Jaclyn Rushing

PhD student in the Department of Society and Conservation at the University of Montana

Jaclyn is a PhD student in the Department of Society and Conservation at the University of Montana. Jaclyn's research focuses on outdoor recreation, parks, and protected area management, with a specific interest in issues of relevance, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her dissertation research focuses on relevance, diversity, and inclusion of wilderness recreation for Latinx communities, and explores trends on-the-ground in federally designated wilderness areas and online through social media-based affinity groups like Latino Outdoors. Jaclyn has worked for municipal and state parks in Oregon and Glacier National Park. She has a background in basic and applied quantitative and qualitative social science research and interpretation/environmental education. Jaclyn loves working collaboratively to answer researchable questions that support recreation and land management and finds herself enjoying a diversity of projects with the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management. In her free time, she enjoys much of the same lands and outdoor recreation activities at the center of her research with her partner, friends, and dogs.

Abstract

This presentation on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in outdoor recreation will include an overview of these concepts and how they relate to outdoor recreation generally and in the Crown specifically. We will discuss examples of innovative approaches to fostering DEI through partnerships, media, and engagement efforts. Lessons learned from research and these efforts will help inform a creative path forward for advancing diverse and inclusive recreation in the Crown of the Continent.