Ruby Rodríguez is LO’s longest-tenured staff member, going from volunteer to part-time staffer in 2016 to Director of Programs & Operations. Here, she shares a snippet from a lesser-known part of LO’s journey.
Finding Latino Outdoors (LO) is like coming home for many LO leaders. Listen to the stories we tell about how we came to know LO, and you will find a common thread: that we were actively, consciously searching for community and cultural connections to weave into our relationship with the outdoors. That was me in 2014. You can learn more about that part of my story here.
My daughter Camila, pictured above, touched my heart when she said to me last year that her favorite thing about me is that I don’t give up. Even when something is harder than I thought it would be, I keep going.
Just five years ago, in the first quarter of 2018, there was a brief period where I was overseeing LO’s operations as the only member of LO’s national support staff—working only ten hours per week due to lack of resources and volunteering hours on top of that. Graciela Cabello and José González, LO’s first-ever staff members, had dedicated themselves to developing a solid organizational foundation before moving on in 2017 and 2018, respectively. José’s thoughtfully approached departure was neatly followed by a Board-led search for our next Executive Director. Meanwhile, I continued with administrative functions and volunteer management as best I could with limited hours and a small “proto” team made up of volunteers who supported LO’s social media, IT, and outdoor brand relations. Not feeling ready for the position, I didn’t apply for the executive leadership role. But I did hold things together during that transition. Luckily, the stars aligned and within a few months, Luis Villa was welcomed to LO as its new Executive Director.
It’s true that I am not one to give up, yet I recognize when it may be time to move on. After onboarding Luis and familiarizing him with LO’s values and programs, I felt confident that LO would be safe with him. As for me, I needed to move forward on my own path toward self-sufficiency and figured grad school would provide me with the opportunities and upward mobility that I needed as a single mother. My imminent departure lit a fire under Luis and he offered me a full-time position as the Operations Manager a few days before I was set to start class. The opportunity to work full-time with LO was my dream come true (I’m serious—I’m living my dream here), so I said yes and we worked around the clock for eighteen months to fortify Latino Outdoors.
In the early days of the pandemic, when everything was scary and the schools were closed and we had no vaccine, we took a leap of faith and invested in a third full-time staff person, and within three years, we carefully brought on nine more. I am proud to have come this far from the days of barebone resources, and grateful for a team made up of kind, highly skilled, and motivated people that help maintain Latino Outdoors as a place that feels like home. At this stage of organizational development and with my daughter’s words reverberating in my heart, I will not lose sight of the level of care and determination that we all have put forth to get LO to where it is today. We will continue to earn all of the support that we receive because I believe that LO is an invaluable community resource worthy of being attentively cared for and stewarded.
Through all of this, LO’s volunteers have been here, leading outings, sharing their voices and stories, and redefining what it means to be outdoorsy. Their time, energy, ideas, skills, and leadership are the lifeline of LO, and without them LO would not be thriving as it is today.
As I celebrate my seventh anniversary as a LO staff member with just one month left in our ten-year celebration, I can’t help but think about what this community and organization has provided me with. Being immersed in an environment that prioritizes a sense of belonging together with opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive alongside a network of leaders, has helped me evolve into a truer expression of myself. Engaging with LO leaders in our Vamos Outdoors outings program has proven to me that the fullest expression of self-love is an extension of our own healing, empowerment, and life force to those around us. I know that many LO leaders have had a similar experience, and this is the place where we become kin. To engage in this work with them feels like coming home and has been the experience of a lifetime.
Graciela Cabello is a board member for Wilderness Youth Project and Director of Youth and Community Engagement with Los Padres ForestWatch where she runs the Outdoor Connections program. Graciela was born and raised on the Central Coast of California where she currently lives and supports LatinX communities via her work.
As an early career Afro-Latina marine biologist simultaneously entering and mentoring BIPOC individuals in green careers, I find it essential to look to our community leaders on how to ensure green careers are viable options for my community.
While working with the Wilderness Youth Project (WYP) this Summer, I had the opportunity to reconnect with WYP Board Member, Graciela Cabello, one of our prominent community leaders in Santa Barbara, CA. In this interview, we delved deeper into the complexities of navigating a green career in outdoor access. We also discussed our passions on increasing LatinX community access to outdoor spaces. In this interview, Graciela shares her history with organizing for Latino Conservation Week (LCW) and many pivotal moments along her journey. Read more for our conversation below!
This is the transcript of segments of a conversation held on August 2, 2023 between Dr. Xochitl Clare and Graciela Cabello. Portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity and accuracy.
Interview Transcript:
“Tell me about your current job”
“I wear many hats at [ForestWatch]. My role is constantly changing and I’m constantly doing different things. Aside from our core work of advocating to protect the forest, the one thing that is consistent is that I help connect youth and families to the forest and public lands. What that translates to, is doing outings: like hikes, walks, even rock climbing, you know, a lot of different outdoors things. But that also means I get to use many different mediums to connect people. And so that can be like: doing presentations at schools or hosting webinars. It also means that I get to be really involved in some of the communications, and film that support this movement.”
“It’s LO’s 10 year anniversary celebration and birthday! How did you initially become involved with LO and in bringing Latino Conservation Week (LCW) to your community?”
“It was Latino Conservation Week that led me to where I am right now in the outdoor access space. In the summer of 2014, I was looking for organizations to volunteer for, and I saw a flier for Latino Outdoors’ outing for Latino Conservation Week (LCW) [in the Bay Area]. I reached out to the founder, Jose Gonzalez, and was quickly connected with the work after that.”
“After volunteering for almost a year during the Latino Outdoors startup phase, the founder offered me a position as the national director (and first official employee). I got to be part of the building of LCW events during the first years. So, when I started doing work in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, it was, just, already part of me. I had been inspired by all the community leaders across the country, and I kept seeing the incredible momentum that goes into [LCW].”
“July became Latino Conservation Conservation Week month for me. And during the COVID-19 shutdown, we were limited in what we could do. So we did presentations, Instagram live sessions, webinars. [When] we were allowed to go back outside, we did a huge camp out for people and that was super amazing. So it just changes every year.”
“Has this work been healing in any way? How so?”
Graciela Cabello: “Absolutely! I just feel so much closer to my ancestors when I do this type of work. I come from a long lineage of people that were really connected to the land. So when I am able to reconnect my community to nature, and to land, it sort of makes me feel closer to my ancestors and then to my own parents. Supporting youth experiences in nature is a really healing thing and it makes me feel really, really, aligned with who I am and where I’m going. So, I mean, I’ve had tons of moments where, you know, like, these healing moments where [I’ve felt] messages of ‘this is where you’re supposed to be’”
“Recently, we hosted a campout where a family from Oaxaca, Mexico joined us. This region of Mexico is known for having one of the highest indigenous populations. Coincidentally some of my family is from Oaxaca, and so, in some ways, I saw my family in them. It was beautiful to see how the grandmother, who was approximately seventy years old, and had just flown in from Mexico the night before, was also able to attend. I was worried that some of the walking on trails and the river bed would be hard for her, but it turns out the opposite was true. Being in that environment was very natural to her. She ended up ahead of the group moving very comfortably because she’s used to that type of environment back home. What made the occasion extra special was that this was the first time she was seeing her daughter and family since before the pandemic. So for them to connect as a family out in the natural world as they would back home, and for me to be able to help provide this bonding experience for them by the river–was a really healing experience. I thought of my own grandmother and all the similarities we share with that family.”
“For those trying to carve their paths in the outdoor non-profit space: What’s it like to serve on a board for a non-profit organization? How can early-career folks support non-profits in this way?”
Graciela Cabello: “Every [non-profit] board is different and [has] different stages. Some of them are in a startup phase or in like a working phase, and some of them are already pretty established. They all have sort of different roles for board members. [As a Wilderness Youth Project (WYP) board member], we meet once a month for about nine months out of the year, we have very specific board duties.”
“I would just encourage you to figure out what’s important to you and your community. What are some of the changes you want to see, and what are some ways you can get involved with nonprofits that interest you before joining their board? [While] volunteering isn’t always an option for [getting involved with] every organization, serving on a board is a different type of “volunteer work”. I really enjoy it because [WYP] aligns with my values and I’m supporting my community in a way that works towards the hope I have for the future – which is envisioning a world where all children have access to nature. And when you’re ready to join a board, familiarizing yourself with some of the main duties of a board can be helpful.”
“Are green jobs viable for BIPOC persons with financial challenges or concerns? Did you have fears about this when you started out? How did you overcome them?”
Graciela Cabello: “I absolutely had fears.I [worked] for a big, like, major corporation for a while and when I switched careers, I had to take a huge pay cut. I realized that a lot of the folks that go into green careers come from a background that has afforded them to work in this space. Many had incredible, [but low-paying or no-pay], internships during the Summer because [they] could afford to do that. Or they could afford to take a low paying job in their first years out of college and then grow into a better paying position. But I feel like there’s a lot of people that can’t do that. [In my past work in business marketing], I had made it into a certain pay range. So when I did not see [that same] pay range for an environmental education job, it was really concerning.”
Graciela Cabello: “Having been in this field for some time now, what I’ve learned is that many folks carve out their own path. Which is not something you see in other sectors. I’m amazed by the number of folks who are self-employed and doing pretty well. So [it’s important to find] a way to monetize your skills and your knowledge so it doesn’t have to come from an organization. You can basically create and build anything and get paid for it as long as you know how to communicate the importance of your idea[s]. Find the right place or funder or organization that’s going to pay you for it. Even if that means like on a contract basis or like, you know, being self-employed in some way.”
“How does your work help you fulfill your goals and dreams?”
Graciela Cabello: “I mean, it’s so many different things. I don’t know that I can summarize it, but I mean, at the core it’s social justice, environmental justice, community building, movement building, and policy all in one. It allows me to give back to my community in a way that feels meaningful to me.”
“You know, I didn’t major in environmental studies. I didn’t set out to have a nature based career. I actually majored in business. When I was a young girl, I knew that I cared about protecting the environment. I just didn’t really know how to explore that interest. I didn’t have any mentors or any guidance into how I could nurture that curiosity. For me, as a kid, when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I didn’t know. I just knew I needed to have a job that provided a living wage and one where I wasn’t burdened by the financial stress I had grown up with. And so business seemed like the thing to do.”
“At some point, I realized after I had a job in media for almost ten years and I had
the privilege of going out and exploring all these really beautiful places, I noticed that oftentimes I was the only person of color in these spaces. I started to ask these questions: ‘Why is this the case, why is there this disparity?’And that’s how I sort of shifted careers into doing outdoor access and being part of the movement for diversity, equity, inclusion and justice in the environment.”
“When I got to come back to the Central Coast and work with BIPOC identifying and Latine families in the place that I grew up in, in the forest that I grew up going to— it felt like this full circle moment. It felt like this is where I was meant to be.”
Xochitl Clare is a marine biologist and performing artist dedicated to climate change biology, education, and environmental storytelling. She is a first-generation Latina African American with island heritage (Jamaica and Belize) – where the importance of life at sea is in folktales, music, and food.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) within the last decade, for me, has fluctuated. I wish I could say confidently it has progressed forward in the conservation sector; however, that has not been the case in my lived experience. On some level, the need to be a more inclusive sector has provided me with opportunities, but I would like to think my accomplishments are based on my skills and work ethic instead of the boxes I check. I work in Texas, in the Hill Country, to be specific. Tejanos set a cultural milestone in the latest U.S. census by becoming our state’s largest demographic group. You would think with Tejanos being the largest demographic (and growing), I would see more people who look like me, talk like me, and hold similar cultural values to me in the area where I work, but I don’t. I am a young, Indigenous, wildlife conservationist Tejana in the Hill Country, and that alone puts me in a narrow category.
I remember going to my first network meeting so excited, and eager to make connections with people. I was finally in the door and had a seat at the table that I have always wanted to sit at. You see, my passion for wildlife conservation is inexhaustible, and I have energy like the wind. I can feel it all around me, and it’s expressed unapologetically. So when I say I was ready for this moment, I was truly taking it all in the present. I remember walking in and seeing everyone circled up. I walked around attempting to start conversations and introduce myself but wasn’t really getting an engaging atmosphere. I tried not to overthink and did my best to ignore imposter syndrome creeping in. There had to be about 100 people in the room, but somehow it felt like more. I was disproportionately the youngest in the room (I am in my late 20s) and shockingly uncomfortable. The best way I can put what the experience was like is, that it was not a welcoming room, and even now, I am not sure why or how. I sat to take my seat, purposely not getting on my phone so people could tell I was open to engaging, but nothing. When the opening presenter started his slide deck, to my surprise, the topic was DEIJ in wildlife conservation. I won’t ever forget this, he said, “there is a difference between inviting someone in the room and making them feel welcomed.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. After the presentation concluded, I went outside to call my husband. I was holding back tears trying to express my feelings in words and my frustration. In a professional setting, I felt so small and insignificant and embarrassed as if I did something wrong, as if I didn’t get the memo about something. I won’t ever forget that confining feeling of reality hitting me. I went to the restroom, looked in the mirror, and told myself, “It’s okay…you are qualified, you deserve to be here, and you worked to get here, it will be okay”. I took a deep breath and went back into that room. I wish I could say confidently it has progressed forward in the conservation sector; however, that has not been the case in my lived experience. I used to think it was just about having a seat at the table, but it’s not. It’s about people making efforts to ensure there is space for you, and sometimes you just have to make your own chair and bring it with you.
I now make an effort to speak up when that feeling returns, and I make sure to speak up when I see others looking uncomfortable because I always see it. My colleagues don’t see it, nor do they feel it, but I recognize it very quickly. I am not shy to speak on my lived experiences, because that’s what they are: my experiences. I still get nervous, my throat still gets shaky, and my hands still get sweaty. But, I bring myself to show up and speak up because if I don’t, progress will fail to happen. I am strong and brave like my mother. You see, she never completed the ninth grade and grew up significantly disadvantaged yet she made herself show up when it got hard. She ended up becoming a Senior Director of Risk Management for a multi-billion dollar company. She is what inspires me to keep moving the needle forward because I am exactly like her (igualitas), and I can take adversity so those who want to be in my sector, who are similar to me, do not have to.
One of my passion projects is “Lights Out, Texas!” (LOT) and I lead a citizen science study for it in Austin. When I lived in Dallas and first got involved, I was immediately sold on the idea of citizen science. LOT wasn’t just about saving wildlife, but I saw it as a way to get real science-based experience without needing a background in research, a more equitable way of getting involved in wildlife. I spent my whole adolescent life believing the lie we were all sold, that you need a higher degree to work in science and wildlife. But, there it was, $60K+ of student debt and two degrees later. That’s why I make sure all LOT resources are translated into different languages and do outreach to communities of color.
The truth is, DEI has gotten better for many people, but sometimes it feels like it’s a trend, and one day, the fad will be over. That is why I love Latino Outdoors so much, it’s a community that won’t go away even when everyone else stops talking about it. I can’t recall anyone around me ever knowing what DEI meant ten years ago, and so that tells me there is growth and people are listening, and so I am looking forward to these next ten years.
I used to Americanize myself more when I went to meetings or conferences, but not anymore. Just like having DEI statements won’t fix the issues at hand, my cultura should not be watered down to fit other people’s comfort. I don’t like feeling the need to assimilate to make others feel good about what DEI efforts they are doing. But, diversity or increasing representation in conservation will not happen until we are comfortable with calling it out. When I say we, I mean all of us because it can’t just fall on marginalized groups to recognize it. I am hopeful about the future of DEI in wildlife conservation, but I do owe it to myself and the next generation, to be honest about what reality feels like. This does not discourage me porque soy fuerte y valiente como mi mamá and obstacles are just opportunities waiting to be accomplished.
Azalia Rodríguez is an Outings Leader for Latino Outdoors Austin and works as the Texas Representative in the wildlife conservation sector of the Texas Hill Country. She is passionate about wildlife and saving imperiled species in any way she can. Although qualified and driven, her experience speaks to challenges in the conservation sector of Texas. She shares about the crossroads of cultura y conservation as it pertains to DEI growing pains as Texas engages in a culture shift.
