This is a re-release of an episode from Feb 2020 season 1 of the podcast. This episode is with the only African American River Keeper in the world, Fred Tutman. Fred is the river for the Patuxent River in Maryland, a north eastern state in the US. This episode is especially meaningful for me because it was the first time I gained the perspective of an elder in the environmental justice movement. Fred’s words still echo in my thoughts because I learned about how segregated the environmental...

Nicole Jackson, Ivory Levert and Angela Mitchell are co-creators of Black Women in Nature (BWN), an initiative to connect Black women with nature through meditation, nature, hiking, and reflection in Columbus, Ohio. Nicole is an environmental educator and co-organizer for Black in National Parks Week and Black Birder’s Week. Ivory Levert is a certified yoga guide and leads the meditation and mindfulness segments of the BWN sessions. Angela Mitchell is a professional athlete and health and...

Hey All! Season 2 is here! I can’t believe that we made it this far. Season 1 was exhilarating and hectic at the same time. We had 40 episodes in 9 months. At that time I didn't think to take a break for various reasons, I was exhilarate...

Jason Baldes is a member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe from the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Land Resource Sciences from Montana State University. Jason's interests have led to work and travel with Indigenous peoples in East Africa, New Zealand, Mexico, Russia, and Denmark. Much of his work has been surrounding the restoration of bison to the Wind River Indian Reservation. Jason currently serves as the Eastern Shoshone Tribal...

Ambika Rajyagor is a 24 year old Indian-American Outdoor/Adventure Blogger, Special Needs Advocate, and Activist. She is also the cofounder of DisablednOutdoors an online BIPOC-run community focused on representation and accessibility in the outdoors, wants to ensure that these efforts are intersectional, too—especially after nearly four years of policies that worked against Americans with disabilities (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/29/opinion/trumps-disability-public-charge.html). As...

Francisco, recently retired from his position as the director of recreation tourism, heritage and wilderness resources for more than 22 million acres of national forests and grasslands and national monuments in the Forest Service’s Southwestern Region. He served at the U.S. Forest service for more than 35 years. Valenzuela helped guide the development of over $500 million in infrastructure at the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. It is the largest comprehensively planned investment...

Aalayna Green (she/her) is an undergraduate student at Michigan State University majoring in Zoology.  Her research focuses on the nexus between conservation criminology and women's studies.  She's specifically studying the gendered implications of urban wildmeat trafficking in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A self-proclaimed intersectional conservationist, Aalayna has plans to attend graduate school and focus on wildlife conservation, community sustainability, and women's empowerment. See...

Aalayna Green (she/her) is an undergraduate student at Michigan State University majoring in Zoology.  Her research focuses on the nexus between conservation criminology and women's studies.  She's specifically studying the gendered implications of urban wildmeat trafficking in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  A self-proclaimed intersectional conservationist, Aalayna has plans to attend graduate school and focus on wildlife conservation, community sustainability, and women's...

Dr. Lee Ann Woolery, is an educator, researcher, scholar, and practicing artist of over 30 years. She pioneered Art-Based Perceptual Ecology, an art-based field research method to study ecological change. Dr. Woolery has accomplished a diverse array of actions varying from designing and facilitating arts programming for communities, schools, etc., to working with multicultural and intergenerational constituencies in several states, to developing a multi-disciplined community-based creative...

Vasu Sojitra is a professional adaptive athlete. His main passion is for skiing as well as for mountain sports ranging from trail running, rock climbing to packrafting and everything in between. Vasu has climbed peaks like the Grand Teton and climbed and skied peaks in Montana’s Beartooth and Bridger mountain ranges. When Vasu was only nine months old, he was diagnosed with septicemia, resulting in the amputation of one of his legs. Since then, Vasu has not looked back; with the help of his...

Dr. Dominique Lazarre has been an Associate Research Scientist at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in Saint Petersburg, Florida, since 2017. At FWRI, she leads a data management team that provides fisheries data to state and regional partners for stock assessments. Dominique also has experience working in academia: she is currently an adjunct professor for the Department of Biological Sciences at University of South Florida Saint Petersburg and was previously a visiting professor in...

Ari Copeland works at Black & Veatch Corporation as an Operations Specialist. Ari has a BS in Civil Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Masters in Environmental Engineering from University of Cincinnati.  Ari has been a member of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and has been in the water and wastewater industry for 16 years. Ari is a queer, transgender man who transitioned on the job in 2011.  Ari is passionate about inclusion efforts within the water industry...

Rabiah Nur is an Indigenous healer, activist, storyteller, speaker, ceremonialist and daughter of the Great Mother. Her work in the world is to heal and empower women through connection to nature, to spirit, and to their innate wisdom. She works to facilitate a rebirth of a new and healthy society where women are valued, empowered, whole and are held as the sacred beings that they are. If women are unhealthy, the whole society is unhealthy.Currently, Rabiah consults with and teaches at...

Dr. Diego Román is an Assistant Professor in Bilingual/Bicultural Education at the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Fall 2019). Prior to this appointment, he was an Assistant Professor in Teaching and Learning at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Román holds a B.S. degree in Agronomy from Zamorano University in Honduras and a M.S. degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He earned a M.S....

Sarika is a first generation Indian-American, who grew up in the suburbs of Rochester NY. Her family comes from the foothills of Himachal Pradesh. Sarika was deeply influenced and inspired by the East Bay Area’s rich activist traditions while studying at the University of California at Berkeley, where she earned dual degrees in Peace and Conflict Studies and Conservation and Resource Studies. Before returning to graduate school, she worked for several years with her partner to build...

Andrew Kricun is a Senior Director with Moonshot Missions, a non-profit focused on providing technical assistance to water utilities in underserved communities.  He is also a Senior Fellow with the US Water Alliance working on their national water equity initiative.  He is also working as a Senior Advisor at the Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania on various projects related to the Delaware River watershed.    Prior to that, he served as  Executive Director and Chief Engineer of...

Whitney Tome is the former Executive Director of Green 2.0. Prior to joining The Raben Group as a principal, Whitney served as the director of diversity and inclusion at the National Parks Conservation Association where she led, defined, and crafted metrics and measures for the organization’s diversity and inclusion efforts. Whitney has advised complex ocean stakeholder processes as a Program Manager and Mediator at the Meridian Institute including facilitating public meetings for regional...

Alyssa Perez is many things but among the most important are a mother, an environmentalist, and the founder of Stay Blooming. She's a Puerto Rican and has lived in the Bronx, New York her entire life. She has had a passion for our natural world since young and found herself wanting to protect these spaces over the years. Environmental awareness, education, and stewardship encompass much of her professional and personal lives. Stay Blooming reflects these values. She has also worked with...

Jeremy Lin is an interpretive naturalist for California State Parks. Based at Donner Memorial SP, Jeremy is the lead interpreter for several parks in Sierra District. As lead interpreter Jeremy manages several park programs including nature education, docent volunteers, and infrastructural and long-range planning. Jeremy has been involved in creating a number of park programs to increase public engagement – California State Parks Backpacking Adventures (CASPBA) program, Wilderness Patrol...

Dr. Mariaelena Huambachano, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Society and Community Studies and Director of Biodiversity Protection and Indigeneity at UW, Madison. Dr. Huambachano’s work explores public policies for food sovereignty, social movements, sustainable development, and the role of Indigenous knowledge to improve food security and environmental policies. Dr. Huambachano utilises a novel theoretical approach by using the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)...

Bill Tripp is a Karuk Tribal Member and Interim Director of the Karuk Tribe Department of Natural Resources. He began learning how to work with fire from the age of four from his Grandmother.  His work to restore fire into the hands of Karuk People through an integrated Traditional Ecological Knowledge and western science framework has been instrumental in shaping state and federal policy changes in regards to prescribed fire. Show Notes (https://watersavvysolutions.com/bringing-fire-back/) ...

Syren Nagakyrie (they/she) is a long-time disabled activist and community builder who is passionate about liberation through connection. Syren grew up with multiple invisible disabilities; they found connection with nature to be a source of comfort in times of social isolation. Syren is the founder of Disabled Hikers (http://www.disabledhikers.com), (www.disabledhikers.com), an organization providing resources, events, and advocacy. Syren is a freelance writer, consultant, and presenter. They...

Dr. Jonathan Hall is a wildlife ecologist by training with a broad interest in wildlife conservation, human/wildlife interaction, environmental justice, and species movement ecology. Much of his research experience is in the semi-arid environment of Western Rajasthan, India, focusing on the ecological and cultural relationships that exist between human populations and vultures. In addition to research in India he is also interested in understanding landscape and other environmental dynamics...

Belinda’s environmental journey began when she was growing up in New York. As the first-born child of immigrant parents from south east China, Belinda found herself caught between two worlds. As a young child, she faced discrimination fr...

Traveling from New Jersey to North Carolina, Frances was able to experience urban city living as well as life in a rural area surrounded by hog farms. Through that, she and her family remained tight knit as her mother inspired her from all angles. With the house matriarch as a teacher and enthusiastic environmentalist, Frances was able to get the support she needed to obtain a BA in Sociology & Anthropology, Environmental Studies & Science Minor, from Spelman College, and currently...