2019
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!
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Thank you for joining over 50 Colorado and national conservation organizations, outdoor industry companies, and diverse community leaders as we honored the intersection of outdoor recreation and conservation, celebrated the ways we already work together, challenged ourselves to do more, and acknowledged how equitable policies are good for us all. 

We came together to foster and maintain the integral roles that conservation, climate change mitigation,  sound public lands policies, and equity play in supporting a successful outdoor industry. 


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SPEAKERS
(Details below)

 HONOREES
(Details below)

Musicians

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DJ CaveM

Speaker DETAILS

Clark Tenakhongva
Vice Chairman Of the Hopi Tribe and Bears Ears Intertribal Coalition



​Clark Tenakhongva is the Vice-Chairman for the Hopi Tribe and Co-representative of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition. He was born at Keams Canyon, Arizona, and was raised in the small Hopi village of Hotevilla, high atop Third Mesa. After attending a boarding school in Riverside, California, he served in the United States Army.

MUSTAFA SANTIAGO ALI
National Wildlife Federation VP for Environmental Justice​

A renowned thought leader, international speaker, policy maker, community liaison, trainer, and facilitator, Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali wears many hats, he is the Vice President of Environmental Justice, Climate & Community Revitalization for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and also the Founder & CEO of Revitalization Strategies. Before joining the NWF Mustafa was the Senior Vice President for the Hip Hop Caucus, a national, non-profit and non-partisan organization that connects the Hip Hop community to the civic process to build power and create positive change.  As HHC Senior Vice President, he led the strategic direction, expansion, and operation of the Hip Hop Caucus’ portfolio on Climate, Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization. 

Jaylyn Gough
Founder & Executive Director, Native Womens Wilderness



Jaylyn Gough is the Founder and Executive Director of the organization, Native Womens Wilderness as well as a freelance photographer.  The organization provides opportunities to get Native women, girls, LGBTQ2S, and non-binaries outside, as well as providing the resources to do so.  They also work in the Outdoor Industry to elevate the voices of Native people, ancestral land acknowledgements and history, navigating cultural appropriation, and collectively working with brands to acknowledge Native lands and culture. She also work in Washington DC within a cohort of other organizations to work on the Antiquities Act, as well as with Congress, Representatives, and the Senate to elevate the voices and needs of Native People. You can always find her outside wandering with a camera in her hand.

Yesica Chavez
Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK)

Yesica is a first-generation student at the University of Colorado Denver getting her B.S. in Psychology. She was born and raised in the Montbello community of Denver. As a high school student, she joined Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK) Leadership Corps program, where she received the help she needed to get her to her next step in life, which was higher education. Eventually, she joined ELK's Urban Ranger summer employment program. As an Urban Ranger, she taught hundreds of kids to fish, helped supervise camping trips, and began advocating for the importance of getting youth outside. After three years, she became the College Lead for the team. Her leadership since then has grown tremendously, as has her passion to help her community. Currently, Yesica is ELK's Student Coordinator where she helps lead the program that helped her, Leadership Corps. She is also the Youth Ambassador for the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Office, a volunteer for Latino Outdoors, and a Natural Leader with the Natural Leaders Network. In her free time she enjoys hiking, dancing, or binge watching Netflix shows.  ​

Emcee - José Gonzalez
Green Chicano; Founder, Director Emeritus- Latino Outdoors; Partner- Avarna Group

 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.

Honoree DETAILS

Teresa Baker
Founder African American Nature and Parks Experience &
the OUtdoor CEO Diversity Pledge 

Growing up as the only sister to eight brothers in her hometown of Richmond, California, Teresa was determined not to be outdone; spending time in the outdoors became her passion. Fast-forward 30 years later—the outdoors is still her passion; the only difference is the stakes are higher. She now spends time outdoors with the purpose of engaging communities of color in outdoor spaces, in hopes of fostering a shared sense of responsibility for environmental protection. Teresa spends the majority of her time working with outdoor agencies, organizations brands and retailers, on ways to welcome a more diverse audience to their boards, staff and programs. She does this through outdoor events and speaking engagements across the country. She is the founder of the African American Nature and Parks Experience and the Outdoor CEO Diversity Pledge.

Instagram: teresabaker11
​Twitter: loveonnature

Native Womens Wilderness

Native Women's Wilderness was created to bring Native Women, LGBTQ, and non-binaries together to share our stories, support each other, and learn from one another as we endeavor to explore and celebrate the wilderness and our native lands.MISSION: To inspire and raise the voices of Native Women in the Outdoor Realm. To encourage a healthy lifestyle grounded in the Wilderness. To educate Natives and non-Natives on the rich beauty and heritage of the Ancestral Lands beneath our feet.

Social: NativeWomensWilderness 
Website: https://www.nativewomenswilderness.org/

Ron Griswell
​Founder, Historically Black Colleges and Universities Outside

When Ron isn’t leading trips for his students as an alumni, and the Outdoor Program Coordinator at North Carolina A&T State University, or building resources for HBCUs Outside, he enjoys running, hosting parties, traveling, and creating content on Instagram for brands as an influencer. As a recent Skip Yowell Future Leadership Academy graduate, participant in AORE’s Emerging Leader Program, and public lands lobbyist for American Hiking Society’s Next Gen Trail Leaders, Ron catapults himself into environments to broaden his knowledge and experience. He lives in Chapel Hill, NC with his wife, and plays on the Outer Banks and in the Smokey’s.
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Company Instagram: @HBCUsOutside
Personal Instagram: @RonGriswell

Brown Girls Climb

Founded by Bethany Lebewitz in the fall of 2016, Brown Girls Climb (BGC) aims to promote and increase visibility of diversity in climbing by establishing a community of climbers of color, encouraging leadership opportunities for self-identified climbers of color, and by creating inclusive opportunities to climb and explore for under represented communities. Through the national leadership team, the women of Brown Girls Climb have built a community dedicated to amplifying the voices and experiences of Women of Color climbers through a tailored membership, educational events around the country, and through justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion consultation services. The BGC community comprises of hundreds of Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color meeting up around the country to climb and host conversations on climbing ethics, land acknowledgement, stewardship, and creating a more inclusive crag!

Social: @browngirlsclimb
Website: www.browngirlsclimb.com

Latino Outdoor Colorado

Latino Outdoors aims to inspire, connect, and engage Latino communities in the outdoors and embrace cultura y familia as part of the outdoor narrative, ensuring that Latino history, heritage, and leadership are valued and represented.

Instagram: @lodenverco
Facebook group: Latino Outdoors Colorado
Website: http://latinooutdoors.org/

Stephanie Garcia Richard
Commissioner and the New MExico State Lands Office

​New Mexico just passed legislation creating the first ever Outdoor Equity Fund, with the purpose of giving all New Mexico kids the same opportunities and access to experience our beautiful state and public lands. Some kids have to contend with a whole host of issues that
prevent them from getting outside, from a lack of transportation to a lack of resources to a lack of access to outdoor-education programs. The Outdoor Equity Fund will live in the Office of Outdoor Recreation and be administered by the Youth Conservation Corps for the sole purpose of serving underserved youth up to age 18 in our urban, rural, and Native American communities. I was proud that my office was at the forefront, along with amazing Legislative champions, of helping to pass this legislation, and I am working to be the most pro-active Commissioner of Public Lands New Mexico has ever had when it comes to outdoor recreation and increasing access to lands. We have made great strides so far, and we are just getting started. 

Tracy Nguyen-Chung
​Founder, Brown Folks Fishing

Tracy Nguyen-Chung is the Communications Director at After Bruce and an independent filmmaker. At After Bruce, her strategic PR and marketing work includes campaigns with International Documentary Association, MAJORITY, Jenny Yang, and Firelight Media, among others. She recently co-produced The Great Hack, a feature documentary directed by Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmakers Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim, which world premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. In early 2018, Tracy founded Brown Folks Fishing, a national, angler-led initiative that cultivates access, conservation, and community for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPoC) in sport fishing and its industry. She is a graduate of Lewis & Clark College and received a Master’s Degree from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. ​

Social: @brownfolksfishing
Website: https://www.brownfolksfishing.com/

Outdoor ASian

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Photo credit: Deepak Awari
The mission of Outdoor Asian is to create a community of Asian & Pacific Islanders in the outdoors.
We engage communities with locally-based trips, outings and workshops to inspire individuals and families in the outdoors.
We create a platform to lift up stories of individuals and histories of our communities to reflect on our ever-changing relationship to ecology and nature.
We connect individuals to a wide-ranging network to create API leaders in the outdoor recreation and environmental sectors.

Social:  @outdoorasian
Website: www.outdoorasian.com
*Go to our website to join a regional Facebook group.

Queer Nature

The Mission of Queer Nature: Our program envisions and implements ecological awareness and place-based skills as vital and often overlooked parts of the healing and wholing of populations who have been marginalized and even represented as 'unnatural.' Our curriculums necessarily go beyond recreation in nature to deep and creative engagement with the natural world to build inter-species alliances and an enduring sense of belonging.

Social: @queernature
Website: https://www.queernature.org

Musician DETAILS

DENVER SINGERS

A Native American drum group that originated during the 1970s now in their 2nd/ 3rd generations of singers.  Composed of many different tribes. 

DJ CAVEM

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When DJ Cavem coined the term eco-hip hop in 2007, he didn’t know it would sprout into a global movement. Having performed at the Obama White House and been featured in Oprah Magazine and on the Rachael Ray Show, Dr. Ietef “DJ Cavem” Vita became known as more than just a rapper — but an activist, educator and vegan chef. Now, several years after the release of The Produce Section, his award-winning album that fused hip hop with lessons on eco-friendliness, Cavem has shifted his focus to new material. His latest project BIOMIMICZ is being released as an album/seed pack to get people involved and spur listeners into action.

From an early age Cavem has had a deep connection to environmental activism and food justice. Raised in Denver’s Five Points district, often referred to as the Harlem of the West, his interest for gardening and hip hop helped him resist the snares of gang lifestyle. Becoming vegan at age 14, he said he felt a calling to speak about these issues in his songs, “especially since most of the neighborhoods considered food deserts were people of color.” His 2007 debut single “Wheatgrass” with rapper Stic.Man of Dead Prez hit top ten on the charts in Spain and introduced him to the public as an OG (Organic Gardener). It led to his 2010 debut album The Teacher’s Lounge, followed by 2012’s The Produce Section, which featured collaborations with Speech from Arrested Development, Drummi Zeb from The Wailers, and Sa-Roc. Part album, part curriculum, The Produce Section offered lessons on organic gardening, plant-based recipes and alternate uses of energy.

​Since then Cavem has traveled the world as both a performing artist and an educator. He’s shared the stage with Nick Jonas, Public Enemy, 2 Chains, Questlove, Wyclef Jean, among others. Offstage he’s involved with numerous organizations and projects dedicated to promoting wellness, eating healthy and environmental awareness. With his wife and collaborator Arasia “Alkemia” Earth, the pair inspire and educate around the world including communities in countries such as Azerbaijan through workshops and speaking engagements. They formed a non-profit organization called the Vita Earth Foundation, which hosts health and wellness summer camps, Culinary Concerts, and their Recipes for Resistance workshops, which focuses on culinary climate action

STEERING COMMITTEE

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CHANGE MAKER

FRIEND OF THE CAUSE

Native Outdoors - Fishpond - Wallaroo Hat Company - Merrell - Alpacka Raft - Granite Gear -  Next 100 Coalition - Latino Outdoors - Continental Divide Trail Coalition - Big City Mountaineers - Trust for Public Land - National Parks Conservation Association - Sierra Club - Access Fund - Montana Wilderness Association - Environmental Learning For Kids - Defenders of Wildlife - Environment America - cityWILD - Native Women Wilderness - OUT There - Artemis - Hispanic Access Foundation - MiiR - HECHO - Western Resource Advocates - Alaska Wilderness League

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