Meet the Team

Facilitator

José González

José González is a professional educator with training in the fields of education and conservation while engaging in different artistic endeavors with art and messaging—often exploring the intersection of the environment and culture. He is the founder and director emeritus of Latino Outdoors, a non-profit that connects and engages Latinx communities in the outdoors.

José will serve as facilitator for the 6-month engagement, leading or supporting the development and framing of fellowship sessions and resources.

Advisors

Rethink Outside™ Fellowship Advisors are established leaders working at the intersections of environment, education, outdoor recreation, social justice, and media. They provide guidance on the implementation of the fellowship. We’re grateful to these leaders for serving as Advisors.

Laura Lemus
Hispanics in Philanthropy

Efraín Delgado
Justice Outside

Anne Umali
North American Association for Environmental Education

Andrew Carberry
Wallace Center

Content Experts and Trainers

Topics for the sessions will be customized to the fellows’ needs and co-generated throughout the six months, but will include topics such as strategic storytelling, branding, marketing, social media, accessing funding, public speaking, and finding your voice as a leader identifying as Black, Indigenous, and person of color. We are grateful for the engagement and participation of: Brittany Leavitt (Brown Girls Climb), Agnes Vianzon (Eastern Sierra Conservation Corps), Karen Ramos (NatureChola), Courtney Schultz (Health & Technology Partners, LLC.), Chip Giller (GRIST), Jill Tidman (The Redford Center), Jason Morris (The Pisces Foundation), Stasie Maxwell (PGM ONE), Susan Pierson-Brown (Seven November, Inc.), Rena Payan (Justice Outside), Kristen Ragain (REI Cooperative Action Fund), Erin Borla (Roundhouse Foundation), Hannah Shulman (11th Hour Project), Hannah Abuzaineh (The Explore Fund at The North Face), LaTresse Snead (Bonsai Leadership Group, LLC.), Yanira Castro (Humanity Communications Collective), Alfredo Gonzalez (Resources Legacy Fund), Teresa Baker (Outdoor CEO Diversity Pledge), Shanelle Smith Whigham (KeyBank), and Leah Thomas (Intersectional Environmentalist). We will add to this list as more content and training sessions are confirmed.

Coordinators (Blue Sky Funders Forum)

Anupama Joshi
Executive Director

Berkeley Bryant
Program Coordinator

Fellowship Design and Review

The Rethink Outside™ Fellowship design was coordinated by the Blue Sky Funders Forum in consultation with community leaders Yanira Castro (Outdoor Afro and Humanity Communications Collective), Angelou Ezeilo (Greening Youth Foundation), James Edward Mills (The Joy Trip Project), Anne Umali (North American Association for Environmental Education), José González, and Christina James (past Blue Sky Funders Forum staff). An external panel of experts provided valuable support and guidance by reviewing applications and recommending the finalists. We are grateful for the contributions of all these individuals.

Supporters

The Rethink Outside™ inaugural fellowship cohort is supported by a generous grant from the Pisces Foundation, with additional contributions from the Roundhouse Foundation (prioritizing rural and tribal applicants from the Pacific Northwest), the Harold M. and Adeline S. Morrison Family Foundation (prioritizing applicants from Chicago, Washington D.C., and Charlotte), the William Penn Foundation (prioritizing applicants from the Delaware Watershed), the Swantz Family Foundation, The Merrill G. and Emita E. Hastings Foundation, evo, the National Park Foundation, the Gray Family Foundation (prioritizing applicants from Oregon), eeBlue (a partnership of NOAA and NAAEE), and Arc’teryx.