thriving entity today. Learn more about her work at www.earthwiseproductionsinc.com.

Majora Carter is an urban revitalization strategy consultant, real estate developer, and Peabody Award winning broadcaster. She is responsible for the creation & successful implementation of numerous green-infrastructure projects, policies, and job training & placement systems.

Majora’s field-tested experience and vision can improve workforce development strategies for corporate and government departments at the local, state and federal levels interested in diversifying their talent pipeline to maximize their return on investment towards job creation for climate adaptive land management in urban, suburban, ex-urban and rural areas. Real estate developers can gain market advantages by incorporating Majora’s sustainable economic development strategies into their projects.

After establishing Sustainable South Bronx and Green For All (among other organizations) to carry on that work, she built on this foundation with innovative ventures and insights into urban economic developments designed to help move Americans out of poverty.

Her long list of awards and honorary degrees include accolades from groups as diverse as Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, John Podesta’s Center for American Progress, Goldman Sachs, as well as a MacArthur “genius” Fellowship. Her 2006 TED talk was one of the first 6 videos to launch their groundbreaking website. Majora is a Board Member of the US Green Building Council, and the Andrew Goodman Foundation.

Majora embodies the American Dream. She has continually set new standards of excellence with projects in her South Bronx community, while expanding her reach nationally and internationally. Her philanthropic pursuits and business interests have all pointed toward greater self-esteem and economic potential for low-income people everywhere.

Follow her on twitter at @MajoraCarter and on facebook.com/majoracarter

With over 20 years of leadership, programming and coordination experience, along with a passion for the outdoors, Tarsha is spearheading a movement to ethnically diversify outdoor participation. After traveling across the United States, visiting national/state parks, camping, hiking, reading outdoor-industry reports and during nature walks, she has come to see the disparity between those that “look like” her and those that don’t, who are investing in and appreciating their outdoor spaces. This disparity fuels her interest to bridge the gap and or disconnect between the two.

Tarsha holds a Masters in Professional Communication from La Salle University and a Bachelors in Liberal Studies from Virginia Wesleyan College. She has spoken locally to groups in the Philadelphia area on topics of leadership, business success and is just beginning to make her voice heard on the topic of “people of color and their limited connection to outdoor spaces.” Her hope is that as people of color increase their participation in the outdoors that they will, in turn, increase their support of outdoor spaces for the sustainability of our environment. She is currently working with Let’s Go Outdoors’ co-founder (and twin sister), Keisha Scovens, on innovative outdoor programming that isn’t just a one-time experience, but spans over one’s lifetime, with family participation, creating a true connection to the outdoors – solving the issue of people of color not “connecting” with nature and/or outdoor spaces.

Tarsha lives in Cheltenham, PA with her husband and two daughters, ages one and three. Her dynamic energy, creative spirit, likeable demeanor and drive to connect the next generation of investors in the outdoors, makes her a vital up and coming speaker to the environmental and/or outdoor community.

James Edward Mills

James Edward Mills is a freelance journalist and an independent media producer. In a career that spans more than 20 years he specializes in telling stories about outdoor recreation, environmental conservation, acts of charitable giving and practices of sustainable living. Working in the outdoor industry since 1989 as a guide, outfitter, independent sales representative, writer and photographer his experience includes a broad range of expeditions that include mountaineering, rock climbing, backcountry skiing and kayaking.

James has written for several publications such as The Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Region Business Journal, Madison Magazine, Madison Sports Monthly and Wisconsin Trails. He currently is a contributor to several outdoor focused print and online publications, including: National Geographic Adventure, Rock & Ice, Alpinist, SUP Magazine, Paddle Sports Business, Sporting Goods Business, Elevation Outdoors, Women’s Adventure, WEND Magazine, The Clymb, High Country News and Roots Rated.

With skills in audio storytelling, James’ radio production credits include: the Wisconsin Public Radio, the Public Radio Exchange, American Public Media’s Marketplace, and the Public Radio International programs To The Best of Our Knowledge and The Tavis Smiley Show.

James lives in Madison, Wisconsin with his wife Shamane Mills and two lovable dogs, Reba and Bella.

Dorien Blythers

Dorien Paul Blythers was a student at Howard University in Washington, D.C. when he led student efforts resulting in the first university- wide recycling mandate in the institution’s 147-year history.

He joined the National Ocean’s Policy team at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) as an intern where he worked alongside former Arizona Governor and Interior Secretary, Bruce Babbitt. At EDF, Dorien laid the groundwork for a “Partnership for Environmental Leadership” with Howard University, the first initiative of its kind, and was publicly endorsed by former White House advisor, Van Jones.

In 2012, Dorien spearheaded President Obama’s reelection campaign in Riviera Beach, Florida. He continues to build at the intersection of environmental advocacy, diversity and outreach landing him opportunities with Congress, People for the American Way, The Outdoor Foundation, Sierra Club, U.S. Green Building Council and The White House.

Certified Architectural Drafter, James King plans to become a Sustainability Architect and an Environmental Activist. He currently demonstrates his passion for the environment by serving as the Chairman of Hiking and Outdoor Events for Keeping it Wild.

He is also a National Delegate of the Children and Nature Network, Ambassador of Outdoor Nation, National Park Service Fellow with Greening. Youth Foundation, Outreach Coordinator for Atlanta Mentorship Program for Sustainability, and is also a Youth Program Volunteer Specialist for Atlanta Watershed Alliance.

His great contributions to the environment have not gone unnoticed. In 2010, Mr. King was nominated as an Atlanta Cox Conserve Hero. He was also honored by Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) with the Community Service Award in 2011 for taking diverse families camping and providing stewardship at local, state, and national parks.

Keisha Scovens, M.S., co-founder of Let’s Go Outdoors and nationally certified Speech and Language Pathologist has been working with children and families for 15 years. Through consulting and coordinating programming for Let’s Go Outdoors, she is inspiring people to think differently about how to engage and maintain their own – and others’ – relationships with natural landscapes. Combined with her Pennsylvania Master naturalist certification (currently pursuing), she is a role-model for the African American community.

Growing up as an “inner-city” kid, Keisha was not raised being environmentally conscious, exploring nature in positive ways, or participating in outdoor recreation beyond the street, playground or backyard. All of this came later, as she was gradually exposed to more traditionally Caucasian-based outdoor activities through Girl Scouts, summer camp, and collegiate relationships. During Keisha’s international and national travels, she was able to visit many local, state, and national parks, but always noticed the lack of diversity in visitation and employment.

Consulting and collaborating with land trust organizations, state, and local parks, as well as neighborhood locations with green spaces, Keisha is changing the mentality surrounding nature-based play and outdoor recreation among people of color. With teaching people of color how to treat and interact positively with their environment, Let’s Go Outdoors believes we’re a step closer to global sustainability and increased interest in visiting natural landscapes. By opening doors for further exploration, learning options for education, and providing leadership by outdoor professionals, more people of color may be drawn to careers associated with outdoor recreation.

Loán Lake is a politically savvy marketing and communications expert, feature writer, and the Principal of Gobi Consulting, LLC, a marketing consultancy based in Maryland and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Her work in the U.S. Congress, media, non-profit organizations, tourism and hospitality, and as an entrepreneur, enables her to develop proactive strategies for brand messaging, public relations and marketing that engage her audiences for effective outcomes. Loán specializes in tourism marketing and development, multicultural marketing and diversity branding. She is also a 2009 inductee into the Temple University “Alumni Gallery of Success” for her accomplishments in tourism sales and marketing.

Angelou Ezeilo and her husband James are among our nation’s foremost experts in preparing young people from urban communities to become responsible environmental stewards. For close to a decade the Ezeilos’ non-profit Greening Youth Foundation has pioneered culturally-based programs that help youth make healthy lifestyle choices, including focusing on public land management agencies and the conservation sector as a source of employment and careers. Mrs. Ezeilo is an expert in the development, placement and retention of racially-diverse young people in the environmental sector. She serves on the National Park Service’s Centennial Advisory Board. Greening Youth Foundation has also been selected as one of the 21st Century Conservation Corps.

Mrs. Ezeilo’s love for the environment dates back to her childhood when she had the chance to escape the dense urban streets of Jersey City, New Jersey and spend summers in upstate New York with her family. Graduating from Spelman College in Atlanta, she pursued a Juris Doctorate in Law from the University of Florida, College of Law.

She began her career as an attorney for the New Jersey State Agriculture and Development Committee. Her environmental focus led her to a position as Project Manager for the Trust for Public Land (TPL) in its New Jersey and Georgia offices. In that capacity, she specialized in acquiring land for preservation, working on the New York/New Jersey Highlands Program; Parks for People-Newark; the New York/New Jersey Harbor Program in New Jersey; the Atlanta Beltline and the 20 County Regional Greenspace Initiative in Georgia.

Over years of immersion in this sector, Mrs. Ezeilo came to see the huge gap between the land being preserved and the paucity of efforts to engage citizens with those lands. She was particularly struck by the fact that young people were missing from the equation. This became her impetus for creating Greening Youth Foundation, providing environmental access to underserved children and young adults through its Public School Initiative and Youth Conservation Corps programs. Greening Youth provides services throughout the country and in West Africa.

Mrs. Ezeilo is widely recognized in the conservation and civil rights sectors and is part of the growing movement to connect racially diverse America with our publicly owned lands and the environment. She is a member of the National Center for Civil and Human Right’s Women in Solidarity Society and the South Fork Conservancy boards; an Advisory Board Member for the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area, The Million Mile Greenway, Inc., Keeping It Wild, Inc., and Outdoor Afro.

Mrs. Ezeilo and her husband live in Atlanta with their two sons Miles and Cole and their dog, Nina.

Dr. Carolyn Finney

Carolyn Finney, Ph.D. is a writer, performer and cultural geographer. As a professor in Environmental Science, Policy and Management at the College of Natural Resources at the University of California, Berkeley, she explores how issues of difference impact participation in decision-making processes designed to address environmental issues.

Although Carolyn pursed an acting career for eleven years, a backpacking trip around the world, a solo trip through East Africa, and living in Nepal changed the course of her life. Motivated by these experiences, she returned to school after a 15-year absence to complete a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. While working on her PhD at Clark University, Dr. Finney won both a Fulbright and Canon National Parks Science Scholar Fellowship.

Stefan Moss is an international environmental scientist and educator with a career in the field that spans almost twenty years. As a scientist, he has published papers on toxic chemicals in the environment including PCBs, flame retardants, and pesticides. He has worked in the public sector on UN-related projects in the Caribbean including the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. In the private sector, he parlayed his experience in ecotoxicology to work on environmental remediation projects in the United States for Fortune 500 companies such as Exxon Mobil and BP.

A gifted science communicator and public speaker, Stefan has held several academic appointments and currently lectures at Georgia State University. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Biology from Lee University, and a Master's degree in Environmental Science from the University of Tennessee.

Carolyn Hartfield

Carolyn Hartfield is a self-styled late bloomer, baby boomer who is seasoned and savoring in the spices of life! She teaches others to live their life to the fullest, through outreach and engagement in lively and fun outdoor activities. The activities include, but not limited to; hiking, bicycling, camping, zip lining, kayaking, spelunking, hang gliding, traveling, sailing, and much more.

All of this enjoyment while nourishing the mind, body and spirit in a natural and pure way, resulting in clarity of mind, improved physical fitness, and oneness with nature.

Frank Peterman, Sr. served as Southeast Regional Director of the Wilderness Society 2003-2010, during which time he managed the office and the campaign to protect wilderness areas. His priorities were to connect the public with the federal lands and serve as a liaison to the Congressional Black Caucus. His innovative approach included the development of the non-profit Keeping It Wild which organized educational and recreational visits to the parks and forests, culminating in an Annual Gala which brought members of Congress together with their constituents in a social setting. The organization was cited “Best New Environmental Program” by Earth Share of Georgia. Mr. Peterman brings years of experience and insight in community organization, environmental concerns, community perceptions, politics, policy, and effective communications. He worked successfully with Congress and conservation organizations to get National Park Designation for Ocmulgee National Monument, and to protect wilderness areas in the North Georgia Mountains. A lifelong nature lover, he recently completed his semi-autobiographical novel, South Florida Son, centered on his youthful experiences related to the breach of the Everglades ecosystem and the development of the Civil Rights movement. A skilled negotiator, manages the Bureau’s business affairs while also serving as a speaker.

Irela Bagué is an experienced bilingual (Spanish and English) public affairs consultant and Principal for The Bagué Group, a full service consulting firm with more than 20 years of experience in Florida representing business development, public infrastructure, water and waste water resources, natural systems restoration, sustainable “green” initiatives, public involvement services, market research and government affairs.

In 2003, Irela was appointed to the South Florida Water Management District Board by Governor Jeb Bush, where she held the position of Board Vice-Chair until April 2007. She was responsible for spearheading policies in the areas of water resources development and regulation, flood control, water quality protection and natural systems restoration primarily with a focus on the restoration of America’s Everglades.

As a former state-appointed official, Irela has earned the respect of clients and policy makers alike. She is known for her in-depth understanding of the political process and for her critical insight and clear and straightforward communications style making her a credible and engaging spokesperson.

Irela has been an advocate of natural systems restoration, water resources and diversity in the environment having provided key testimony on behalf of the State of Florida to the United States House of Representatives Sub-Committee on Water & Power. She served as Chair of the Miami River Commission and was instrumental in gaining public support for the multi-million dollar dredging project to deepen the channel for larger vessels to help increase Miami’s marine and shipping economy.

Her career highlights include working for National Audubon Society’s Florida State Office as the State’s Public Affairs Coordinator managing outreach campaigns to promote support for Everglades restoration.

Irela currently serves on the National Parks Conservation Association’s Regional Council and Chairs the Sustainability, Environment & Energy Committee of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. She is a frequent contributor to The Miami Herald and is often featured in both Spanish and English-language broadcast media throughout South Florida.

Evonne Blythers

Evonne Blythers is the Director of the Edge of Night Camping Club (ENCC) and Environmental Education Coordinator for the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance where she helps youth experience nature at the Atlanta Outdoor Activity Center. As Founder and Director of ENCC she has been a very strong advocate in getting families outdoors. Evonne formed Edge of Night in 1994 after returning from a family camping trip and realizing the family had broken all the rules of the campground. Edge of Night has been featured in an episode of Georgia Outdoors and participates annually in the Great American Backyard
Campout.

In 2009, Evonne was a finalist for the Cox Conserves Heroes and a nominee for East Metro Atlanta Citizen of the Year. An administrative assistant by profession, she has worked for Zoo Atlanta and Georgia Aquarium, and serves on the board of the Keeping It Wild Program since 2006. Evonne has visited all of the 65 Georgia State Parks and Historic sites and has been a Girl Scout Leader since 2001.

Krishel Augustine

Krishel Augustine, “Miss Teen Navajo 2013-14,” is an ambassador and role model for other young people in her Navajo culture and in the wider world. With Navajo being her first language, the millennial leader easily bridges the gap between her Native Nation and the general public. A singer and songwriter, she uses her talents to augment her presentations and is featured on the National Park Service “Songs for Junior Rangers” CD.

Krishel represents a voice seldom heard in urban areas – Native, millennial, knowledgeable and engaged with national parks. Krischel spent hundreds of volunteer hours working in the areas of interpretation, resource management and fee management at Saguaro National Park in Tucson, AZ. She currently resides in the splendor of Grand Canyon.

Attorney Stacey Evans is a recognized animal welfare leader and expert in policy issues impacting animal health, the human-canine bond, and the conservation and management of canine wildlife. Her advocacy has helped pass laws that reduce animal cruelty, help prevent pet overpopulation, protect pets and working dogs from domestic violence, prohibit people convicted of animal cruelty from owning or possessing animals and improve protection of canine wildlife.

An adventurer who has driven dog teams of Alaskan huskies, Siberian huskies, Canadian Eskimo dogs, and other types of sled dogs in the U.S. and Canada, she enjoys the outdoors snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, hiking, and raising her American Eskimo rescue dog.
Attorney Evans’ dedication to the welfare of animals is reflected in the fact that she represents those interests on the United States Department of Agriculture Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Animal Health; is a representative of Project Coyote; a board member of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and a Vice-Chair of the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section’s Animal Law Committee. Prior to those roles, Stacey chaired the Maryland State Bar Association Animal Law Section.

She has extensive experience educating organizations, legislators, and audiences about laws, legislation, policy, and issues impacting animals in the United States and beyond. She is a frequent speaker at animal law and policy related conferences such as the No More Homeless Pets Conference, classes, and special events including the U.S. Police Canine Association, Region 3 awards banquet. She is a frequent contributor to radio and television shows discussing animal law, legislation, and policy related issues.

The founder and CEO of Humane Strategies Benefit LLC – a business empowering nonprofits, scientists, and veterinarians to advocate effectively to promote animal health, the human-canine bond, and sound wildlife management, with a focus on dogs and wild canids – Attorney Evans graduated from George Mason University and Tulane University Law School.

Sid Wilson’s 2013 induction into the Denver Colorado Travel Industry Hall of Fame affirms his position as a leader in the tourism industry in the South West. The owner/operator of A Private Guide, Inc., providing group tour and event transportation products and services has invested more than 20 years servicing the vast corporate, convention, reunion and meeting trade in Denver and Colorado. He has creatively expanded his business to serve the African American sector by creating heritage tours highlighting the contributions of their forbears in the exploration and development of the American West as explorers, fur traders, miners, cowboys, and in the military.

Wilson’s love for travel and the great outdoors date back to his youth. He fondly remembers navigating Brooklyn’s tidal creeks, causeways, salt marshes, jetties, and isolated beaches with his dad in their 16-foot aluminum skiff in search of the best fishing holes. Moving to Denver, he embraced Colorado’s Western heritage and culture and took advantage of the opportunities afforded by the state’s dynamic tourism industry.

Mr. Wilson leverages his relationships with his hospitality industry suppliers to assist in developing and providing materials for the tour guides he trains and employs. He collaborates with entities such as the Black American West Museum; Visit Denver; the Colorado Historical Society; Colorado State Parks; the National Park Service, and the International Guide Academy.

Educating the public on the role of people of color in Colorado’s history is very important to Mr. Wilson. Focusing on African American family reunions, meetings, youth programs, and conventions, he has developed very successful Heritage Tour itineraries highlighting the contributions of Colorado’s pioneering African Americans in exploration, the fur trade, mining, ranching, and the military, while providing outdoor recreation options for the more adventurous. He specializes in the flexibility to go the extra mile to accommodate those few clients in a group who may want to do something off beat such as visiting “Scotty with the Hot Sauce.” Providing that special personal touch makes his tour products and service a unique experience.

Sid Wilson and A Private Guide, Inc. will help you highlight the desirability of your destination to multiple markets, and bring interested patrons to you.

Dr. Nina Roberts

Dr. Nina Roberts is an outdoors woman who has hiked and camped in national parks, forests and wildlife refuges from coast to coast for close to 30 years. The depth of her engagement with our natural resources is matched only by her immersion in the management, policies and social trends affecting the public lands. As a woman with a bi-racial heritage who is passionate about the outdoors, Dr. Roberts specializes in experiential learning, and is a model of the behavior you want to promote.

A native New Yorker, Dr. Roberts grew up with multiculturalism as part of her DNA. The second oldest of four, her parents were interracially married in the 1950s when such acts of love were illegal in many states across the country. Dr. Roberts takes great pride in her unique ethnic mix (White/U.K., East Indian, and West Indian/St. Lucia) and has traveled coast-to-coast speaking about cultural diversity in relation to parks and protected areas.

Dr. Roberts fell in love with the outdoors as a teenager and made her work a lifetime practice of immersion. She has served as program director, adventure guide and park manager. Besides visiting more than 200 units of the National Park System, she has spent time in the back country in scores of forests and explored many wildlife refuges.

Associate professor in the Department of Recreation, Parks, & Tourism at San Francisco State University, Dr. Roberts is a Fulbright Scholar and experiential educator whose cultural research has been vital to both public land managers and community partners. She is a leader in the movement to connect urban-based communities with their parks and other public lands.

Dr. Roberts is renowned in her field, her enthusiasm and advanced knowledge of public lands being highly regarded in communities of color, in the academic and non-profit sectors, and among policymakers.

Her areas of focus and training include: Understanding demographic shifts and population trends; Positive Youth Development (including urban youth, single-gender programs/girls outdoors); Community engagement and outreach strategies for reaching new audiences; Recruitment and retention of diverse employees and Cultural competency training and staff development.

Dr. Roberts has received more than a score of distinguished awards such as Servant Leader; Master Practitioner; Martin Luther King, Jr., Scholarship; and academic notoriety at SF State including the Environmental Studies Program Faculty Award; and nomination for the Faculty Community Service Learning Award.

Her perspectives on diversity, national parks and the use of public lands have been widely shared on CNN.com, Boston Globe, L.A. Times, NBC News Bay Area, New America Media, The New York Times, and Public Radio International. She has also interviewed with WildeBeat (the audio journal about wilderness), and The Allegheny Front environmental radio for western PA about “Welcoming Minorities to State Parks.” She is featured in the landmark book Black and Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places and is well published, including numerous journal articles and book chapters about social and environmental justice, women/girls outdoors, youth leadership, and her multiracial identity.

Fred Tutman serves as a grassroots community advocate for clean water in Maryland’s longest and deepest intrastate waterway and holds the title of Patuxent Riverkeeper. He also lives and works on an active farm located near the Patuxent that has been in his family’s ancestral home for nearly a century. Before founding the Patuxent Riverkeeper organization, Fred spent nearly 30 years working as a media producer and consultant on assignments all over the globe, including a long stint working with and advising traditional healers in West Africa. After late life sojourn into law school, Fred now teaches an adjunct course in Environmental Law and Policy at St. Mary’s College of MD. In his spare time he does trail maintenance on the Appalachian Trail when not exploring the Patuxent River by kayak. He was honored as a Washington Magazine Annual Eco-Hero in 2009; is a recipient of the Bernie Fowler Sneaker Award (State of MD), the Mike Maloney Award (Sierra Club) and the Jug Bay Award (Friends of Jug Bay). He is among the longest serving Waterkeepers in the Chesapeake region and the only African-American Waterkeeper in the nation.

Celinda Peña is a communications and public engagement professional, as well as an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years covering local and network television news in Washington D.C., Florida and Texas.

From September of 2009 to May of 2014, she worked as Assistant Director of Communications and Advisor to the Director for the National Park Service. There, she was responsible for creating and fostering new strategic partnerships for outreach to diverse audiences and increasing overall awareness of national parks. Celinda developed new models for outreach with national Latino organizations such as LULAC, NCLR, CHCI and national park partners and created education-based programs in national parks, which are now serving more than 1,000 minority youth leaders annually.

Celinda oversaw the National Park Service’s American Latino Heritage Initiative and coordinated the agency outreach efforts to Members of Congress, stakeholders and local communities. As part of the community outreach, she developed and coordinated local summits highlighting Latino heritage and historic preservation in Los Angeles and San Antonio. Celinda also organized the 2011 White House Summit on American Latino Heritage at the Department of the Interior and served as mistress of ceremonies.

Additionally, Celinda worked with corporations serving national parks, such as Forever Resorts, Eastern National and Guest Services, to negotiate sponsorships of minority engagement and outreach activities. She also led the partnership with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and coordinated high profile naturalization ceremonies with Cabinet Secretaries and media coverage in national parks.

Previously, she was Director of Public Relations for Maya Advertising in Washington, D.C. She is currently Principal of Mira Mediaworks, a minority, women-owned video production and strategic communications company.

During her career as a broadcast journalist, Celinda covered events ranging from the 9-11 attack on the Pentagon, the 2002 Beltway Sniper Attacks, and focused on areas of education and immigration.

Celinda enjoys hiking and camping with her family, especially in national and state parks. She is a proficient writer, producer and reporter and is often asked to speak on panels, and act as host or emcee for events.

Marcelo speaks and writes passionately about his broad vision of diversifying the environmental movement to audiences around the U.S. In 2005, he founded the Environmental Professionals of Color and the Center for Diversity & the Environment, where he works with leaders and environmental institutions to effectively include diversity, equity, and inclusion in the foundation of their work.

Marcelo is a Green 2.0 Advisory Board Member, a member of the Diverse Environmental Leaders Speakers Bureau, Environmental Leadership Program Senior Fellow and a TogetherGreen Conservation Fellow. His work has been featured in The New York Times, High Country News, The Oregonian, Prism Magazine, Colors NW, Sustainlane.com, Saving Land Magazine, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education Magazine, Sustainable Industries Magazine and other publications. He has has delivered more than 70 talks, including keynote speeches at the International Congress for Conservation Biology, Association of Partners for Public Lands Partnership Convention, Portland State University, and Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Annual Conference.

Marcelo previously worked on biodiversity conservation, land use, and policy issues for numerous organizations, including: Defenders of Wildlife, the National Park Service, and Massachusetts Audubon Society. Marcelo received his Master’s Degree from Tufts University and Bachelor’s Degree from Yale University. In 2008, he co-wrote with Charles Jordan a visionary article, titled “Diversifying the American Environmental Movement.” He is a published author in the book, Diversity and the Future of the U.S. Environmental Movement, the Land Trust Alliance’s Special 25th Anniversary Issue, Grist Magazine, and the journal, Conservation Biology.

Marcelo’s inspiration in making the world a better place lies in his two daughters Stella and Kyra. Their laughter, joy, honesty and multi-racial make-up provide him with hope that the world can and will be a better and more inclusive place by the time they are adults. For more information visit www.jediheart.com.

Download JEDIHeart recent report here: https://www.jediheart.com/transforming-a-movement

Dr. Lauret Savoy

Writer, teacher, geologist, photographer, and pilot, Lauret Savoy, Ph.D., is also a woman of mixed African-, Native-, and Euro-American heritage. Through explorations of her ancestry and her academic pursuits, she unearths the nuclei of connections that enable people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds to bond with the land.

Dr. Savoy’s ties to nature and the outdoors were solidified when she was a young child experiencing racism in the turbulent 1960s and 1970s. She learned then that, whether it was a river named Potomac or a canyon called Grand, the American land did not hate.

As a professor of Environmental Studies and Geology at Mount Holyoke College, she explores how braided strands of human history and Earth history contribute to the stories people tell of the land’s past as well as to the identities we form. Sand and stone are Earth’s memory, and Dr. Savoy’s work speaks to how each of us, too, is a landscape inscribed by memory. To live in this country is to be marked by residues of its still unfolding history, residues of silence and displacement across generations. Dr. Savoy offers how to search for and discover these marks, reconciling what it means to inhabit terrains of memory—and to be one. This work and much of her life draw from questioning how to put the eroded world into language, how to re-member—or piece together—fragmented pasts into the present.

Dr. Savoy’s experiences come alive in evocative prose in her writings, including her forthcoming book Trace (Counterpoint Press, 2015). In The Colors of Nature: Culture, Identity, and the Natural World (Milkweed Editions, 2011), provocative essays explore the intersections of cultural identity and ecological awareness. The book features original work from more than thirty contributors of color, including Jamaica Kincaid, Joseph Bruchac, Yusef Komunyakaa, Nikky Finney, Kimiko Hahn, Robin Wall Kimmerer, bell hooks, Gary Nabhan, and Francisco X. Alarcón, among others. Booklist called the volume an “unprecedented and invaluable collection of forthright and bracing essays by writers of ‘diverse cultural origins and disciplinary backgrounds’” that weave diverse experiences of place to create a larger and more textured cloth than the largely monochromatic tradition of American nature writing or of the mainstream environmental movement.

Dr. Savoy also edited Bedrock: Writers on the Wonders of Geology (Trinity University Press, 2006), which the Wall Street Journal picked as one of its five best science books, and co-authored Living with the Changing California Coast (University of California Press, 2005). She worked with the University Press of New England to re-issue Alien Land (E. P. Dutton, 1949), the long out-of-print novel on “Negro passing” written by her late father Willard Wilson Savoy.

Dr. Savoy has directed Mount Holyoke College’s Center for the Environment, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the National Parks Conservation Association. She also served on the board of directors of the Center for Whole Communities and Hitchcock Center for the Environment.

Dr. Mamie Parker

Mamie Parker’s mother was a sharecropper and an avid angler who had high aspirations for her daughter, naming her after a First Lady of the United States. Mamie not only became intrigued with her mother’s fishing hobby, she pursued it professionally to the extent where she became one of the highest ranking officials in the management and protection of our nation’s fish and wildlife resources. In a career spanning more than 30-years in the federal government, Dr. Parker served as the Head of Fisheries and the Assistant Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, helping manage a budget of over $250 million and providing budgetary leadership and policy guidance to over 2400 employees throughout the nation.

With formidable expertise in every aspect of management including science, policy, budget and management, today Dr. Parker focuses on coaching executives about natural resource issues and how to expand the diversity of Americans engaged with public lands.

Early degrees in wildlife and fisheries biology launched Dr. Parker’s career as a fish health practitioner at the Genoa National Fish Hatchery in Wisconsin. She worked in multiple fisheries across the state before joining the Section 404 program and the Partners for Wildlife Program out of Columbia, Missouri where she helped private landowners improve wildlife habitat. Dr. Parker served as the Deputy Geographic Assistant Regional Director, and Deputy Assistant Regional Director of Fisheries at the US FWS Southeast Regional Office in Atlanta, where she supervised Ecological Services, Fisheries offices and National Wildlife Refuges in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. She served as Special Assistant in the Director’s Office in Washington, DC providing expert advice and analysis on national policies.

Her intimate knowledge of the natural resource arena includes serving as Deputy Regional Director and eventually the Regional Director for the 13-state Northeast Region, and as the Assistant Director of Fisheries and Habitat Conservation based in Washington, DC. In the ultimate recognition of her dedication and expertise, she was chosen Assistant Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Dr. Parker’s is a strong negotiator whose expertise is reflected in the success that she and her staff had in getting pharmaceutical companies, WalMart and PetSmart to print labels on plastic bags to help consumers protect our nation’s waters from invasive species. During her tenure as Regional Director, biologists under her leadership listed the Atlantic salmon as an endangered species. She was designated the authorized official for the negotiations with General Electric Corporation to clean up the Hudson River and challenge mountaintop mining activities in West Virginia.
Her leadership and expertise in programs such as the national fish hatcheries, wetland restoration, and protection, national wetlands and coastal mapping, contaminants, invasive species, national wildlife refuges, marine mammals, land acquisition, law enforcement have been recognized by many leading conservation, professional and civic organizations. The Wildlife Society presented her the Annual Award and the Wilderness Society placed her picture on their Wall of Pioneers in Conservation. She was inducted into the Arkansas Hall of Fame for her accomplishment as the first Arkansas native to rise to the position of the Head of Fisheries in this country

Ms. Parker was the recipient of a fellowship awarded by The Council of World Women Leaders, under the leadership of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and women prime ministers, through the Aspen Institute. She is a current or former member of organizations including the Board of Directors of the National Wildlife Refuge Association, Defenders of Wildlife; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc; US Against Alzheimer’s; Junior League of America; and the Chesapeake Conservancy. She serves on the Executive Board of the Rotary Club, the Environmental Leadership Program, and the Reston Chapter of the Links, Inc.

Dr. Parker attended the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Tennessee Tech University and the University of Wisconsin.

Nia Eshu Martin Robinson

Nia Eshu Martin-Robinson describes herself as “a sassy, femme-tellectual, queer, Black woman from Detroit.” An incredible speaker, Nia has been a strong advocate for Environmental Justice since 2001. She began her work with Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice and joined the Service Employees International Union. From 2006-2011, she served as Director of the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative where she worked to bring the voices of people of color, Indigenous Peoples and low-income communities to the debate on a state, federal and international level.

While in leadership, she co-authored the report, “A Climate of Change: African Americans, Global Warming and a Just Climate Policy in the U.S.” The report examined the intersection of climate change with race and class (including vulnerability to disasters, health disparities, and unemployment) and included recommendations for taking action.

In March of 2012, Nia served as the inaugural Social Justice Policy Practitioner-in-Residence for the Five College Public Policy Initiative, serving five colleges of Western Massachusetts. During her residency, in her capacity as an expert in race, reproductive and environmental justice she delivered public lectures on both climate and reproductive justice; convened and organized a teach-in on race and the environment and led skill-building sessions for student activists.

Currently, Nia is lending her skills and passion to the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign as a Senior Organizing Representative in Texas. In addition to working to close some of the most polluting coal-fired power plants in the country, she plays a major role in the Club’s diversity, equity, and inclusion work.

Nia is a proud HBCU graduate having served as the Activist in Residence at Bennett College for Women in Greensboro. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.A.&Sc. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Women’s Studies and Political Science and minors in Sociology and Global Studies.

Naomi Davis is an urban theorist, attorney, activist, and proud granddaughter of Mississippi sharecroppers. She is the founder and CEO of BIG: Blacks in Green™- a national green community economic development network launched in 2007 and based in Chicago. She is a pioneer and continuing innovator in empowering urban communities to choose green solutions for sustainable development.

Attorney Davis draws upon the strong heritage of her forbears to offer a course she calls Grannynomics/The Conservation Lifestyle™ and its emerging “urban homestead” mixed-use real estate developments. She authored and teaches The 8 Principles of Green-Village-Building™ – training activists and everyday neighbors to lead where they live in establishing “walkable-villages” within a “City of Villages” – where every household can walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play.

BIG’s first green-village-building pilot – in Chicago’s historic West Woodlawn – aims to restore the former framework of neighbor-owned businesses and neighbor-owned buildings as a local living economy, needed now more than ever as a greenhouse gas reduction strategy. She has taught Grannynomics ™ and Green-Village-Building™ as an open enrollment three-semester course at the University of Chicago/Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture, and in shorter formats – one week, full- and half-day workshops, as well as in one-hour and keynote lengths for schools, organizations, churches, and events across the country.

Attorney Davis is a Green For All Fellow and a certified teacher of the environmental literacy curriculum, Roots of Success. Her leadership of BIG™ has been recognized with Governor Quinn’s 2007 Environmental Hero Award; the 2008 Chicago Magazine Green Award; the 2009 Jewel ‐ Osco Environmental Stewardship Prize, and the 2010 Ebony Magazine Power100. In 2011 she served on Chicago’s Mayoral Transition Team for Energy, Environment, and Public Space, and was among 100 international thought leaders at Groupon’s First Annual Chicago Ideas Week. She received ComEd’s Power of One Community Heroes Award in 2014.

Attorney Davis maintains a strong connection to the pulse of her urban community and successful projects. She lives across the street from BIG’s first Sustainability Teaching Garden of their square-mile sustainability plan, “The West Woodlawn Botanic Garden & Village Farm Initiative.”

Jarid Manos is an American writer and activist, and a leader in re-connecting people and the land through story and labor. He works inside the edges where violence, health, people and Earth meet. His first book, Ghetto Plainsman [Temba House Press, 2010], received a $34,500 Arcus Foundation literary award to mount the national “Sharing the Journey” Tour. His second book, Her Blue Watered Streets: An American Novel, is nearing completion. In January 2014, he launched the two-year blog story Fear & Loving: Where the Ocean Meets the Streets, an online serial based in Florida and Texas relating urban life facing impending climate change.

Jarid is the Founder & CEO of the Great Plains Restoration Council (GPRC), based in Houston and Fort Worth, TX. Through tough, hands-on advocacy and nature-based work therapy, such as its programs Plains Youth InterACTION, Restoration Not Incarceration™, and Your Health Outdoors, GPRC has helped save the endangered Fort Worth Prairie Park, created Esteban Park in Houston, reintroduced a wild prairie dog ecosystem in Santa Fe County, NM, and more. In 2011, he was appointed to the Relevancy Committee by the Obama Administration, which through the National Park Service, worked to better connect diverse communities and National Parks with each other.

Jarid is a featured guest speaker at universities, jails, churches (and other places of faith), organizations, events, conferences, businesses, chambers of commerce, and schools nationwide. He has also has been featured internationally in broadcast, print and online media.

Naseem Rakha is an inspirational speaker, award-winning author and journalist and a naturalist who is passionate about the enjoyment and conservation of our public lands system. Her perspective is honed by life in Colorado, traveling extensively throughout the West pack backing, rafting, working on ranches, lecturing and bringing those experiences back to the public through NPR’s All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Marketplace Radio, Christian Science Monitor, and Living on Earth. Her novel, The Crying Tree, has earned numerous recognitions and has been published in 11 languages.

Ms. Rakha has an extensive portfolio as Artist/Writer in Residence including at the Grand Canyon, South Rim (2014); Hedgebrook (2013) and the Fetzer Institute (2010). Her speaking engagements include Ted X, “Remember to Live – ﬁnding the wild inside each one of us,” 2013; keynoting the Oregon Conservation Association on “The Colorado Crisis” and keynoting at the University of California, Davis,” Reading the Waters of Life.”

She served as an Environmental Mediator and Educator from 1992 to 1995 on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, Hanford Advisory Board, Warm Springs Reservation, Crooked River National Grasslands, Sawtooth National Recreation Area and Deseret Ranch. She has been an Adjunct Professor at Humboldt State University, 1994-1998 in the Natural Resource Department and Writing Instructor at Marlyhurst College, 1997-2000, Portland, Oregon.

Her repertoire includes serving in Natural Resource Management Education and Consultation at the Center for Holistic Resource Management in New Mexico; in Farm Crisis Response for the Illinois South Project during the 1980’s farm crisis and as a Park Interpreter for the US Army Corps of Engineers, Rend Lake.

Ms. Rakha has a BS in Geology from Southern Illinois University.

Carolyne Richardson Sutton

A Colorado-based nature photographer, Carolyne Richardson Sutton and her family lived in Michigan for 33 years before relocating to Colorado in 2012. Since she was introduced to the wonders of the great outdoors as cub master of her son’s Cub Scout pack in the 1990s, camping and hiking became an integral part of her family’s vacations. She added backpacking to her repertoire after joining Fresco Adventures on a backpack to the floor of the Grand Canyon in 2004.

Carolyne is an exemplary role model for women – and particularly women of color – in how to become competent and confident in the Great Outdoors. She has enjoyed outings with groups such as Step Outdoors, Balanced Rock and the Beckwourth Doers. She also enjoys cycling, horseback riding, kayaking, whitewater rafting, snorkeling and snowshoeing. Before relocating to Colorado, she frequently flew from Michigan to attend outings with Beckwourth Outdoors, a Denver-based nonprofit organization that provided year-round outdoor activities for people of color and educated the public about the contributions made by people of color in the West.

Carolyne has visited a multitude of national parks, monuments, preserves, historic sites, battlefields, and cemeteries. So great is her love for the national parks, she spent part of her honeymoon in Katmai National Park in Alaska in the company of brown bears. Carolyne demonstrably illustrates the awareness and accessibility of our National Park System.

As the Founder of the African American National Park Event, Teresa’s vision is anchored in interacting with outdoor entities (i.e. retailers, NGOs, federal agencies) who are having difficulty engaging diverse audiences within their organization and in outdoor arenas, such as national parks.

The African American National Park Event network provides African American communities across the country with opportunities to participate in events that speak to their preferences, culture, heritage and lifestyle. She parlays this introduction into an experience that dramatically changes perceptions and behaviors relative to the national parks and, by default, fosters the next generation of diverse, informed and loyal park stewards and outdoor enthusiasts.

Teresa has shown great event planning skills, as demonstrated in the recent Buffalo Soldiers trail retracing pilgrimage, from the Presidio of San Francisco into Yosemite national park.

As an Outdoor Afro leader, Teresa has organized various hiking adventures throughout bay area outdoor spaces.

James JT Reynolds

JT Reynolds’ career as a steward of America’s publicly owned lands system spans more than four decades, extends from Florida to Alaska and includes every aspect of management and protection. JT exhibits such a high level of skill, leadership and adaptability that he was chosen to train rangers at Lake Malawi National Park, Africa and also in the Seychelles. The expertise he amassed throughout his career along with his continuing passion to mentor young people make him an invaluable asset to any entity dealing with thorny management, relevance or workforce issues.

JT started with the National Park Service after his junior year while majoring in Recreation and Parks Management and minored in Wildlife Sciences at Texas A&M University. One summer was spent at Everglades National Park as a seasonal park ranger. Upon graduation he landed his first permanent job at the Natchez Trace Parkway, Mississippi. After completing his military obligation in 1972, he returned to the NPS in Washington, D.C. as an Environmental Education Specialist.

He was hired as the supervisory park ranger of the Yosemite Valley Mall Patrol after completing Ranger School in 1973. While stationed at Yosemite National Park, he also served as the Assistant Back Country Supervisor and as the Assistant Wawona District Ranger.

He received his law enforcement training at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Academy and transferred to Everglades National Park in 1978 as the Flamingo District Ranger, where he and his rangers performed road and power boat patrol into the deep water backcountry of the district. In 1979, President Carter proclaimed many areas of Alaska as National Monuments, and the NPS transferred JT and many other rangers from the lower 48 parks to Alaska to enforce interim regulations to protect resources and conduct public meetings.

In 1981 JT moved on to Albright Training Center at Grand Canyon as the training manager for protection rangers and resource management specialist. He was also assigned to develop, co-ordinate and instruct supervisory and management courses. He worked closely with Grand Canyon rangers and patrolled the night shift, rowed boats and patrolled the 277 mile Colorado River section through the Canyon, served as a member of the structural and wild land fire team, the SAR team, and served as the NPS SCUBA Diving Training Manager. He also developed the Managing Emergency Operations course, the Managing the Search Function Instructor course (both adopted by NASAR), and the Maintenance Workers Skills workshop. He teamed with others and developed the first NPS Archeological Resource Protection course.

JT served as the Acting Superintendent at Petrified Forest National Park (1984) for three months until a new superintendent was hired. He transferred to the North Atlantic Region in Boston in 1987 as the Chief of Ranger Activities and Natural Resources. He supervised and served as a member of the internal investigation team, and evaluated park programs throughout the region. He coordinated the Region’s Fire Management Program and coordinated sending fire personnel to NPS units.

JT transferred to the Rocky Mountain Regional Office, Denver in 1989 and served as the Regional Chief of Ranger Activities and Risk Management. After the associated regional director retired, he served in this capacity for one and one half years, and performed these duties until the NPS reorganized. JT was hired as the first Colorado Plateau Support Office Superintendent of this new reorganized NPS in 1995.

JT was assigned to Grand Canyon National Park as the Deputy Superintendent in 1997. One of his great achievements was developing programs and assigning staff to work with youth and ensure that Americans of color recognized the park’s relevance to their lives.

He transferred to Death Valley National Park in 2001 and one of JT’s proud accomplishments was enhancing the park’s efforts to support youth. The park’s youth education program has evolved and now Death Valley ROCKS (Recreation Outdoor Campaign for Kids through Study) sets the standard for similar programs.

JT retired in 2009 and continues his lifetime of service, volunteering on several councils and boards including the National Parks Conservation Association Board of Trustees, the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees Executive Council and the Quiet Storm Foundation where he is the Adult Advisor for Youth Activities Few adults have the ear of young people as much as JT, who is currently class instructor for the Lifetime Adventures program course during the “After School” programs at two Las Vegas middle schools.

Captain Bill Pinkney

In 1992 Captain Bill Pinkney became the fourth American to sail solo around the globe via the Southern Route, which is considered one of the most difficult passages on earth. His 22-month-long voyage covered more than 27,000 miles and took him around the five southern capes, including Cape Horn at the tip of South America. A Chicago native and former public relations executive, Captain Pinkney sailed on a 47-foot cutter named The Commitment – reflecting his commitment to his dream of sailing around the world solo, and to the schoolchildren who followed his voyage via computer and television. A Navy veteran with eight years of service as a Hospital Corpsman, he served on the board of the Ocean Conservancy and can help infuse the public with his passion for protecting the world’s oceans.

A WCVB/TV Boston special “The Incredible Voyage of Bill Pinkney,” narrated by Bill Cosby, documented the voyage and earned a George Foster Peabody Award. Since his return, Pinkney has delivered his message of confronting adversity while reinforcing the belief that it is the voyage not the destination, where the lessons are learned. First graders and high level executives have learned from his relaxed, charismatic delivery of elementary truths. A naturally gifted speaker and storyteller, Pinkney is now inspiring audiences nationwide with the story of his remarkable voyage and the application of the lessons learned to business and day-to-day living.

After several years of writing and reflection, Pinkney released his autobiography, “As Long As It Takes: Meeting the Challenge.” The book details his life from growing up in Chicago’s “Bronzeville,” to his careers with the Navy and Corporate America, and his decision to leave it all behind and become one of only the handful of Americans to sail around the world solo via the Southern Ocean. The book, a winner of the John Southam Award, is an inspiring work about following your dreams with commitment, perseverance and a willingness to meet the challenges in life no matter how difficult or how long it takes.

Pinkney comes by the title “Captain” honestly and has been a U.S. Coast Guard Licensed Master since 1986 with more 50,000 miles of sea time to his credit.

Stephen Shobe is among the miniscule number of humans who have scaled four of Earth’s Seven Summits, standing on the highest point of four continents. He is well on the way to achieving his goal of leading the first African American team to the summits of the world’s tallest peaks on each continent having already scaled Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina, Mt. Elbrus in Russia and Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa as well as the Carstensz Pyramid, the tallest mountain between the Americas and the Himalayas in central Asia. A leader of the first African American team to attempt to summit Mount Denali, Shobe reached the 19,600-foot point on North America’s highest mountain in June 2013 before being turned back by weather approximately 700 feet from the crest.

Shobe’s questing spirit developed as a child when he probed the subterranean “caves” in his urban neighborhood, flashlight in hand, and engaged in exciting adventures in the open waters. His “caves” and waterways were open storm drains on construction sites, but no less exciting to his childhood imagination. By age 16 he had become an advanced scuba diver, certified by multiple agencies. He fought fires from helicopters for the USDA Forest Service, and subsequently learned to fly the machines.

Shobe’s interest in climbing developed after he observed people taking a climbing class. He promptly signed up for the class and found it second nature. In a lifetime of climbing he has gained invaluable expertise and commanded international attention. The French Government hired him as a technical climbing instructor for The Corsican Mountaineering Team.

After each climb, his team conducts outreach clinics at schools throughout the United States and Canada. They promote outdoor activities such as mountain biking, kayaking and repelling along with the value of world physical geography and the opportunity to scale a portable wall.

Shobe is dedicated to teaching young people the sport of climbing as a way to develop their personal drive and illustrate how obstacles may be met, overcome and turned into opportunity.

Dr. Nataki Osborne Jelks

The Obama Administration selected Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, manager of Education and Advocacy Programs in National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) Atlanta office, as one of 14 White House Champions of Change for her outstanding work in engaging the next generation of conservation leaders.

She is a founding member and Executive Director of the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance and has also gained recognition through her initiative to lead NWF’s Atlanta Earth Tomorrow® Program, a multicultural, environmental education and leadership program to develop youth environmental literacy and life skills that help them contribute to the ecological health of their communities.

Since 2001, Na’Taki has tirelessly worked with more than 2,500 students from across the Atlanta school system in this robust year-long program.

Eriqah R. Foreman Williams

Eriqah Foreman Williams is driven by the desire to inspire and empower her peers in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to take on leadership roles in the environmental sector. A recent graduate of Spelman College, a renowned HBCU, Ms. Foreman Williams’ introduction to environmental issues while in school changed the trajectory of her life. Her youth, experience and credibility make her the perfect emissary to engage members of her Millennial generation with the conservation message.

Ms. Foreman Williams graduated in 2010 with a degree in Comparative Women’s Studies. She was an active member and executive serving on the boards of organizations such as the National Council of Negro Women, Spelman chapter, when she learned about the SEeED Program. Students Endeavoring for Enlightened Environmental Decisions, an initiative developed by cohorts at neighboring Morehouse College, first connected her with the issues of environmental justice and sustainability.

Her passion was increasingly sparked as she worked with a team of her peers across metropolitan Atlanta, informing low and middle income communities about the benefits of energy-saving light fixtures including the impact on their pocketbooks. SEeED also worked synchronistically with power companies to acquire energy efficient light bulbs that her team distributed and swapped out in hundreds of homes. She went on to serve as Internal Director of that organization in her senior year and helped organize two of the largest African American student delegations to PowerShift, the conference of the youth climate movement, in 2009 and in 2011.

Ms. Foreman Williams worked with the student-led Let’s Retrofit A Million Project, and served as the Georgia Coal Diversity Organizer intern for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE). She is on the Advisory Board of the Nature Conservancy’s LEAF Program, and is a Leadership Council Member of Outdoor Nation. She currently serves as Southeast Campus Field Coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology Program. In this position, she works to strengthen local and regional networks of campuses committed to sustainability by organizing educational events. She also manages the program’s recruitment efforts to their new online community for youth environmental leaders.

Ms. Foreman Williams is exquisitely positioned to connect enthusiastic, energized young people with the conservation sector.

Tony C. Anderson

Tony C. Anderson, never one for environmental reticence, grounds himself with a professional, societal, and spiritual guiding philosophy that “all human institutions, man-made or natural, MUST align to the frequency or prana of ‘sustainability.’”

As a social entrepreneur, sustainability nonprofit consultant and recent Compton Mentor Fellow with the Compton Foundation, Tony heeded that call and is party to over 15 environmental-focused programs, initiatives and/or organization charters. He began his work with co-founder Marcus Penny, as a student, by championing the work of environmental justice through campus level dialogues and actions thru the formation of SEeED, The Let’s Raise a Million Project (LRAM), and the Applied Mentorship Program for Sustainability (AMPS). Through this work, they have retrofitted over 50,000 energy efficient light bulbs, water conservation kits and low flow toilets by canvassing low-income neighborhoods door-to-door; a realized savings of over $7.1 million. Using these energy saving solutions as a tactic to “engage communities of modest means where they are” he has been championed by President Bill Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative University as well as Campus Progress, Energy Action Coalition, the National Wildlife Federation, Green For All, Captain Planet Foundation, Atlanta Workforce Development Agency and Sustainable Atlanta. Tony has been featured by multiple media outlets including local news-WABE 90.1FM, WSBTV-Channel 2, Creative Loafing—and those with national reach—the Online News Hour with Jim Lehrer, 1000 Voices Archives, Black Enterprise and CNN.

Tony holds a BA in Philosophy of Political Science from Morehouse College and now is the Senior Managing Partner for The Prana Group, a management entity and sustainability consulting.

Lizabeth Williams

Lizbeth Williams is a Southern California Native and young environmentalist. Her passion for the environment began at the age of 16 as the first-ever chair of the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) for Outward Bound Adventures (OBA) in Pasadena, CA, where she was led a group of teens involved in community projects concerning the environment.

Since then, Lizbeth she has taken numerous OBA trips to local mountains and introduced hundreds of underprivileged youth to the outdoors. Her passion to care for the environment and reconnect children to nature continues through her participation in the Natural Leaders Network.

Working with several of her community’s nonprofits she continues to introduce youth and their families to the wonders of nature. Community gardens and habit restoration are a couple of the many tools she uses to cultivate the next generation of conservationists leaders. Her work has been highlighted in the book “Power of One, Pasadena Shaping our Community,” published in 2001.

Most recognized for her community influencer and leadership abilities, Midy Aponte is an accomplished communications strategist and national thought leader intent on delivering meaningful messages that connect all types of audiences: corporate representatives, elected officials, community advocates and next-generation influencers. She is currently an independent consultant serving outdoor recreation and environment and conservation clients and serves as the National Partnership Director for Americas for Conservation + the Arts’ annual event, the Americas Latino-Eco Festival.

Midy recently concluded an appointment to serve as the Founding Executive Director of the American Latino Heritage Fund (ALHF) of the National Park Foundation. A position created by the President and CEO of the National Park Foundation, in concert with the Former Secretary of the Department of Interior, Ken Salazar. Her charge was to build a national non-profit fund, ALHF, and inspire awareness of historic preservation, outdoor recreation, and conservation and stewardship of national parks among American Latino audiences. Here, she created the nationally recognized @American_Latino Expedition, a public awareness social media campaign designed to engage Latinos in outdoor recreation and the national parks sponsored by REI, Aramark Parks & Destinations and Columbia Sportswear.

Midy’s 15-year career is anchored in public health communications. She worked with more than a dozen (12) state health departments on their tobacco control and prevention efforts as a result of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement. It has evolved over the years into substantial experience in corporate communications, litigation and reputation management, public affairs, non-profit advancement, social media integration and diversity and inclusion counsel.

When not traveling throughout the country conceptualizing and leading strategies for her clients, or on the speaking circuit advocating for passions that support, reflect and uphold important issues affecting the public, Midy can be found at the gym or in the great outdoors. She is a proud graduate of Florida International University having received a Bachelors of Communications from the School of Journalism, and is an alumna of the National Hispana Leadership Institute’s Executive Leadership Program Class of 2011 and the Hispanic Leaders Program with the U.S. Spain Council’s Class of 2014. Raised in Miami, FL, Midy recently relocated to Denver, Colorado after a decade in Washington, D.C.

Dudley Edmonson

Author, wildlife enthusiast, nature photographer and videographer, Dudley Edmondson was the first to highlight the involvement of African Americans in the public lands system. Chagrined at the paucity of people who looked like him among those he encountered in his outdoor pursuits, Dudley wrote the landmark book, Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places (2006) featuring luminaries in the environmental and outdoor recreation fields. He used his skills as a photographer to secure the images included, and took pains to create an accompanying volume suited to a young audience.

Dudley came to his life’s work naturally. Growing up in Columbus, Oh, he looked forward to bi-weekly family picnics that allowed him to explore his world. His fascination with nature and his artistic temperament combined to produce a wildlife enthusiast driven to recreate his sightings in the outdoors through art and photography. His photography has been featured in galleries and nearly 100 publications around the world.

Eager to share the richness of the outdoors with all Americans, and particularly Americans of African descent, Dudley has been immersed in the effort to help the conservation sector become more inclusive. He inspires with his life and is the perfect role model for the outdoors lifestyle, as he is a birder who climbs mountains as effortless as stroking his kayak through the Everglades wilderness. He is a luminary in the movement to make birding and bird conservation a more inclusive activity, and has presented at each of the annual conferences on Diversity in Birding.

His latest publication What’s That Flower? is a field guide to the common wildflowers of the Eastern U.S from DK Books. Dudley’s inspirational effect can be gathered from the fact that in 2008 The Wilderness Society honored him with a Faces in Conservation Award for his wildlife photography. In 2010 the Seattle YMCA established The Dudley Edmondson Fellowship in Youth Development and Education in his honor, offering youth of color 15 months of paid study to learn leadership and life skills,’ and in 2012 the Secretary of the Interior named him a Federal Migratory Birding Hunting and Conservation Duck Stamp Judge. This once in a lifetime honor is the only art competition sponsored by the U.S Government.

With 29 years service in the California Department of Parks and Recreation, primarily as a Park Superintendent in the Office of Community Involvement, Jack Shu has a mountain of experience creating bridges between communities and parks. In the 1990s he developed outdoor programs that successfully re-integrated formerly incarcerated people into their families and communities. Since 2013 he has led expeditions to the top of Sing Peak in Yosemite National Park to commemorate the legacy of his Chinese ancestry and the cook Tie Sing, after whom the peak is named.

Mr. Shu’s multi-layered relationships make him an ideal advisor to public lands managers and a role model for communities, particularly communities of color. He is a specialist in strategies that assist agencies, organizations and institutions become more inclusive through strategic planning and training; outdoor recreation programs and nature-based community development.

Mr. Shu has been a key part of the evolution of conservation in America for the past 35 years and has helped shaped the movement. He has helped to plan and inform many conferences targeted to the expansion of the conservation constituency. His contributions have influenced the California Institute for Bio-diversity; the US Fish & Wildlife Service NE Region; the NPCA/NPS Mosaic in Motion Diversity Conference, 1997, 1999 & 2000; Breaking the Color Barrier in the Great American Outdoors Conference, 2009; California WIC Conference on community involvement and recreation; California Childhood Obesity Conference, 2005; Changing Resource Based Organizations to Serve Diverse Communities – Texas A& M University ; Diversity Conference on America’s Changing Populations and Implications for Historic Preservation, 2003, and the National Trust for Historic Places Conference 2000.

Mr. Shu’s service has been recognized with numerous awards, including the California Senate Rules Committee award for developing programs to serve youth and families; the Urban Hero Award from People for Parks in Los Angeles and the President’s Award from California Police Activities League.

Damita Holbrook

Damita Holbrook is founder and principal planner of Glam Event Solutions, a full-service planning and management firm that specializes in environmentally-focused events. From a retreat in the Grand Canyon National Park to an anniversary banquet for a grassroots group in Atlanta, Glam Event Solutions takes the event from concept to the perfect outcome that client’s desire. From site selection, program development and community engagement, Giving Life Amazing Memories (GLAM) handles every facet. The firm uses its favorable position in the industry to negotiate rates and add-ons with leading local and national partners, making the planning experience easy, successful and cost efficient.

GLAM found its niche in the outdoors arena after planning successful events for The Wilderness Society’s program, Keeping It Wild, which helped open Ms. Holbrook’s eyes to the opportunities to create high quality, outdoors-focused events that attract and keep the attention of urban communities. The inviting spaces her team created and the atmosphere combining the right food and entertainment made her events highly sought after with a repeat clientele. They recently planned the launch of Diverse Environmental Leaders National Speakers Bureau at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

Ms. Holbrook and her team have planned high profile celebrity events, brand and product introductions, corporate conferences, golf tournament fundraisers, employee recognition events and holiday celebrations for more than 15 years. They provide customized service to meet the needs of every client including corporations, government agencies, school systems, trade show producers, non-profit organizations, and individuals, customizing services to fit your style, budget and experiential goals.

Queen Quet Marquetta L. Goodwine is a published author, computer scientist, lecturer, mathematician, historian, columnist, preservationist, environmental justice advocate, environmentalist, film consultant, and “The Art-ivist.” She is the founder of the premiere advocacy organization for the continuation of Gullah/Geechee culture, the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition. Queen Quet has not only provided “histo-musical presentations” throughout the world, but was also the first Gullah/Geechee person to speak on behalf of her people before the United Nations in Genevé, Switzerland.

Due to Queen Quet advancing the idea of keeping the Gullah/Geechee culture alive, the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition under the leadership of Queen Quet, worked with Congressman James Clyburn to insure that the United States Congress would work to assist the Gullah/Geechees. Queen Quet then acted as the community leader to work with the National Park Service to conduct several meetings throughout the Gullah/Geechee Nation for the “Special Resource Study of Lowcountry Gullah Culture.” Due to the fact that Gullah/Geechees worked to become recognized as one people, Queen Quet wanted to insure that the future congressional act would reflect this in its name and form. As a result in 2006 the “Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Act” was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by the president.

Queen Quet is vetted with the United States White House as an Expert Commissioner in the Department of the Interior. She is also the Chair of the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor General Management Plan which is being completed by a commission created by the act for there to be a “Gullah/Geechee National Heritage Corridor.” Queen Quet is also a member of the “National Park Relevancy Committee” and proudly continues to work to protect the environment and to insure that diverse groups of people engage in the outdoors and the policies governing them. Queen Quet has engaged in several White House conferences on this issue.

Queen Quet has won countless awards for being a woman of distinction, for her scholarship, writings, artistic presentation, activism, cultural continuation and environmental preservation. She was selected, elected, and enstooled by her people to be the first Queen Mother, “head pun de bodee,” and official spokesperson for the Gullah/Geechee Nation. As a result, she is respectfully referred to as “Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation and Head-of-State.” For more information visit www.GullahGeechee.biz.

Wandi Steward is an avid outdoor enthusiast who grew up camping, canoeing and horseback riding in the Midwest with the Girl Scouts, 4-H Club and Youth Conservation Corp. She also performed African-dance with the renowned Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities, and studied Tae Kwon Do with the Choi Brothers.

After exploring several majors, including engineering and dance, Wandi earned degrees in aeronautics and aviation from Parks College of Aviation, Engineering and Technology, at Saint Louis University.

Just a few years into her aviation career, as airport operations and emergency manager for Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, the world’s busiest airport, Wandi discovered a new passion.

She fled the airport to plan and organize components of the Beijing Summer Olympic & Paralympic Games, Shanghai Special Olympics World Summer Games, Doha (Qatar) Asian Games, Shanghai Formula One racing and others. Globetrotting around the planet led to a resurrection of her camping skills with sleepovers on the Giza Plateau, the Great Wall of China and Mt. Everest.

Wandi believes space is the ultimate outdoor adventure, and has nurtured partnerships for the NASA-endorsed Traveling Space Museum since 2010. She promotes science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) by organizing Space Days at schools and festivals around the nation. With interactive simulators, and replicas of actual NASA space equipment, the Traveling Space Museum inspires children of all ages to EXPLORE!

A certified Wilderness First Responder, High & Low Ropes course facilitator and archery instructor, Wandi is currently an outdoor skills trainer for the Girl Scout leaders of Historic Georgia. Additionally, she is a skier, hiker and mountain biker and also enjoys sailing and kayaking. She is an active member of Keeping It Wild – Atlanta, the Atlanta African American Adventurers, Hartfield’s Hikers and Denver’s Beckwourth Doers. She is dedicated to helping others get out and get active in their local, state and national parks.

A recent graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School’s (NOLS) Wilderness Horse-packing course, she aspires to walk with the elephants in the Maasai Mara and climb baobab trees on the island nation of Madagascar.

Wandi is energetic, enthusiastic and an engaging speaker as she captivates her audiences with vivid stories of her experiences.

José G. González is the Founder of Latino Outdoors. He is an experienced educator as a K-12 public education teacher, environmental education advisor, outdoor education instructor and coordinator, and university adjunct faculty. He is also an illustrator and science communicator.

His commentary on diversity and environmental/outdoor equity has been featured by High Country News, Outside Magazine, Earth Island Journal, and Latino USA, and he engaged in collaborations with the White House Council on Environmental Quality, U.S. Department of Interior, and the National Park Service during the Obama Administration. He also represented Latino Outdoors in several coalitions including the Latino Conservation Alliance, the Next 100 Coalition, and California Parks Now. He has been recognized with several honors, including the National Wildlife Federation Environmental Educator Award, Grist Magazine “Grist 50”,and The Murie Center Spirit of the Muries, among others.

You may have also seen him in various outdoor spaces or read his poetic musings. He received his B.A at the University of California, Davis, and his M.S at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources & Environment. You can connect with him on social media @JoseBilingue.

The Blackalachian

Daniel White is an American long distance hiker best known for thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2017 when he
gained the moniker “The Blackalachian.” Completing the 2,189 mile trek with zero camping or hiking experience, he realized that he had really been missing out on what life has to offer. Tuning in to nature and the people he met along
the Trail gave him so much peace and confidence that he resolved to see as much of the world as he could.

The trails the Blackalachian has chosen to follow have led him into new dimensions of body, mind and spirit, allowing
him to absorb world history at the places where it happened. Seeking a closer connection to his African American heritage, in 2018 he cycled the entire 2000-mile Underground Railroad Trail from Alabama to Canada ending up at the home of the Railroad’s most celebrated ‘conductor’ Harriet Tubman in Auburn, New York. In May he completed Scotland’s Great Outdoors Challenge, a self-designed route exclusively for experienced hikers through the Scottish Highlands, over mountains and through bogs, becoming intimately acquainted with the early origins of the European
land mass. In July he will learn a history of religion hiking the Camino del Norte in Spain to Santiago de Compostela,
a route taken by pilgrims to the relics of Saint James since the 9 th century. “I never in a million years could have imagined myself in the places I’ve been,” White marvels. “And I’m just getting started.”

His story encapsulates many of the big themes of life and of American life in particular: A loving family; a youthful
mistake that landed him in prison; a sense of adventure that set him on the trail, and the redemptive feelings of
belonging to this vast creation that he found in the outdoors. His life and his message resonate powerfully to all and
especially offer promise to people in communities where disenchantment and hopelessness have set in.

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