Featured Speakers

Featured Speakers

The N Word: Nature Revisited  – Dr. Carolyn Finney

(an imagined conversation with John Muir)

Sunday, March 6, 5:00pm - 6:30 pm

The past has a future we never expect
—Raoul Peck, filmmaker, Exterminate All the Brutes

It’s not easy being green
—Kermit the Frog

What does it mean to be Black and be Green? While the murder of George Floyd struck at the heart of America’s unreconciled past concerning systemic racism, the experience had by Christian Cooper in Central Park ignited conversation within the environmental sector. In this moment of racial reckoning, Dr. Carolyn Finney comes home to name and claim her family’s story of love, labor, and erasure on the land in New York. Weaving stories of our collective past with the personal, she employs humor, truth-telling & some old school chutzpah as she calls out the “father of conservation” in order to call us all into a new relationship with nature and each other. She invites you to come and explore with her the power of reconciliation, accountability, and emergence, and participate in dreaming up a new conversation…

This session sponsored by:




An Inclusive Journey Through America’s National Park System – Mikah Meyer

Monday, March 7, 10:30am - 12:00pm

Ever dreamed of quitting your job and visiting all of America’s 400+ National Park Service sites? That’s exactly what Mikah Meyer did from 2016 – 2019, on a nonstop journey spurred by the death of his father from cancer. But along the way, Mikah found more than just beautiful vistas. He discovered the myriad ways our outdoor spaces are less welcoming to certain demographics, and how we can tap into the diversity of America’s population to grow the tent of those utilizing our majestic public lands. Join this humorous, multimedia presentation on how to tap into new markets, and be taken on an adventure through America’s entire National Park System!

World-record-setting adventurer Mikah Meyer has been called everything from a "Sexy Travel Guru" to a "Best Instagram to Follow," and his unique brand of "Travel Beyond Convention" featured by outlets like NBC’s The Today Show, Upworthy, and Late Night with Seth Myers. Named a Stonewall Pride50 for being a modern "LGBTQ+ innovator and changemaker" alongside leaders like James Baldwin and Marsha P. Johnson, Mikah's expertise ranges from being the face of inclusion-focused outdoors programs to consulting major brands for their Pride/LGBTQ+ campaigns.

This session sponsored by:

               



More speakers to be announced.