DD Johnice: Outdoor Afro's Chief Program & Innovation Officer
She's a lot of cool titles. Serial entrepreneur, accomplished strategist, innovation executive, and mom. DD Johnice has successfully built a career of solving problems that matter to employers, customers, and society. Today, she serves as Outdoor Afro’s inaugural Chief Program & Innovation Officer. In this role, she implements original programmatic strategic initiatives; leads the organization’s digital strategy and transformation; and engages in fundraising and partnership endeavors to scale the national not-for-profit organization.
Johnice collaborates across the senior management team and board of directors on operational and programmatic strategies, including marketing strategy, customer journey optimization, and external relationship development. She plays a vital role in cultivating existing relationships with public and private funders while driving marketing efforts to enhance program impact and reach.
For more than 20 years, Johnice has held leadership roles in every aspect of innovation — creative, technical, human capital, and business — across the healthcare, advertising, retail, and media industries. She also serves as CEO and Chief Product Officer of The Wonder Guild, a speculative design advisory she founded in 2000. Johnice nurtured a global following of senior leaders she advises on developing products and systems that grow enterprises while protecting the environment; respecting and improving human lives; and becoming global citizen leaders with ESG-based growth models.
Within the healthcare industry, Johnice led a multidisciplinary team of researchers, clinicians, designers, and strategists as the Vice President, Health Transformation Lab for Blue Shield of California. The team partnered across the enterprise to develop partnerships, products, and services that make healthcare more affordable, equitable, and valuable to members, healthcare providers, and customers.
Prior to joining Blue Shield, Johnice guided digital health, community health, and social innovation teams at Kaiser Permanente. She and her team applied technology and startup economy approaches to tackling the social determinants of health to improve health outcomes and quality of life for all. Johnice describes herself as a “weaver,” a natural dot connector.
She excels at combining the best from every industry, market, and people to new teams and ventures; building new capabilities; crafting new products and services; and leading transformative, sustainable, and equitable change. When not working, Johnice enjoys nature hikes and aquaponics with her brilliant daughter. She also likes writing, sculling, and collecting cute robots and Japanese dollhouses.
ABOUT OUTDOOR AFRO: Outdoor Afro is a national not-for-profit organization that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. What started as a kitchen table blog by Founder and CEO Rue Mapp in 2009 has since grown into a cutting-edge nationwide organization. Outdoor Afro’s U.S. networks include nearly 100-plus volunteer leaders who guide nature activities in up to 60 cities with network participation reaching 60,000 people annually. Outdoor Afro reconnects Black people to the outdoors through outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. Follow Outdoor Afro @outdoorafro and outdoorafro.org.
Nature gateways to GivingTuesday 2023 with Outdoor Afro
Symbolizing a season of replenishing and re-establishing oneself before the new year, November equally sets giving into motion. Right after Thanksgiving is GivingTuesday. Known as a global generosity moment, the Nov. 28, 2023, day launches Outdoor Afro’s end-of-year giving to wrap up the organization’s annual accomplishments in nature and neighborhoods nationwide. “This time of year always brings us a sense of warmth and gratitude,” said Outdoor Afro Founder and CEO Rue Mapp. “Because of our supporters’ belief and investment in our organization, Outdoor Afro is able to continue to serve as both nature stewards and neighborhood lifesavers as we care for each other and our planet.” As Outdoor Afro looks back on the past 11 months, here are all the ways supporters have continued to help achieve its mission work to celebrate and inspire Black connections and leadership in nature:
OUTDOOR AFRO LEADERSHIP TRAINING: This annual training held in April each year guides the newest class of volunteer leaders through best practices for creating activities and leading in nature safely and sustainably. The weekend training is designed to equip a select group of volunteers and innovators from across the United States with the essential outdoor skills needed to return to their hometowns and guide their local communities outside in outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. Outdoor Afro professionally develops more than 100 volunteer leaders who represent the organization's four regions: Northeast, Midwest, South, and West.
LOCAL ACTIVITIES: After Outdoor Afro Leadership Training completes, volunteer leaders originate, host, and guide events in their local to regional communities. These authentic activities range from neighborhood historical walks and cultural art experiences to gardening, biking, hiking, fishing, swimming, skiing, geocaching, nature journaling, and kayaking. Volunteers provide more than 1,200 in-person to online events for multigenerational participants to join.
MAKING WAVES: The life-saving program formed in response to the alarming number of Black children who drown today tied to the historic prohibition of Black access to public swimming pools and beaches. Since 2019, Outdoor Afro’s goal has been to teach every Black child and their caregiver in its sphere of influence learn how to swim. Currently, Outdoor Afro provides Swimmerships™ (swim lesson scholarships) through Making Waves. With 1,200 Swimmerships™ completed before the end of 2023, the program continues to gain support from brands like KEEN and CLIF Bar to help bring awareness and stronger connections to water.
JUNETEENTH: Media created a flawed narrative about Juneteenth. Labeling it as a “celebration” to the end of slavery in the United States. For the past two years, Outdoor Afro has educated the public about the reality of the situation. June 19, 1865, is the date when 250,000 enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, were told they were free – 2.5 years after the Emancipation Proclamation (signed Jan. 1, 1863) went into effect. Outdoor Afro corrects this oftentimes “celebratory” story by rephrasing the day as a “commemoration.” To honor those who were denied 2.5 years of freedom, the organization encourages its networks, partners, and communities to spend 2.5 hours in nature to reflect on what freedom means to them.
Created in 2012, GivingTuesday unleashes the power of radical generosity – the concept that the suffering of others should be as intolerable as one’s own suffering. The New York City-founded nonprofit includes a global network of collaborators that encourage goodness around the world. Its mission is to build a world where generosity is part of everyday life. As simple as making someone smile. Assisting a stranger. Addressing a community issue. Every act counts. “Our work would not have had the chance to grow and flourish for nearly 15 years now without consistent and enthusiastic support,” Mapp said. “We're only able to fulfill our mission to celebrate and inspire Black connections and leadership in nature because of our supporters' trust and participation in our mission, which fuels our passion and gratitude each day.”
ABOUT OUTDOOR AFRO: Outdoor Afro is a national not-for-profit organization that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. What started as a kitchen table blog by Founder and CEO Rue Mapp in 2009 has since grown into a cutting-edge nationwide network with 100-plus volunteer leaders in 60 cities, with network participation reaching 60,000 people. Outdoor Afro reconnects Black people with the outdoors through outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. Follow Outdoor Afro @outdoorafro and outdoorafro.org.
Outdoor Afro names Dr. Mamie A. Parker 'Lifetime Achievement' recipient
She ascended to the stage, glimmering in the night’s joy. Her maroon and silver gown sashayed with each quaint step. Bringing the memory of her late mother, Cora Parker – an Arkansas maid and tenant farmer – front stage to celebrate in the moment. Overjoyed, Dr. Mamie A. Parker squeezed Outdoor Afro friend, Founder, and CEO Rue Mapp before the award exchange. It’s the national not-for-profit’s ninth annual fundraiser, Glamp Out, held Oct. 20, 2023. Mamie, 66, recently received Outdoor Afro’s distinguished “Lifetime Achievement” award at Bloc15 in Oakland for her decades of innovative conservation work.
Mamie pledged her outdoor career to fish and wildlife biology, as a success coach, and to later serve as a principal consultant for countless state and federal agencies. Because Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman” played as her Glamp Out walk-on song, it was only customary for the wildlife conservationist to give the crowd a quick two-step and a few shimmies as she approached the podium. “Good evening,” she said with a well-grounded tone and delicately sliding her readers onto her smiling face. “I know you can do better than that. In my culture, when we call, we ask you to respond.” The crowd gladly did with louder claps, whistles, and good evenings in reply to the Wilmot, Arkansas, hometowner.
Mamie emphasized her roots to help explain her call-and-response request. It’s due to her purpose-driven travels from a sharecropping South to serving as a key presidential appointees’ house adviser with several administrations that she often delivers messages of resilience across America. Hopeful words she’s shared in different formats across world stages. Against-all-odds stories that crowds either hear for the first time or need to hear again. “Dr. Parker is a history maker,” said Mapp to Glamp Out guests. “She served as the first African American U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) regional director of the 13 Northeastern states.”
FWS is the oldest federal conservation agency, tracing its lineage to 1871. It’s the only agency in the federal government whose primary responsibility is the management of fish and wildlife for the American public. Notably and repeatedly, Parker entered outdoor spaces as a “first” in similar conservation and wildlife environments. Appointed by the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Parker was also elected as the inaugural Black chair of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources Commission. Mamie earned the American Fisheries Society’s highest honor – named after its first woman president – for her outstanding work promoting clean drinking water in nationwide streams.
This presidential rank awardee also became the first Black woman to serve as Head of Fisheries in the United States. The avid angler was appointed as the special assistant to the director and later became the assistant director in the FWS headquarters located in Washington, D.C. – the first Black person to hold this title. Among other pioneering roles, Parker also held the post of the board chair of the Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries Commission. While there, the board passed a resolution that became a model for other states, changed the board name from “game” to wildlife, and protected migratory birds threatened by major bridge construction. “I always say that if it weren’t for my mother, I probably would have been kissing instead of fishing,” said Parker, chuckling with the evening’s Glamp Out audience.
Cora raised Mamie and her ten other children in a four-room house. In an era where young women were expected to step into homemaking and caretaking roles. Cora, along with the hit song “Mercy, Mercy Me” by Motown sensation Marvin Gaye, inspired Mamie to look after Mother Nature instead. Mamie spent almost 30 years as a fish and wildlife biologist to tackle challenges like radiation and pollution because of Gaye’s lyrics. Just as Mamie looked up to her mother and the musical artist, Mapp admired Mamie’s pioneering outdoor trajectory for years. Mamie served as the first Black judge of the 2013 Federal Duck Stamp Contest held in Ohio.
Ten years later, Mapp followed in this webbed footpath as an art judge as well. FWS produces the Federal Duck Stamp, which sells for $25 and raises approximately $40 million annually. Revenue from stamp sales is used to protect wetland habitats in the National Wildlife Refuge System, benefiting wildlife and contributing to people's enjoyment. Since its establishment in 1934, sales of the Federal Duck Stamp to bird watchers, outdoor enthusiasts, collectors, and hunters have helped raise more than $1.2 billion to conserve more than 6 million acres of habitat for birds and other wildlife.
This year’s contest of more than 200 submissions took place Sept. 15 and Sept. 16 in Des Moines, Iowa. For the first time in Federal Duck Stamp Contest history, the judging panel included all females: Gail Anderson, MJ Davis, Rebecca Humphries, Dr. Karen Waldrop, alternate judge Jennifer Scully, and Mapp. “Becoming a judge for the contest was an opportunity I had no idea existed for me,” said Mapp, “even though I have been purchasing the annual stamp in recent years.” Mapp did know Mamie pioneered this fun but nail-biting platform. A role that required weighing in thoughtfully to determine only one creative’s artwork on behalf of U.S. citizens. “Dr. Parker has blazed a path for people like me and organizations like Outdoor Afro,” Mapp said to nearly 140 fundraising attendees, “to step into positions of conservation policy, governance, advocacy, and influence that continue her legacy.”
Mamie’s lifetime in outdoor play and professional circles always left lasting impacts regardless of the waters trodden. She adds her Glamp Out recognition to a hefty list of avant-garde honors: The Governor of Arkansas enshrined Mamie into the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame. During 2020, she became the recipient of the John L. Morris Lifetime Achievement Award, named for the founder of Bass Pro Shops. She earned The William P. Reilly (the first head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Environmental Leadership Award. Followed by the Presidential Rank Award – the highest honor bestowed upon federal employees. Above all these credits: “Dr. Parker is a connector, friend, homegirl, wife, and mother,” Mapp said to conclude her appreciation and love for Mamie, “who never ceases to light up every room she’s in.”
ABOUT OUTDOOR AFRO: Outdoor Afro is a national not-for-profit organization that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. What started as a kitchen table blog by Founder and CEO Rue Mapp in 2009 has since grown into a cutting-edge nationwide network with 100-plus volunteer leaders in 60 cities, with network participation reaching 60,000 people. Outdoor Afro reconnects Black people with the outdoors through outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. Follow Outdoor Afro @outdoorafro and outdoorafro.org.
Purpose of pulling up our socks with Smartwool fall 2023
Outdoor Afro and brand partner Smartwool found common ground in community, sustainability, belonging, and the outdoors since 2020. Each organization’s leadership has collaborated on outdoor industry initiatives together for many years prior. The national not-for-profit organization celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. Smartwool provides comfortable, capable gear that empowers outdoor enthusiasts and athletes to go far – and feel good along the way. Both make a classic pair in what an authentic partnership looks and feels like in nature experiences for everyone. With a shared mission to make the outdoors easily accessible, Smartwool’s latest sustainability efforts and fall 2023 collection make the apparel brand a natural collaborator.
Outdoor Afro’s selected and trained volunteer leaders guide their hometowns in year-round activities – fishing, hiking, biking, kayaking, gardening, skiing, and more. Annually, community participants who join the Outdoor Afro Leadership Team in these monthly nature experiences often ask: What is the best gear and equipment to invest in for our next event? These Outdoor Afro network participants always want to make sure they’re exploring nature in their neighborhood safely, sustainably, and with the best comfort. Why Smartwool is Outdoor Afro’s top recommendations in foot protection and base layer support. Since 1999, the apparel brand has redesigned its base layers to provide all-day comfort and outdoor performance. Smartwool’s newest autumn arrivals connect with Outdoor Afro’s annual programs and monthly outdoor activities, just in time for a cooler and wetter season ahead.
COLD-WEATHER COMFORT: Smartwool’s new collection offers designs to accommodate cooler weather adventures. Pick from a range of Merino wool styles, socks, and gear in fall-ready colors for all generations. The outdoor fashion brand’s fall collection also includes newer prints of its Plus Size Classic Thermal Base Layers. With sizes from 1X to 4X, more women can enjoy autumn adventures feeling comfortable and confident in their gear and equipment. Speaking of new sizes, Smartwool’s Unisex Collection also features relaxed, open silhouettes for everyday styling. For upcoming plans to tackle the slope season, skiers of all levels and backgrounds can gain even more room with Smartwool’s Extra Stretch Calf Ski Socks.
ART OF THE OUTDOORS PROGRAM: This Smartwool program and collection celebrates culture, community, and creativity outside through collections and collaborations. The program brought together talented artists and storytellers from all walks of life. This year’s collection features artwork from creatives such as Brittany Lewis, Trickster Company, Jordan Ann Craig, and the Natives Outdoors Collective. Each brings their interpretation of the outdoors to various audiences to explore. It’s fun. It’s colorful. It’s for everyone to enjoy.
THE SECOND CUT™ PROJECT: The project is one of Smartwool’s efforts to achieve a more sustainable product line — and contribute to a more accessible outdoors. To date, Smartwool has donated more than a million socks, saving more than 86,000 pounds of waste from landfills. Shifting to a circular business model, the Second Cut™ Project turns old, unwanted socks into new, recycled ones. And get this: even dog beds. This year, Smartwool released its Second Cut™ Hike Sock — a trail-ready sock made from a 50-50 blend of sock waste and responsibly sourced Merino wool.
ABOUT OUTDOOR AFRO: Outdoor Afro is a national not-for-profit organization that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. What started as a kitchen table blog by Founder and CEO Rue Mapp in 2009 has since grown into a cutting-edge nationwide network with 100-plus volunteer leaders in 60 cities with network participation reaching 60,000 people. Outdoor Afro reconnects Black people with the outdoors through outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. Follow Outdoor Afro at outdoorafro.org and @outdoorafro today.
ABOUT SMARTWOOL: Based in Denver, Colorado, Smartwool® is a sock, apparel, and accessories brand whose products are designed to get the most out of the inherent benefits of Merino wool to bring comfort, confidence, and community to a life lived outside. For information on the full range of Smartwool® products or to find a dealer near you, visit Smartwool.com. Smartwool, a division of VF Outdoor, LLC, is a brand of VF Corporation.
Tickets on sale for Outdoor Afro's ninth annual fundraiser
Registration is now open for the nature glitz and glam of Outdoor Afro’s signature fundraiser Glamp Out. The national not-for-profit’s annual event takes place Friday, Oct. 20, at Bloc15 in Oakland’s Jack London. The ninth annual fundraising fun begins at 6 p.m. and concludes 10:30 p.m. Pacific Time. “Glamp Out is our celebratory evening where outdoor enthusiasts and national network supporters from around the country come together each year,” said Outdoor Afro Founder and CEO Rue Mapp. “We appreciate the opportunity for our community to dust off their hiking boots and dress up with us in support of our impactful programs and honor stellar leadership.”
RSVP HERE
Since 2015, Glamp Out has been Outdoor Afro’s annually anticipated fundraiser that celebrates the organization's milestones and ambitions for the coming year. This year’s theme, “Elevation,” signifies Outdoor Afro’s impact and intention for the Black American community. Throughout 2023, Outdoor Afro has continued to amplify its signature programs, strategic partnerships, and influential people with a growing, national team. Glamp Out will roll out the red carpet to help reach its 2023 organizational goals, featuring the following Bay Area speakers and performances:
HOST: Dave Clark, KTVU’s award-winning news anchor
BEATS: DJ Red Corvette, multiformat musical announcer
AUCTIONEER: Michael Tate, seasoned fundraising strategist
PERFORMERS: BET Sunday Best's Ashling Cole and accomplished saxophonist Vincent Lars
The fundraising affair also will salute Outdoor Afro nature achievements. The organization’s aim is to raise more than $200,000 in support of its year-round programs:
MAKING WAVES: Outdoor Afro’s promise is to teach every child and caregiver within its sphere of influence how to swim. The program launched in 2019 by Mapp after learning through CDC research that Black children now drown at a rate 7.6 times that of white children because of historical barriers. To date, Making Waves has awarded hundreds of "Swimmerships" (or swim lesson scholarships) around the country. The program’s ambitious 2023 aim: supporting 1,000 new swimmers in receiving local lessons.
OUTDOOR AFRO LEADERSHIP TRAINING: Now in its 11th year, this training teaches more than 100 men and women from across the United States how to guide their local communities safely and sustainably – for greater health and healing of all people and our planet. Contributions help Outdoor Afro volunteer leaders expand their training to include wilderness first-aid, recreational water safety skills, and model aspirational nature opportunities.
SIGNATURE CAPSTONE EVENTS: These experiences introduce volunteer leaders and local neighborhoods to the exploratory possibilities in nature and change the face of who can become an expeditioner. In the past, Outdoor Afro has prepared more than a dozen climbers to scale Mt. Kilimanjaro and certified 26 leaders as canoe or kayak instructors. Your support of Glamp Out helps advance the skill-building, confidence, and growth opportunities through pioneering models of adventure for the Black community.
Each year, Glamp Out welcomes more than 250 nature leaders, community supporters, cultural champions, elected officials, and celebrities. All coming together on behalf of Outdoor Afro’s mission to celebrate and inspire Black connections and leadership in nature. Glamp Out is a chance for Outdoor Afro’s national community to exercise generosity to support conservation through community-led engagement in nature.
RSVP HERE
Glamp Out purposefully recognizes individual and community contributions to Outdoor Afro – the organization’s way of upholding one of its key values of changing the narrative of who leads in outdoor spaces. The fundraiser helps continue to build lasting relationships while strengthening leadership opportunities in the outdoors. “Our programs are welcoming and multigenerational,” said Mapp, “leading to transformations both online and offline for people and the natural world.” More about Glamp Out here. Glamp Out sponsorship opportunities here.
ABOUT OUTDOOR AFRO: Outdoor Afro is a national not-for-profit organization that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. What started as a kitchen table blog by Founder and CEO Rue Mapp in 2009 has since grown into a cutting-edge nationwide network with 100-plus volunteer leaders in 60 cities with network participation reaching 60,000 people. Outdoor Afro reconnects Black people with the outdoors through outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. Follow Outdoor Afro at outdoorafro.org and @outdoorafro today.
5 pieces of poolside advice for new Outdoor Afro swimmers
Calling for caregivers and kids: Register to Outdoor Afro’s Making Waves program and graduate with stronger relationships to neighborhood waterways. Since 2019, Making Waves has provided water safety, drowning prevention, and proper stroke technique for beginner poolsters. In short, swimming fundamentals. Outdoor Afro founded the nationwide program because natatorium research revealed rather shocking U.S. community news. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics, Black youth ages 10 to 14 drown in swimming pools at a rate more than 7.6 times that of white children. A public health disparity due largely to decades of exclusion and segregation from beaches and public pools. “After learning of this alarming number and that it continued to grow, Outdoor Afro decided to make an impact within our sphere of influence,” said Founder and CEO Rue Mapp.
The national not-for-profit organization launched Making Waves four years ago in its hometown of Oakland to teach kids and caregivers how to swim at local pools. The program has undergone start-and-stop challenges with COVID. Huddles with identifying qualified swim providers with sufficient and welcoming instructors. Yet, the program has propelled forward. Making Waves has managed to provide lessons at no cost to nearly 400 new swimmers thus far. This year's goal: teach up to 1,000 new swimmers by the end of 2023. In collaboration with select swim providers across the United States, both kids and their caregivers take anywhere from six to eight, 30-minute lessons, valued at roughly $150 for the entire learning experience.
The program covers all lessons designed to teach safety precautions, water confidence, and the correct stroke styles. With each session, Swimmership recipients gain health and wellness benefits. Exercise that increases stamina, flexibility, and strength. Improvements in posture, coordination, and balance. Stress alleviation through peaceful and relaxing movements. Before signing up for this opportunity, carefully read these guidelines for a successful program adventure with Outdoor Afro:
EQUIPMENT
Aside from swimming gear like swimsuits, trunks, ear plugs, goggles, and swim caps for hair protection, pool equipment is minimal to bring to beginner lessons. Swim instructors typically provide useful buoyancy aids. RUBBER RINGS: A great help mate for getting your feet off the bottom of the pool. Fitting snug under your arms, these water rings are a first step to building confidence in the pool. ARMBANDS: Providing body support, this aid gives the advantage of freeing up your arms and legs. As your trust in the water increases, you can gradually deflate bands. FLOATS: This effective aid comes in assortments. Still, each shape offers support to practice arm and leg movements. Outdoor Afro's select providers are Red Cross certified swim instructors who know exactly what types of water devices are best to advance each individual swimmer’s performance and confidence.
SAFETY
When engaged in any outdoor activity, safety is the highest priority. Know and respectfully adhere to swimming pool safety rules. By doing so, you will avoid a lot of dangerous and life-threatening accidents poolside. Even while visiting other waterways such as rivers, lakes, and beaches. Remain honest with yourself about your swimming experience. Stay within your water depth until becoming an adept swimmer. Also, create enough space between you and those who are in sections of the pool like the diving area. Pools are slippery scenes, so absolutely no running. If seaside, never attempt to swim when danger flags are up. And under no circumstance swim solo.
HEALTH & HYGIENE
Not in the best of health, don’t force a Making Waves swim session. That includes ear or nose infections. It’s also not a good idea to swim immediately after eating a hearty meal, which can lead to stomach cramps. As far as cleanliness goes, take a short shower before and after swimming to prevent recreational water ailments. Come gear and equipment prepared by using only washed towels and swimwear. For toddlers, swim diapers are highly recommended to preempt major potty accidents. After every swim lesson, make sure to dry thoroughly, especially between toes. Infections like verrucas and athlete’s foot easily spread in damp conditions.
CONFIDENCE BOOSTERS
The very sight of a pool or open water intimidates some beginner swimmers. Trusting yourself in this new activity is a process. Outdoor Afro’s select swim providers teach confidence-building exercises to strengthen water relationships. Starting with relaxing. Some tasks to expect to increase poolside comfort: WALKING. Avoiding the pool’s deep end as a beginner, shoulder-deep water is a safe space to stand. Then, walking while your arms work underwater starts to develop a first-step sense of security. BLOWING BUBBLES. After getting your shoulders wet, practicing bubble blowing with your chin in the water is another foundational step toward rhythmic breathing techniques. TREADING WATER. With armbands and floats as your initial support, gradually lift and alternate your feet. You will increase your foot speed until holding yourself up without touching the bottom of the pool is achievable.
ELEVATING TECHNIQUES
Once your beginner lessons through Making Waves complete, don’t stop swimming. There’s still more to master. After you’ve become proficient in basic strokes and standard dives, check off these next steps to increase your swimming pool confidence. NO 1. Join your local swim club. They welcome new swimmers and offer additional support. Even new swim buddies. NO. 2. Register for competitions. Once you’re swimming like a fish, enter special events to fine-tune performance. NO. 3. Sign up for advanced diving, underwater swimming, and lifesaving technique coursework. Each reinforces and advances your technique. NO. 4. Explore newer water fun. Watersports like waterski-ing, windsurfing, scuba diving, kayaking, and canoeing help expand physical capabilities and allow you to try outdoor activities you probably would have never accessed before.
ABOUT OUTDOOR AFRO: Outdoor Afro is a national not-for-profit organization that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. What started as a kitchen table blog by Founder and CEO Rue Mapp in 2009 has since grown into a cutting-edge nationwide network with 100-plus volunteer leaders in 60 cities with network participation reaching 60,000 people. Outdoor Afro reconnects Black people with nature through outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. Follow Outdoor Afro at outdoorafro.org and @outdoorafro today.
Outdoor Afro’s communications director wins first-place awards at Outdoor Writers Association of America
Candace Dantes, Outdoor Afro’s first in-house communications director, won in two writing award categories during Outdoor Writers Association of America’s (OWAA) annual conference. The wins took place in Gulf Shores, Alabama, Sept. 9, through Sept. 11, 2023. The veteran award-winning journalist and marketer garnered first-place outdoor industry awards in the “Blog, Gear/Technical Contest” for her original digital feature “Made Together: Outdoor Afro + REI Co-op” and “Open Contest” for Outdoor Afro’s 2022 annual report titled “Year of Operations.” “What a homecoming experience these awards are for me,” said Dantes, 39, originally from Milledgeville, Georgia. “I’m deep-rooted in the Georgia Black Belt Region. Where good-old front porch storytelling and community fellowshipping are just a natural part of Southern culture.”
Dantes made history for the national not-for-profit organization – earning the brand’s first communications awards as a OWAA member. She joined OWAA during June 2022. Outdoor Afro at the end of 2021 to elevate its strategic communications direction. As its only full-time newsroom staff, Dantes leads the organization’s Marketing & Communications Department. Within a year, she rebranded Outdoor Afro’s site and social presence. Continues to re-educate digital audiences and the general public about the brand’s nature and community work. Her department contributes to organizational programming by using 21st-century traditional and new media approaches. Increasing brand awareness and online engagement.
Dantes also travels across the United States to capture Outdoor Afro stories, shifting the visual representation of what Black joy looks like in the outdoors. Year-round Dantes launches national Outdoor Afro marketing campaigns like its Black History Month series, Juneteenth commemoration, Making Waves swim program, and Glamp Out fundraiser. In between this year’s social activations and storytelling projects, Dantes served as a first-time judge of trade show Outdoor Retailer’s 13th annual Inspiration Awards in Salt Lake City, Utah. Right before that, Dantes became a 2023 “Black Women in Food” honoree. Cuisine and beverage agency Dine Diaspora recognized 31 innovative women throughout the African Diaspora. Dantes in the “Amplifiers Category” for her contributions to Georgia Black Belt farming narratives of U.S. Department of Agriculture grant project Black Farmers’ Network.
A year prior, nonprofit Women of the West named Dantes 2022 “Journalist of the Year” at the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. That same year, Dantes and her brother, certified arborist Edward Morrow, were both featured farmers in Ebony Magazine for its “Queen Sugar” finale coverage. A product of centennial farmland in Baldwin County, Georgia, the fourth-generation farmer and cowgirl has spent childhood to adulthood horseback riding, rodeoing, and gardening. Dantes’ editorial portfolio aligns with her lifestyle, primarily devoted to Southern-based, rural farming communities.
By way of Outdoor Afro, she has been able to leverage her agricultural upcoming and multigenerational experiences to develop interdisciplinary content that links outdoor, travel, and tourism industries. Researching, testing, and writing about modern agribusiness and agritourism possibilities for producers in a now digital economy. Prior to Outdoor Afro, Dantes worked in both higher education and local newspapers. She held posts as editor and publications specialist at both Columbus State University and Georgia College & State University. Digital contributor of Georgia’s legal organ, Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In both industries, the Georgia State University print journalism grad won first-place awards with Georgia Press Association in hard news and feature writing. Subsequent awards with the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in “Best Articles of the Year,” “Publication Writing,” “Video Script Writing,” and “Publication Rendering for Mobile Technology.”
Overseas, she joined London’s Black Beauty & Hair Magazine as a beauty writer and style consultant on a Black cowhand campaign for advertising agency M&C Saatchi. She’s collaborated with brands Justin Boots, Wrangler, and Durango Boots. Most recently, worked as content creator for REI Co-op and Cotopaxi. Publications Cowboys & Indians, Cowgirl Magazine, Outdoor Retailer’s The Daily, and Travel Weekly have featured Dantes. She’s helped rural Georgia farmers garner earned media with major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, Thrillist, and CNN.
With OWAA, she’s a member of travel outfits Wanderful and Future of Black Tourism. Serves as a communications adviser for America the Beautiful for All Coalition and is a committee member of Blue Sky Funders Forum. For nearly 100 years, OWAA has helped educate, inspire, and share best practices to outdoor creatives. Dantes now helps magnify its mission. “It’s been one heck of a rodeo ride with Outdoor Afro successes,” said Dantes. “As long as I’m able to document our relationships to land, water, and wildlife for newer generations to find inspiration, I’ll continue to put my best boot forward.”
ABOUT OUTDOOR AFRO: Outdoor Afro is a national not-for-profit organization that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. What started as a kitchen table blog by Founder and CEO Rue Mapp in 2009 has since grown into a cutting-edge nationwide network with 100-plus volunteer leaders in 60 cities, with network participation reaching 60,000 people. Outdoor Afro reconnects Black people with the outdoors through outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. Follow Outdoor Afro @outdoorafro and outdoorafro.org.
It's Giving: Outdoor Afro's 24-hour #Give828 fundraiser
National not-for-profit Outdoor Afro observes Black Philanthropy Month via Give 8/28 fundraiser today, Aug. 28, for the first time. The fundraising day celebrates Black-led and Black-benefitting organizations like Outdoor Afro across the United States. In 24 hours, Outdoor Afro aims to raise $1,000 toward its mission to celebrate and inspire Black connections and leadership in nature. Hosted by The Young, Black & Giving Back Institute (YBGB), this national day of giving is the only giving day focused explicitly to uplift the significance of Black-guided nonprofit organizations. Give 8/28 seeks to stimulate support for organizations working at the grassroots level to empower Black communities in areas such as education, mentoring, economic empowerment, health and wellness, and policy advocacy.
Outdoor Afro reconnects Black people and Black communities to land, water, and wildlife through outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. Annually, the organization selects and trains more than 100 volunteer leaders who guide their local communities in outdoor activities – like hiking, biking, gardening, fishing, camping, skiing, and more – safely and sustainably. Give 8/28 takes place during Black Philanthropy Month and commemorates multiple historical landmarks in Black Americans’ march toward freedom:
Aug. 28, 1945: Major League Baseball President Branch Rickey met with Jackie Robinson to tell Robinson that he was integrating the Majors.
Aug. 28, 2005: Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. The storm, which devastated New Orleans, disproportionately impacted many of the city’s Black residents.
Aug. 28, 2020: Chadwick Boseman, actor and originator of the modern "Black Panther" character, T’Challa, passed away.
The excessive impacts of experiences such as COVID, gun violence, inflation, and social injustice that Black people have faced and continue to live through illustrate the significant need for resources within Black communities. YBGB Institute Founder Ebonie Johnson Cooper established Give 8/28 in 2018 with 114 participating nonprofits. Each collectively raised $12,700. Every year, Give 8/28 partners with crowdfunding platform Mightcause to provide an infrastructure for the online giving day. In 2020 and 2021, Give 8/28 raised more than $328,000 for more than 720 Black-led and Black-benefitting organizations with support from 3,916 donors.
Last year, it raised $252,629 from 1,702 individual donors. Like the YBGB Institute, Outdoor Afro cultivated its national community online. For the past 14 years now, the nature organization has been on the ground, ensuring neighborhoods are equipped with Black joy and healing opportunities by simply going outside with one of its nationwide networks here.
ABOUT OUTDOOR AFRO: Outdoor Afro is a national not-for-profit organization that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. What started as a kitchen table blog by Founder and CEO Rue Mapp in 2009 has since grown into a cutting-edge nationwide network with 100-plus volunteer leaders in 60 cities with network participation reaching 60,000 people. Outdoor Afro reconnects Black people with the outdoors through outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. Follow Outdoor Afro at outdoorafro.org and @outdoorafro today.
Outdoor Afro in search of Chief Program & Innovation Officer
Nature organization Outdoor Afro designates 2023 as its “Year of Elevation.” As the national not-for-profit’s operational and development season continues, it now seeks a Chief Program & Innovation Officer (CPIO) to join the Oakland, California-based headquarter team. “This is a brand-new and an exciting opportunity to contribute to the growth of our nationally renowned, well-funded organization,” said Founder and CEO Rue Mapp. “This position will have overall strategic and operational responsibility for Outdoor Afro’s programs.”
Outdoor Afro’s ideal CPIO will provide leadership to strategic planning efforts. The role will implement innovative programmatic strategic initiatives; lead the organization’s digital strategy and transformation; and engage in fundraising and partnership endeavors to scale the organization. The groundbreaking leader will collaborate with Outdoor Afro’s senior management team and board of directors on operational and programmatic strategies, including marketing strategy, customer journey optimization, and external relationship development.
Furthermore, the CPIO will work closely with the executive director, CEO, and other organizational leadership to develop, implement, and manage the operational aspects of the annual budget, ensuring sound fiscal management. At heart, the CPIO will play a vital role in cultivating existing relationships with public and private funders while driving marketing efforts to enhance program reach and impact. Earlier this year, Outdoor Afro hired an in-house program assistant, finance director, and its first-ever operational executive director.
These additional roles continue to support Outdoor Afro’s strategic development goals and staff demands for advancements in national programming and network participation. “We’re expanding our core leadership team to ensure the long-term strategic and operational viability of our programs and impact,” said Executive Director Lisa Bourne. “The new CPIO will have a really unique opportunity to drive Outdoor Afro’s next phase of innovative growth.”
Fourteen years ago, Outdoor Afro started as a social enterprise for Mapp. She incorporated Outdoor Afro in 2015 as a 501(c)(3) and has led the organization since as its CEO. The organization has grown from a one-woman blog and three founding board members to 12 full-time staff and a 13-member Board of Directors. Its operating budget has grown from a modest $110,000 in revenue in 2015 to now $4 million – largely from foundations, individuals, and corporate partner support.
ABOUT OUTDOOR AFRO: Outdoor Afro is a national not-for-profit organization that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. What started as a kitchen table blog by Founder and CEO Rue Mapp in 2009 has since grown into a cutting-edge nationwide network with 100-plus volunteer leaders in 60 cities with network participation reaching 60,000 people. Outdoor Afro reconnects Black people with the outdoors through outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. Follow Outdoor Afro @outdoorafro and outdoorafro.org.
Gina Wright: Outdoor Afro's intercontinental source to community-building, solidarity
If summed as a social media bio: She’s a network builder and globetrotting gardener. Outdoor Afro’s Program Assistant Gina Wright, 23, works within the Programs Department of the national not-for-profit organization. Administratively supporting year-round programs. Cushioning this arm of Outdoor Afro so that local network events and nationwide campaigns are properly resourced. All in the name of advancing Outdoor Afro’s mission: celebrate and inspire Black connections and leadership in nature. Wright stays on top of local, regional, and coast-to-coast moving pieces of the Oakland-headquartered nature operation.
She assists in the production of organizational campaigns and annual leadership training that educates more than 100 Outdoor Afro volunteer leaders. These leaders then guide outdoor activities in 60 cities and 32 states, including Washington, D.C. Sustainably. And safely. If leaders request snacks or supplies across the organization’s four regions, Wright does coordinated calculations with Harris to make it happen. And yet, she etches travel time to contribute to global outdoor initiatives in her private life. Her 2023 summer learning destination: Nicaragua.
“It was a trip of personal research and education,” said Wright, “to begin building solidarity with folks I connected with in these communities.” She traveled to the capital city of Managua. Central-region department of Chontales. Port city of Bluefields. And the Garifuna village of Orinoco – north of Bluefields. Because she honestly cares about populations of people and their access to basic needs like food. Wright literally lives out the causes that she supports. She backyard gardens 4 acres in San Francisco. Her typical summer crops: beans, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, peppers ( jalapeño, shishito, poblano). “For this summer’s backyard garden season, there are cucumbers, dragon tongue beans, chayote, dill, and fruit trees,” said Wright. “Mostly managed by my housemates at the moment.”
Traveling both personally and on behalf of Outdoor Afro, the seasoned grower spent 10 days in the Central American country during June 2023. How she got there: Through nonprofit Friends of the ATC (Asociación de Trabajadores del Campo – or Rural Workers’ Organization), Wright learned of the network’s delegations designed to increase popular education about Nicaragua’s socio-political work. Curious about how organization’s build community interest around a cause or campaign, Wright wanted to help do her part to contribute to ATC’s nearly 44 years of defending rural workers and the rights of Nicaragua’s countryside citizens. She wanted to understand if there were any opportunities for intercultural, international, and localized unity in this space. “On this trip, I got a better sense of what food sovereignty can look like,” said Wright. “Of what diasporic, mixed, Black, and indigenous people are doing to protect and prosper in their cultures.”
She befriended area producers. Put composting into practice. Discovered a new appreciation for the Earth’s soil – its nutrient-dense and aerobic conditions – so seeds can thrive. Even milked a cow. This disciplined destination for Wright stems from her academic background and connection to California farming experiences. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in geography with a concentration in economy, culture, and society. It’s where she first heard about ATC while studying at the university. By way of Berkeley Student Farms and an agroecology course, Wright met like-minded folks fervent about farming. “Some of those involved with Berkeley Student Farms spoke highly of ATC’s work to improve the livelihood of rural workers, specifically farm workers,” Wright said.
From that moment, Wright wanted to attend a delegation. She finally got that chance this year. Wright also received the opportunity to apply information she learned after college from Agroecology Commons – a collective that engineers farmer-to-farmer education, builds co-op networks, and supports food sovereignty and land stewardship. Agroecology Commons held a Bay Area farmer-to-farmer training in 2021 that Wright joined. In both online and in-person instruction, she gained perspective around how small farm production, cooperative marketing, and social movements could unite for the greater good of global rural communities. Flying nearly 3,600 miles in June 2023, Wright put agricultural lessons to the test this summer. Taking meticulous notes as her Nicaragua trip progressed. Bringing back home themes around:
THE POWER OF SMALL-SCALE COOPERATIVE NETWORKS. When possible, communities should invest in localized cooperative economies (i.e. fund local food systems on multiple levels – from education to practice and production to distribution).
THE IMPORTANCE OF FOLLOWING THE WORLD’S NATURAL SYSTEMS WHEN CULTIVATING FOOD. For example, some Garifuna farmers plant Cassava with the moon cycle. They also plant with the new moon when water is drawn down into the soil, which is advantageous for root crops.
THE WISDOM IN AIMING TOWARD SOVEREIGN SUBSISTENCE IN FOOD SYSTEMS BY DEDICATING TIME TO LEARN LAND BEST PRACTICES. It is crucial to knowledge-share across people and places about communities with the most immediate needs.
“It’s the first-ever delegation where representatives would hear directly from Afro-descendant and indigenous populations of the Southern Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua, an autonomous region in the country,” said Wright. Her curiosity deepened as it connected to her academic roots, West Coast lifestyle, and affinity for farming culture. This journey allowed Wright to see global food systems operate, especially autonomous territories with ties to the African diaspora. The summer quest became the international traveler's third stay in Nicaragua. On top of this scholastic visit, other personal adventures for Wright in these youthful years have included three trips to Costa Rica and two to Guatemala. Thumbtack on Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo, Japan; Berlin, Germany; and Barcelona, Spain.
She returned to Outdoor Afro refreshed with new farming and community-building knowledge to share with team members. Trip takeaways: Everything in this lifestyle is interconnected. Global travel helps expand one’s consciousness of community challenges as they relate to worldwide conversations. When relationship-building, do so respectfully and responsibly. Wright said: “Building understanding and solidarity across different struggles – internationally, interculturally, and interdisciplinary – can lead to a liberation the globalized world has yet to see.”
GINA’S PACKING GUIDANCE FOR GLOBAL TRAVEL
PACK LIGHT. Use natural, breathable, quick-drying, and thin fibers. Wright recommends a combination of cotton, bamboo, linen.
REMAIN EXTRA MINDFUL OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT. Wright warns that there’s a lot of life and environmental intensity in tropical environments like Nicaragua. Bring the appropriate self-care items to protect yourself (ex: natural bug repellents like garlic, shea butter, lemon/eucalyptus-based products). Don’t count out reinforcements like mosquito netting, a shade hat, light-weight and long-sleeves shirts, securing travel insurance, having access to filtered water and sometimes stomach soothing teas like ginger and chamomile.
BRING PROPER TECH STORAGE. If traveling involves smartphone and laptop use, Wright recommends staying mindful of storing options. These tools need climate-controlled (dry) environments to sustain. Tropical climates are oftentimes not the best settings to operate technology.
ABOUT OUTDOOR AFRO: Outdoor Afro is a national not-for-profit organization that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. What started as a kitchen table blog by Founder and CEO Rue Mapp in 2009 has since grown into a cutting-edge nationwide network with 100-plus volunteer leaders in 60 cities. “Where Black people and nature meet,” Outdoor Afro reconnects Black people with the outdoors through outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. Follow us @outdoorafro on social.