NYSTROM SCHOOL COMMUNITY OUTREACH WORKER

BAY AREA WILDERNESS TRAINING, ROC Steering Committee Member

STUDENT

VERDE TEACHER AND PARENT

CONTRA COSTA HEALTH SERVICES

WCCUSD SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING; ESCAPE Club

VERDE STUDENT

COMMUNITY ADVOCATE

WCCUSD TRANSLATOR

VERDE COMMUNITY LEADER AND PARENT

VERDE SCHOOL COMMUNITY OUTREACH WORKER

THE WATERSHED PROJECT

KIDS FOR THE BAY

ROC COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CONSULTANT; Founder and Executive Director, Inner City Bliss

Andre Humphrey founded Inner City Bliss (ICB), a nonprofit organization established in 2018 to provide mindfulness, movement and nature based programs to BIPOC youth and adults. Andre is deeply committed to creating opportunities for people from marginalized communities to experience the healing power of nature. With his extensive experience in mindfulness, movement, and outdoor education, Andre is on a mission to make a positive impact on communities and individuals

ROC PLANNING AND FACILITATION CONSULTANT

Angela’s work centers on deepening human relationships with the natural world through collective impact and equitable outdoor access. She directed and evaluated Nature Kids/Jóvenes de la Naturaleza for five years and now lives in the San Luis Valley of south-central Colorado, building an off-grid earthship and fostering a deep connection to place. Angela is the author of SPIRIT: A Dance of Poetry, an initiated ceremonial arts teacher with The Heart of The Healer Mystery School, fully fluent in Spanish, and shares her life with her career-changed guide dog, Wyclef.

ROC EVALUATION CONSULTANT

Aujanée works in the colonized ancestral lands of the Mascogee peoples. She is dedicated to supporting people to achieve their best self and lives through liberatory research, education and connections to nature. She has over 11 years of experience working in non-profit and public sectors. In both leadership and support roles, she has worked to center and uplift the perspectives of individuals and communities who have been perpetually marginalized in education spaces, formal, informal, and non-formal. Her value and perspectives on life-long learning models are evident in her endeavors such as curriculum development and design, education research, evaluation and instruction.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, YES Nature to Neighborhoods

Eric Aaholm (he/him/his), Executive Director since 2007, has a Masters in Social Welfare, Management and Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. He is fluent in Spanish and started with YES Family Camps as a volunteer in 2004. Eric has experience working as a Project Manager at Health Research for Action, at the School of Public Health at Berkeley; as a Diversity Coordinator for a youth mentoring program; and a Spanish and ESL teacher. Eric was honored as a Man of Merit for Contra Costa County in 2011 and is a graduate of LeaderSpring’s 2014 cohort for East Bay executive directors.

ROC PLANNING AND FACILITATION CONSULTANT

Jenny co-founded the Richmond Outdoors Coalition in 2017 and now supports the ROC through Inclusion Outdoors. Jenny is a certified Awake in the Wild nature meditation teacher and convenes, facilitates and supports partners, often across multiple sectors. In her free time, Jenny enjoys meditating in nature and exploring the outdoors with her husband and their two children. She has a deep-seated commitment to social and environmental justice and active engagement in anti-racist and pro-justice practices. 

Merrill Pierce is an educator passionate about creating curiosity and outdoor learning. She taught 4th and 5th grade at Verde K-8 School for ten years, organizing outdoor experiences like Lake Tahoe snow trips and partnering with community organizations. As Coordinator of the Richmond Outdoors Coalition (ROC), Merrill connects teachers, program providers, and the district to make outdoor access a core part of the school experience in WCCUSD. She holds a Bachelor’s from the University of Denver and a Master’s in Urban Education Policy from Loyola Marymount University and loves adventure on foot, wheels, or water.

ROC PRO-JUSTICE CONSULTANT

Xiomara joined Inclusion Outdoors to support authentic engagement across communities and ensure the healing power of nature is accessible to all. She lives on the unceded ancestral lands of the Lisjan and Muwekma Ohlone tribes in Berkeley, CA, where growing up inspired her commitment to equitable access to outdoor experiences. Xiomara holds a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and a Master’s in SocioCultural Anthropology with a focus on social justice and education, and she continues to deepen her expertise through trainings and workshops on equity in the outdoors. Her work spans educational institutions and nonprofits, consistently centering families, students, and communities in equity-driven programming.