11:00 am

AORE Welcome

Jeannette Stawski

11:10 - 11:50 am

Intro Session: Adapt & Destroy

Roy Tuscany

12:00 - 12:50 pm

Case Study: Outdoor Inclusion
Coalition & Community Centric
Winter Sports Programming

Marcus Shoffner

1:00 - 1:50 pm 

Stress and Anxiety - Support to help build resiliency

Paul Dreyer

2:00 - 2:50 pm

Cultural Bias in Risk Management Decision Making

Jason D. Martin

3:00 - 3:50 pm

Wintersports industry inclusivity -
elite, elusive or energetically inclusive?

Kenji Haroutunian
and Brad Werntz

4:00 - 4:50 pm

Bridging the Belonging Gap

Claire Smallwood

5:00 - 5:50 pm

Networking Breakout Sessions

Hilary Eisen

11:00 am

AORE Welcome

Jeannette Stawski

11:10 - 11:50 am

Public Lands Education:
Know the Past, Change the Future

Liz Vogel, Paul Sanford, and Jasmin Estrada

12:00 - 12:50 pm

Public Lands as a Solution to
Climate/Biodiversity Crises

Travis Belote, PhD

1:00 - 1:50 pm

Public Lands and Climate Education:
Interpreting Mainstream Science

Sarah Johnson, MAEd

2:00 - 2:50 pm

Public Lands and Climate Education:
Indigenous Knowledge,
Personal Connection to Climate

Liz Vogel, Danielle Stickman

3:00 - 3:50 pm

Art, Education, and Advocacy

Xavier Cortada

4:00 - 4:50 pm

Climate and Public Lands
Policy Solutions

Daniella Gonzales and Tykee James

5:00 - 5:50 pm

Networking Breakout Sessions

Thursday will be facilitated by DEI Outdoors.

11:00 am

AORE Welcome

Jeannette Stawski

11:10 - 11:50 am

Rolling out the Welcome Mat

Rachel Hailey

12:00 - 1:45 pm

Communicating Across Differences

Rachel Hailey

2:00 - 3:45 pm

Growing your program with JEDI
(Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion)

Rachel Hailey

4:00 - 4:50 pm

Networking Breakout Sessions

Rachel Hailey, DEI Outdoors

Jason D. Martin, American Alpine Institute

Claire Smallwood, SheJumps

Hilary Eisen, Winter Wildlands Alliance

Roy Tuscany, High Fives Foundation

Sarah R Johnson, Wild Rose Education

Jasmin Antonia Estrada, Appalachian Mountain Club

Tykee James, The Wilderness Society

Daniella Gonzalez, The Wilderness Society

Travis Belote, The Wilderness Society

Xavier Cortada, University of Miami

Paul Sanford, The Wilderness Society

Liz Vogel, The Wilderness Society

Danielle Elizabeth Stickman, The Wilderness Society

Kenji Haroutunian, Kenji Consults

Adam Roberti, Xavier Cortada Foundation

Travis Belote (he/him), Senior Science Director, The Wilderness Society

Travis Belote serves as the Senior Science Director with The Wilderness Society. His research focuses on ecological patterns and processes to inform landscape conservation. Travis’ early research focused on small-scale experiments and observational studies of ecosystems, but he is increasingly relying on broad-scale geographic data and spatial models to understand and conserve nature. Travis received his BA and MS from the University of Tennessee, his PhD from Virginia Tech, and served as a postdoc with the USGS with the Colorado Plateau Research Station. He lives in Bozeman, MT with his wife and two sons.

Xavier Cortada (he/him), Artist and Professor of Practice, University of Miami

Xavier Cortada, Miami’s pioneer eco-artist, uses art’s elasticity to work across disciplines to engage communities in problem solving. Particularly environmentally focused, his work intends to generate awareness and action around climate change, sea level rise, and biodiversity loss.

Over the past three decades, the Cuban-American artist has created art at the North and South poles and across 6 continents, including more than 150 public artworks, installations, collaborative murals and socially engaged projects. He has been commissioned to create art for CERN, the White House, the World Bank, the Florida Turnpike, Port Everglades, and Miami City Hall, among many other art, science, and government venues.

Cortada, who serves as the inaugural Artist-in-Residence for Miami-Dade County, received a 2022 Creative Capital Award and a 2021 National Wetlands Award from the Environmental Law Institute. Other accolades include: Home & Away Residency, Anderson Ranch, Aspen, Colorado (2022); Grist 50 (2022); New York Foundation for the Arts fiscally-sponsored artist (2008 and 2019); Rauschenberg Residency: Rising Waters Confab, Captiva, Florida (2015); and the National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists & Writers Program, South Pole (2006-2007). In October 2022, Cortada delivered a TED Talk entitled A creative approach to community climate action which has garnered over 650,000 views.

The artist has exhibited and produced works internationally, including peace murals in Cyprus and Northern Ireland, child welfare murals in Bolivia and Panama, AIDS murals in Switzerland and South Africa, and eco-art projects in Holland, Scotland, and Taiwan. Cortada’s work is in the permanent collections of the Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), the NSU Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, the Whatcom Museum, the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum and the MDC Museum of Art + Design, among others.

Cortada, who was born in Albany, New York, grew up and lives in Miami, Florida. He received bachelors, masters and law degrees from the University of Miami, where he currently serves as professor of practice at the University of Miami Department of Art and Art History with secondary appointments in the School of Law and Miller School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics. 

Learn more at www.cortada.com

Paul Dreyer (He/His), Chief of Program Strategy and Outdoor Education Community Lead, Responder Alliance

A self-proclaimed mercenary educator, Paul has worked with numerous organizations (including NOLS, Where There Be Dragons, High Mountain Institute, Watershed School). Paul works throughout the world as a facilitator, presenter, curriculum designer, coach, expeditionary leader, risk management consultant, staff trainer, and team builder. After many years as the CEO of Avid4 Adventure, Paul transitioned to consultant work. He now supports multiple organizations, including Responder Alliance where he serves as Chief of Program Strategy and Outdoor Education Community Lead.

Hilary Eisen (she/her), Policy Director, Winter Wildlands Alliance

Hilary is an avid backcountry skier and ice climber with a passion for wild landscapes. She leads WWA’s work on National Forest winter travel management, forest planning, and other policy issues. Hilary works with our members, grassroots and grasstops partners, agency staff, and elected officials to protect wild snowscapes across the United States.

Jasmin Antonia Estrada (she/her), Community Support and Trainings Manager, Appalachian Mountain Club

Jasmin is the Community Support and Trainings Manager for the Appalachian Mountain Club. Guided by the lessons she has learned from the youth she worked with and the values of abundance and kindness Jasmin has strived to build space for young people to experience the nature they need, in the way they need it. She has pursued implementing critical pedagogy in her time building and facilitating equity and justice programming for youth and adults through her background in Adventure Education.

Daniella Gonzalez (she/her), Energy & Climate Policy Fellow, The Wilderness Society

Daniella Gonzalez Calderon is the Energy & Climate Policy Fellow at The Wilderness Society in Washington, DC. There, she helps coordinate The Wilderness Society’s energy and climate campaigns that defend against pollution and reckless energy development. Daniella received her degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Princeton University, is a co-chair for the People, Public Lands & Climate Collaborative's emission reduction group, and has contributed to research at the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. Daniella's love for conservation and environmental justice stem from some of her family's experience living in indigenous communities in Latin America and is now committed to creating safer spaces for underserved communities and protecting the environments that we share.

Rachel Hailey (She/They), Transformationalist, DEI Outdoors

Rachel is the Owner/Transformationalist at DEI Outdoors, a firm which deals directly with the outdoor industry to foster DEI in organizations. Her main objective is to transform the outdoor industry into a diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible space. Rachel is committed to creating an industry where anyone can experience, thrive, and lead in the out of doors no matter their circumstances, and has a focus on underserved and underrepresented communities. She has served and inspired over 100 organizations in the creation of actionable systems aligned with creating diversity, equity, and inclusion in outdoor spaces. She is a frequent writer for industry publications like Adventure Park Insider and Ski Area Magazine, and has given talks on DEI & Social Justice on international platforms. Outside of her endeavor to bridge the gap between racial and ethnic diversity in the outdoors and social justice, Rachel can be found magical creatures in the woods with her daughter and German Shepherd.

Kenji Haroutunian (He/Him/His/They), Founder & Director, Kenji Consults

Kenji Consults is a specialized agency in service to the greater outdoor recreation movement dedicated to creating meaningful convening of industry stakeholders and driving equity and inclusion in the industries we serve.

Tykee James (he/him/his), Sr. Government Relations Representative, The Wilderness Society

Tykee previously worked at the National Audubon Society, where he served on the government affairs team. He organized bird walks with members of Congress (in-district) and congressional staff (on the hill). He focused on bird conservation, water, coastal, and climate policy strategies.  Starting in his hometown of Philadelphia, PA, Tykee was introduced to birding as a job and a responsibility to build trust, power, and coalition to create meaningful change.  He has grown professionally as an advocate for equitable access to nature and affirming the fundamental right to political, economic, cultural, and environmental self-determination of all peoples.

Sarah R Johnson (She/Her), Environmental Education Wild Rose Education

Sarah R. Johnson MAEd, is an environmental education specialist. She is focused on climate change, the Arctic Ocean, public lands, watershed science, civics, and geography, and teaching and learning through her business, Wild Rose Education. Sarah is deeply steeped in teaching and learning promising practices, curriculum development, facilitation, and training delivered through professional learning workshops and courses with non-formal education centers, universities, and professional associations.

Jason D. Martin (He/Him), Executive Director, American Alpine Institute

Jason is the executive director and a co-owner of the American Alpine Institute, overseeing sixty plus guides in six different states and in several countries. He is an AMGA certified Rock and Alpine Guide, a Leave No Trace Master Educator, and a Rope Rescue Technician. Jason currently serves on the Mt. Erie Climbing Committee for the city of Anacortes and volunteers for the Bellingham Mountain Rescue Council where he has previously served as the president of the organization's Board. He also previously served as the technical director for the annual Red Rock Rendezvous climbing festival and served on both the Board of Directors for the American Mountain Guides Association and the Las Vegas Climbers Liaison Council. Jason has guided in Red Rock Canyon, Joshua Tree National Park, the Cascades, the Sierra, the Alaska Range, in Canada's Coast Range and in the Andes of Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru. Jason is a widely published outdoor writer. He co-authored ‘Washington Ice: A Climbing Guide’ and ‘Rock Climbing: The AMGA Single Pitch Manual,’ and authored ‘Fun Climbs Red Rocks: Topropes and Moderates’ and ‘Best Climbs: Red Rocks.’ Jason is an outdoor and climate activist. He is passionate about adventure recreation, equitable land management policies, wilderness preservation and backcountry risk management.

Adam Roberti (He/Him), Executive Director, Xavier Cortada Foundation

Adam Roberti serves as executive director of the Xavier Cortada Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to use socially engaged art to create meaningful and transformative experiences that educate, inspire, and mobilize communities to take collective action against our climate and ecological crises. In this role, Roberti works alongside Miami-Dade County’s inaugural artist-in-residence Xavier Cortada to implement large-scale, interactive eco-art projects such as the Reclamation Project and The Underwater – two initiatives featured in Cortada’s 2022 TED Talk. Through these ongoing public art interventions, Roberti leads the foundation in partnering with local schools, universities, museums, businesses, and Miami-Dade County's Office of Resilience, Parks Department and Public Library System to help thousands of residents discover their vulnerability to, and plan for a future with, rising seas, extreme heat, and intensifying hurricanes. He also oversees the Cortada Science Art Academy at Pinecrest Gardens, an immersive after-school program aimed at developing engaged citizens who use art and science to better understand our world, connect with others, and address environmental concerns. Roberti received a Bachelors in Ecosystem Science & Policy and a Masters of Environment, Culture, and Media from the University of Miami, where he serves on an interdisciplinary research team focused on climate migration and retreat. Roberti has also shared his expertise through speaking engagements with the Aspen Institute, National Wildlife Federation, Everglades Foundation, and multiple universities.

Paul Sanford, Director of Policy Analysis, The Wilderness Society

Paul Sanford is a Director of Policy Analysis at The Wilderness Society, where he develops organizational policy priorities that seek to ensure everyone benefits equitably from nature and public lands. A native of Cleveland, OH, Paul has a Law degree from the University of Toledo and a Bachelor's degree from Ohio University. Paul has been a public policy advocate at the federal level since 1991. He began his recreation career in 2004 as the Stewardship and Policy Director at the American Canoe Association. He transitioned to the Wilderness Society in 2011 because he believes in the deep connection between people and place that is forged by recreation on public lands, and wants to ensure that people can enjoy America’s public lands while at the same time working for their protection. Paul’s favorite outdoor activity is kayaking on the waters of the Great Lakes region.

Marcus Shoffner (He/Him), President & CEO, Outdoor Inclusion Coalition

Marcus Shoffner is the President and CEO of The Outdoor Inclusion Coalition, an organization with a mission to attract, engage, and retain underserved populations in the outdoors. Marcus entered the outdoor sector upon graduation, working in the for-profit sector managing an industry tradeshow before transitioning to focus on city and state outdoor initiatives. After relocating to Pittsburgh in 2018, he created the Outdoor Inclusion Coalition to create a collaborative space to grow the outdoor industry and communal greenspaces.

Claire Smallwood (She/Her), Executive Director, SheJumps

Claire Smallwood is a visionary leader in removing barriers for women and girls in outdoor recreation, and beyond. As the co-founder and Executive Director of SheJumps, she’s devoted the last 15 years to building a future where people everywhere are living to their potential. The mission of SheJumps is to offer outdoor play that transforms to women and girls (transgender and cisgender) aged six and older. Partnering with nature, SheJumps creates safe, educational outdoor experiences that nurture growth and transformation. From fly-fishing and avalanche education to snowshoeing and first aid, SheJumps focuses on building confidence and community in our outdoor playgrounds. Claire is the heart behind this mission, overseeing three staff and 150 volunteers across the country. Despite losing over $100,000 – a third of SheJumps’ operating revenue – due to the pandemic, Claire led the team to revolutionize how they offered transformative experiences, resulting in the most impactful outcomes yet. In the last year, SheJumps reached 3,879  individuals through online and guide-led programming. Claire holds a BA in Foreign Languages and Literatures from Lewis & Clark College.

Danielle Elizabeth Strickman (She/Her/Hers), Artic Landscape Director, The Wilderness Society

In her role, as Arctic Landscape Director, Danielle leads the Arctic Landscape Team—a cross-functional, cross-departmental team of TWS staff working collaboratively with partners and stakeholders to develop and execute a landscape strategy that will materially advance TWS’s Strategic Framework in Alaska’s Arctic.  

Danielle is of Dena’ina and Koyukon Athabascan descent and was raised in both rural and urban areas of Alaska. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from the University of Hawaii at Hilo. She began her professional career in the northern regions of Alaska, assisting in the documentation of Traditional Ecological Knowledge on polar bears. Over the last decade she worked across the state of Alaska advocating for local and cultural subsistence rights, diversity, equity and inclusion in public policy forums and meetings, and acted as a liaison between Tribes and state and federal entities.

Danielle’s passion for sustainable science and policy and working with Indigenous communities is rooted in her cultural upbringing and ancient values of respect for all living beings and the enena (earth).  In the role of Arctic Landscape Director, she aims to share her vast experiences and knowledge to protect public lands for future generations.

In her free time, Danielle enjoys teaching and practicing yoga, beading for her small business (Dena’ina Dreams), playing with her nieces, traveling, harvesting salmon, picking berries, and spending time out on the land.

Roy Tuscany, CEO / Founder, High Fives Foundation

Originally from Waterbury, VT and after graduating from University of Vermont with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Roy headed out west to pursue the dream of being a professional free-skier. In 2006, Roy suffered a life-changing injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down and was the catalyst to the creation of High Fives. Roy turned the financial and community support of his own recovery into a ‘pay-it-forward’ adventure with the creation of High Fives Non-Profit Foundation. He was named the spirit inspires award from Disabled Sports USA in 2011, and once held the World Record for the most high fives in a 24 hour period. He lives in Reno, NV with his partner, Alana Nichols, and son, Gunnar, and enjoys finding fun in everything he does - biking, skiing, surfing, and everything outdoors.

Liz Vogel, Education & Youth Engagement Director, The Wilderness Society

Liz is based on Abenaki land aka Claremont, NH and oversees The Wilderness Society’s Education and Youth Engagement initiatives, including the Public Lands Curriculum. She graduated with a BS in Biology and Environmental Science from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY. Liz has spent much of her childhood and adult life seeking out adventures on public lands- from backpacking with her dad at a young age on the Appalachian Trail to leading youth trail crews 30 miles deep in the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park. Her career has been focused on getting youth outside- for education, play, and stewardship. She spent 15 years with the Student Conservation Association, directing high school youth and young adult internship programs, after many years in the field teaching environmental education and building trails on public lands in UT, NY, VA, IN, WY, MS, and CA.

Brad Werntz, New Normal Consulting LLC

bio coming soon