Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resources Available for AORE Members
AORE Inclusiveness Value: We welcome diversity, aim to be accessible and inclusive, and work to remove barriers to participation. We strive to be an organization
that is reflective of the current and expanding community.We have been working to expand AORE’s mission to be more inclusive - to strive towards the vision where everyone can connect to the outdoors. We feel that the outdoors should be inclusive of all. We firmly believe that AORE members, and their programs, are the places where informed and empowered outdoor and education facilitators can work to change the face(s) of the outdoors. This starts by providing our membership access to the tools to help them empower others through facilitated recreation.
To help you in this work, we want to highlight some of the tools and resources AORE has available:
- Message Boards: Professional, Student Professional, Organization and Vendor memberships have access to post and read the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion message board. They can utilize this valuable resource to share findings, ask questions, or learn more on how to improve their leadership skills. To ensure you are subscribed to this message board, log in to your member’s area to verify.
- DEI Question Portal: We understand that many members may not know where to start with DEI work, and others are along their journey but are hitting barriers in their understanding or ability to move forward. We want to support all in their work and understand that DEI conversations for some are not easy and that there may be a hesitation about saying "the wrong thing". Sometimes, learning is messy, and we want to create space for that without potentially doing harm to members. If you have a question about DEI and are seeking an answer, we have created a form to submit your question anonymously here as an alternative to posting directly to the DEI message board. A member from the DEI committee will receive your question and can bring it forward to the message boards and/or in a newsroom article in a way where all members can benefit from learning.
- Resource Page: We have launched the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resources page in the member portal. These tools and resources are ever growing and are being provided to help support your work and leadership both as individuals and as program directors.
- Association Chat: On Wednesday, June 24th, 3-4 PM ET, Kellie Gerbers, AORE Chair, will be hosting an AORE BOD Mid Year association chat, where all members can learn about the BOD’s initiatives for the remainder of 2020 and beyond. Register here.
- Association Chat: On July 17th, 2-3 PM ET, AORE will be hosting an association chat focused on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. This session will be used to discuss the work and resources available to membership. Hosts include: Kellie Gerbers, AORE Chair; Deidra Goodwin, DEI Committee Co-Chair; and Jeannette Stawski, AORE’s Executive Director. Register here
- Conference Tools: We believe that everyone in the outdoor recreation and education industry, including you, is important and should have the opportunity to attend the AORE Annual Conference. We have compiled a variety of resources to help reduce conference related funding requests, fundraising, payment plans and scholarship information.