Keynote Speaker
Akiima Price (she/her/hers)
Akiima Price (she/her/hers)
A creative thinker and doer who links people, places, and programs, Akiima Price is a nationally respected thought leader at the intersection of social justice and environmental issues. Her innovative Meaningful Park Engagement programming strategies feature nature as a powerful medium to connect economically stressed urban African American communities in positive, life-changing experiences outdoors that affect how they feel about themselves, their communities, and their parks. From her early experience as a Ranger with the National Park Service in 1993 to her international work with environmental, social, and justice organizations, Akiima has cultivated over 30 years of experience into cutting-edge best practices in trauma-informed, equitable environmentalism.
Friends of Anacostia Park | Instagram |
Summit Poet & Culture Setter
Franklin Cruz (they/he)
Franklin Cruz (they/he)
Franklin Cruz is a queer latin dancer, poet born in Idaho, raised Texan and polished in Denver. Born from an immigrant family his work has placed him in science museums, environmental spaces, as an emcee and poet for dance & poetry competitions and conferences. They aim for specificity over simplicity, encompassing self love , conservation, immigration and culture.
|
Panel Session One
Policy Advocacy and Grassroots Action:
The Power of Community-Led Conservation Initiatives
Policy Advocacy and Grassroots Action:
The Power of Community-Led Conservation Initiatives
This panel explores the power of community-led conservation efforts, highlighting how ordinary people become catalysts for environmental change and social justice. By examining grassroots movements, the discussion reveals the synergy between local activism, policy advocacy, and preserving natural resources. Successful examples of grassroots movements are showcased, illustrating their impact from local to national levels and offering hope for addressing environmental justice issues. Through engaging narratives and tangible outcomes, the conversation aims to inspire others to mobilize for positive change in their own communities, emphasizing the transformative potential of grassroots activism in reshaping our world for the better.
DaZha Creal (she/her/hers)
DaZha Creal is a black social researcher and community organizer, originally from northern California. She holds a master's in International Human Rights and a certificate of Global Health Affairs from the University of Denver. She is passionate about expanding the research base and action potential at the intersections of health, agriculture, and climate. DaZha aspires to bring awareness to DEI and uplift all marginalized voices.
LinkedIn | Instagram |
Ernest House, Jr. (he/him/his)
As former Executive Director for the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs (CCIA) for 12 years, Ernest House maintained the communication between the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe, and other American Indian organizations, state agencies and affiliated groups. In that position, Ernest worked under former Governors Owens, Ritter, and Hickenlooper along with CCIA members to maintain a government-to-government relationship between the State of Colorado and Tribal governments. As Senior Policy Director and Director for the Center for Tribal and Indigenous Engagement for the Keystone Policy Center, Ernest works with stakeholders in the areas of Tribal consultation, energy, conservation, agriculture, healthcare, education, cultural resource management, and cultural repatriation.
Ernest serves on the Fort Lewis College Board of Trustees, Gates Family Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, National Western Center Authority Board, Conservation Colorado Board, and the Colorado Interbasin Compact Committee. He is an enrolled member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Towaoc, Colorado. He holds a rich tradition in his position as son of the late Ernest House, Sr., a long-time tribal leader for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and great-grandson of Chief Jack House, the last hereditary Chief of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Center for Tribal and Indigenous Engagement | CCIA |
Raya Salter (she/her/hers)
Raya Salter, AKA “Climate Auntie” is an energy justice movement attorney, activist,
author and the Founder and Executive Director of the Energy Justice Law & Policy Center. She is a member of the New York State Climate Action Council, sits on the board of EESI and the Advisory Board of Evergreen Action. Raya is an adjunct professor at Cardozo law school, is widely published on matters of energy regulation and the author of "Energy Justice" (2018). She has over 15 years of energy regulatory experience both in private practice (Dewey & LeBoeuf) and for NGOs, including the NY Renews Coalition, NRDC and the Environmental Defense Fund. She is an environmental justice advisor to the House Oversight and Natural Resources Committees and has testified twice before congress. Raya went viral after standing her ground against the GOP during a big oil hearing. Climate Auntie | Instagram | Energy Justice Law & Policy Center | Raya Salter |
Yvette Lopez-Ledesma (she/her/hers)
Yvette Lopez-Ledesma is the Founder of Tias on Trails, a Los Angeles based hiking community for folks in their señora era. She also is the owner of Tia Strategies, a consulting practice dedicated to working with non-profit leaders to co-create healthier work environments, share tested management practices, and support organizations in transition. Working in the non-profit sector since 2001, Yvette has been a champion for community-led movements and campaigns at both community-based and national organizations. She has worked with various coalitions and teams across the west to secure major funding for the creation, preservation and restoration of parks and open space, improve mobility options and access to parks, and also helped secure the country's first land-use designation to keep polluting industries from further overburdening communities in Los Angeles.
An organizer at her core, she continues to advocate for an equitable distribution of public resources from sidewalks to parks, to bus shelters and always in the company of her community. She loves a good carne asada, the outdoors and making memories with her husband and their two dogs. Instagram | Email |
Moderator - Parker McMullen Bushman (they/she)
Parker McMullen Bushman (aka KWEEN WERK) Meet Parker McMullen Bushman, a trailblazer in the conservation and environmental movements. As the CEO/Founder of Ecoinclusive Strategies and Founder of Summit For Action, Parker is dedicated to reshaping these fields to be more inclusive and equitable. Through these initiatives, she empowers organizations to not only embrace diversity but also to address the underlying systemic barriers that prevent equitable access to outdoor spaces and environmental resources.
Listed by Outside Magazine in 2022 as one of the 20 Most Influential People in the Outdoor Industry, Parker is a dynamic speaker and facilitator that engages audiences in new thinking around what it means to be a diversity change-agent and create dynamic organizational change. Parker’s background in the non-profit leadership, conservation, environmental education and outdoor recreation fields spans over 24+ years. Parker has a passion for equity and inclusion in outdoor spaces. Her interest in justice, accessibility, and equity issues developed from her personal experiences facing the unequal representation of people of color in environmental organizations and green spaces. Parker tackles these complex issues by addressing them through head on activism and education. Ecoinclusive | KWEEN WERK | Inclusive Journeys |
Panel Session Two
Honoring Indigenous Wisdom in Environmental Stewardship
Honoring Indigenous Wisdom in Environmental Stewardship
This panel session celebrates the invaluable contributions of Indigenous communities in preserving and protecting the environment with a discussion highlighting traditional ecological knowledge and stewardship practices. We will delve into ways to support and amplify Indigenous-led conservation efforts, acknowledging the importance of centering Indigenous voices and respecting their rights in environmental initiatives. By engaging in dialogue and collaboration, we aim to foster greater understanding and partnership in mobilizing grassroots environmental efforts that honor Indigenous wisdom and promote sustainability for future generations.
Jamie Bourque-Blyan (she/they/he)
Jamie Bourque-Blyan (Metis) is a citizen of the Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement, where he was raised among her grandparents and large extended family.
After sitting on the Aboriginal Healing Foundation of Canada, as a youth advisor, for 5 years, Jamie was selected by the Nelson Mandela Foundation in South Africa to participate in the Mandela Memory Work Dialogues (2013-2019). The Mandela Dialogue process provided an international forum to discuss the complex personal, collective, and professional challenges facing those engaged in reconciliation attempts and its direct connection to inclusive memory work. This skill is now being applied to Reconciliation Action Plans in the climate space, while exploring resource and economic reparation of indigenous nations in so–called Canada. With a degree in Design and Motion Image, Jamie has also been active in the industry since 2009 as an executive producer, creative producer, writer, and director. In their latest feature-length documentary film, re-ken-si-le-a-shen (2023), Jamie unearths painful truths about their family’s past, and connects with fellow survivors of conquest and colonization to explore how other countries – including South Africa, Croatia and New Zealand – have engaged in the process of truth and reconciliation post-atrocity, and how alternative approaches to healing through collective memory might be applied in so-called Canada. Jamie is the Engagement Manager with Indigenous Climate Action, previously serving as ICA's Strategic Communications and Partnership Coordinator. Indigenous Climate Action | re-ken-si-le-a-shen (2023) |
Grant Gliniecki (he/they)
Grant Gliniecki (/Grant glih-NYET-skee/) is passionate about outdoor education, recreation, and public land access. Their approach celebrates how outdoor policy can help us find shared values on complicated environmental issues while promoting equity, opportunity, and health for all. He is especially interested in identifying our opportunities and responsibilities to support environmentally-committed tribal government legislators, reaffirm tribal sovereignty, and promote awareness of treaty obligations at local, state, and federal levels.
Grant holds a Community Sustainability M.S. and is currently completing a Ph.D. in Community Sustainability, both at Michigan State University. Their research weaves conventional settler sciences, oral histories, and Anishinaabe sciences to restore sustainable, loving relationships between human beings, Anishinaabewaki // Anishinaabe land, and our more-than-human relatives. Before joining NCEL, he coordinated Indigenous student success at Michigan State University through Student Life & Engagement. He lives in Nkwejong // Where the rivers meet (Lansing, MI) where he founded and serves as President of Giitigan, an Anishinaabe Community Garden nonprofit sharing Anishinaabe food, language, and science through urban gardening. They love hiking, canoeing, porcupine quillwork, sugarbushing, and especially gardening. Grant’s office helpers include a menagerie of chickens, fish, dogs, and an eccentric cat. |
Robyn Jackson (she/her/asdzą́ą́)
Robyn Jackson is the Executive Director with the Navajo environmental justice organization Diné C.A.R.E. She is Tó’áhaní (Near the Water Clan) and she grew up in the Chuska Mountains on the Navajo Nation. Immersed in the environmental justice movement from a young age, she is the daughter of two of Diné C.A.R.E.’s co-founding members, Adella Begaye and Leroy Jackson. Her experience includes research, community organizing, and organizational management in environmental justice issues related to environmental health, forest conservation, sustainable food systems and renewable technologies in the Southwest. Robyn's leadership centers Diné ancestral values of relationality and kinship with the natural world, honoring matriarchal strength and the Diné Philosophy of Life. She is also pursuing a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Northern Arizona University.
Diné C.A.R.E. | Instagram | Facebook |
Moderator - Renée M. Chacon (she/her/hers)
Renée M. Chacon is Diné/Xicana/Filipina and is the co founder and executive director of Womxn from the Mountain- an inclusive group for all women, trans, non-binary, two-spirit individuals, and diverse communities empowering holistic needs through equity, transformative education, and culturally responsive healing arts. for transforming education through justice, art and cultural education. She works as a cultural educator in several environmental justice initiatives to stop environmental racism in Commerce City, including Suncor Sundown. She was co-chair on the equity analysis subcommittee for the Environmental Justice Action Taskforce and is currently Commerce City Council Womxn for Ward 3.
Womxn from the Mountain | Suncor Sundown | Colorado EJ Action Taskforce |
Summit for Action Facilitators
Taishya Adams (she/her)
|
Basil Binkley (he/they)
|
Casey Bries (they/them)
|
Taishya is a servant leader focused on collective liberation and stewardship through community building, personal transformation, and systems change. After 30+ years at the intersections of education, health, workforce, science, and environment, she founded the Mukuyu Collective, LLC to transform systems through policy, programs, and play. Taishya currently serves as a member for Boulder City Council and serves on the board of Black in Marine Science, and previously served as a commissioner to Colorado Parks & Wildlife; the NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Business Advisory Council; and on the Colorado Natural Areas Council. She is the founding Board President of New Legacy Charter School in Aurora, Colorado. Taishya holds a MA in International Education from George Washington University and a BA from Vassar College in Political Science and Film.
Mike Ksenyak (they/them)
Mike is the Principal Consultant and Cofounder of Intersecting Solutions LLC, a consulting firm offering people-centered solutions for an inclusive work culture. Mike is a queer nonbinary neurodivergent disruptor striving to create a better reality so everyone and every body can feel a sense of belonging and thrive at work, and in the outdoors. Their mission is to influence progressive and systemic change through a human resources practice guided by justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. Mike's approach centers antiracism and focuses on intersectionality, authentic relationship building, and unlearning to enable growth. Their HR career spans 20 years working in the areas of environmental restoration and stewardship, youth leadership, conservation, international development, water, sanitation and hygiene, and outdoor recreation and environmental education. Previously, Mike was a newspaper reporter and a copy editor. They are bilingual in Spanish and certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources.
|
As an enthusiastic people person and nature lover, Basil utilizes their knowledge of the natural world, leadership experience, and skills as a certified facilitator to analyze and find innovative solutions to complicated ecological problems in the Rocky Mountain region. Basil is a passionate advocate for equity in the outdoors and protecting our fabulous native biodiversity. He has worked as an Outreach Ranger for City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks for over two years and graduated from Colorado State University Warner College of Natural Resources in 2020. His favorite part of his job is creating cool programs for the queer community and helping with kids events. He also loves to get nerdy about plants of all kinds and would love to hear about your garden.
Chris Talbot-Heindl (they/them)
Chris is a queer, trans nonbinary, and triracial artist, storyteller, and nonprofit laborer (currently at Rocky Mountain Wild) trying to build spaces ready to celebrate when they turn up authentically. Chris has 25 years of experience working with environmental and LGBTIQA2+ nonprofits, centering and advocating for equity at the forefront of everything they do. They serve as co-chair with Next 100 Colorado. Chris spends their free time editing the art and literature compzines, The Bitchin’ Kitsch and All My Relations, and Community-Centric Fundraising’s Content Hub; making educomics like Chrissplains Nonbinary Advocacy to Cisgender People and Why Must the White Cis Nonprofit Workers Angry React to All My Posts?; working on their serial graphic novel The Story of Them about what it’s like to be nonbinary in a very gender-binary world; and writing essay and short stories exploring identity and belonging.
|
Casey works closely with local, state, and federal land management agencies and environmental organizations to foster trust within and between communities and guide collaboration and participation in environmental decision making. Casey is the Founder of Systole Consulting and serves as a Program Partner with CDR Associates. They have over 15 years of experience in public lands, stakeholder engagement, and facilitation. Casey has collaborated with Ecoinclusive to plan and organize the annual Summit for Action since 2022 and now serves on the inaugural Board of Directors. They also serve on the board for Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado. Casey holds an MPA in Environmental Policy & Management from the University of Colorado Denver and a BS in Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Studies from the University of Minnesota.
Evan Wilder (he/him)
Evan is the Creative Design Manager with Denver Scholarship Foundation, a nonprofit that inspires and empowers Denver Public School students to enroll in and graduate from postsecondary institutions of higher education through a nationally recognized program that consists of support systems, actionable tools, and scholarships to help guide them to lifelong success. Evan grew up in Michigan and most recently hails from Oregon, eager to deepen his Colorado roots. He graduated from the Spring Valley campus of Colorado Mountain College with an associate degree in Graphic Design. After 5+ years in corporate positions, his passion for alternative education and community engagement led him to DSF. He oversees graphics and brand standards across print, digital, and web platforms and loves creating a consistent and purposeful experience for Scholars and community members alike. Outside of work you can find him watching birds, hiking, and trying out local restaurants.
|