Inclusion Tag

Business, Diversity / 08.04.2019

Over the weekend I had the wonderful privilege to visit for the first time Cuyahoga Valley National Park. But a canceled flight made for a harrowing day of air travel as my journey to Cleveland, Ohio from Madison, Wisconsin was rerouted through Denver, Colorado. I typically don’t like to fly on the same day that I give a presentation to avoid circumstances exactly like this. Though I had planned to arrive with plenty of time to visit the area and explore a bit, I managed to get to...

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Diversity, Essays, Expedition Denali, Magazines, Public Land, Uncategorized / 06.08.2018

Over my coffee on a Saturday morning I reached for a new magazine at the top of my reading pile. I actually thought it was the Patagonia catalog, thrilled to see at first glance a person of color on the cover. On closer inspection, though, I realized that it was the American Alpine Club “Guidebook to Membership”. A tight close-up image of a face with apparently dark skin wearing glasses had that vaguely artistic quality that offers little in the way of relevant information but draws the viewer in...

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Commentary, Diversity / 01.01.2018

There’s a moment in public speaking when you know you’ve got them. Someone in the back of the room shakes their head.  Tongues click with disgust. Oh the injustice! A sharp intake of breath from the third row sets the hook as others gasp, right on cue. A grown man wipes a tear from his eye.  Then, at the end, there’s the question I’m so often asked: “What can we do to help?” Over much of the last two years I’ve traveled around the country presenting to audiences on...

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Commentary, Diversity, Photography / 01.09.2017

A recent blog post described me as “a champion in the effort to bring more diversity to the outdoors.” As much as I appreciate the compliment, the statement appears as the cutline to a photograph at the head of an article that goes on never to mention anything that I might have done to earn the title of “champion”. The author never contacted me for a quote or even referenced a single one of the 800+ stories published on this blog or the scores of magazine articles, radio...

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Diversity, Interview, Life Out Loud, National Parks, New Century Vision, Public Land, Yosemite / 18.08.2016

[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='65' color='#eb9617' background_color='' border_color='']W[/dropcaps]   hen visitors arrive at Yosemite National Park Ranger Shelton Johnson is there to greet them. With a broad smile and a twinkle in his eye he extends a warm hand of welcome to all who enter into this remarkable landscape that is a wonder to all the world to behold. Shelton is among the many dedicated professionals charged with the task of protecting this and other areas of public land across the United States so that they might be enjoyed for...

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Adventure Activism, Interview, National Parks, New Century Vision, The Centennial Initiative / 15.08.2016

Through much of the summer of 2016 The Joy Trip Project has been on the road collecting stories to celebrate the 100th anniversary of our National Parks. In the hopes of raising awareness for the importance of protecting our public lands for future generations the Project is presenting a series of short videos and podcasts that aim to illustrate the thoughts of real people working to preserve the enduring legacy of environmental conservation. In this edition JTP producer James Edward Mills spoke to environmental educator Steve Noud after a...

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