Network for Network Leaders

Applications are currently closed.

The Center for Environmental Learning is proud to partner with Justice Outside in Network for Network Leaders: Justice, Community, & Outdoor Learning, which brings together leaders of networks that impact the outdoors, environmental education, and environmental justice fields. This “backbone network,” formed in 2023, endeavors to advance a more equitable, just, and influential network model that centers the experiences and knowledge of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color by:

• supporting leaders’ personal and professional relationship-building & wellness
• strengthening leaders’ knowledge and capacity about anti-racism, equity, and justice within the context of the outdoors and environmental learning
• accelerating leaders’ capacity to design their network activities with justice and equity principles at the forefront
• supporting member-driven advocacy and awareness-raising efforts

Network for Network Leaders Updates:

In August 2024, the Network for Network Leaders recruited a new cohort of aspiring and current leaders whose networks relate to the outdoor, environmental education, and/or environmental justice fields. Professionals  who participate in the Network for Network Leaders engage in events that promote individual wellness, collective joy, community building, the cultivation of brave spaces, and professional development. The following is a list of the key activities offered:

• Virtual Orientation Event. Leaders build community, share their network purpose and values, and ground themselves in the goals of the Network for Network Leaders.
• In-Person Convening (1-2 per year). Retreats are aimed at professional development, community building across the Network and experiencing rest, healing, and joy in the outdoors. Leaders connect with each other, identify areas for collaboration or knowledge sharing, and explore equity centering practices or movement building frameworks to support their leadership development.
• Virtual Professional Learning Workshops (2-3 per year) Professional learning workshops take place over Zoom, and provide members with opportunities to learn from each other and other leaders in the field. Topics are determined collaboratively by network leaders based on interest, need, and self-identified areas for growth. Past PL Workshops include…
  • A panel discussion on self and community care, centering BIPOC narratives and connection and healing in the outdoors with leaders, Anpao Duta Flying Earth, the former executive director of the Native American Community Academy (NACA) and the current executive director of the NACA Inspired Schools Network; Jules Jackson, founder of Coastal Defenders and the WILDCOAST Outreach and Indigenous Engagement Coordinator; and Raquel Gomez, Atabey Outdoors’ Founder and CEO.
  • “Collective Impact 2.0: Centering Equity in Collective Impact” with Junious Williams, senior advisor for the Collective Impact Forum.
  • A workshop on “Rest and Wellness” with Nicole R. Jackson, Owner/CEO of N Her Nature LLC, nature connection coaching and freelance environmental education consultation.
  • Founder and CEO of Restoring C.A.R.E., Laura Rodriguez, guided network leaders in a discussion and reflection of how to get the most out of leadership coaching opportunities.
• Virtual Open Space Conference: The Open Space Conference is an opportunity in which participants create their own agenda  to discuss ideas and topics that feel most relevant to them. Topics may draw on, for example, conversations related to the previous professional learning sessions or challenges experienced in leaders’ networks.
• Coaching: Network for Network Leaders members have an opportunity to partner with a coach to receive up to 2 hours per year of leadership coaching in an area of interest identified by each participant. 

Supports for participation:

• Costs for travel, meals and lodging for all in-person events is covered. 
• We work directly with participants requiring accommodations (ability, dietary, gender affirming, etc) so that we may meet these needs to the best of our abilities.
• Support articulating the professional development potential and justifying your participation to supervisors.

Eligibility:

Network for Network Leaders periodically recruits for new members who are: 

• Leaders of networks in the outdoor, environmental education, and/or environmental justice fields
• Leaders of emerging or newly developed regional*, statewide, or multi state based networks (i.e.-a network that is not national or hyper-local in scope)
• Leaders with the desire to establish a new regional, statewide, or multi state network (i.e.-a network that is not national or hyper-local in scope)
• Leaders who are motivated by the idea of justice for people and the planet; are committed to racial equity in their individual and collective efforts; and recognize the importance of centering BIPOC experiences and promoting the various ways of learning and being in connection with the outdoors that communities have been practicing for decades and even centuries. Priority will be given to those who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color

*Regional network refers to efforts that are addressing the needs and wants of a geographic region. This is often seen in regional references such as Pacific Northwest, Southwest. It can also refer to multi-county efforts or efforts that span a state or multiple states.

How to Apply