Staff Spotlight: Audrey Galo Championing Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity at NatureBridge
Meet Audrey Galo, NatureBridge’s new Equity and Inclusion Director. Audrey (she/her) lives in Vallejo, CA, and embodies a rich cultural heritage as a result of growing up in Chicago with Central American roots.
Audrey’s career journey has spanned various sectors including architecture, education, technology, and workforce development, but always with a consistent focus on social justice. Her personal experiences have fueled her passion for breaking down barriers in historically exclusive spaces. Audrey chose to join NatureBridge because of its commitment to providing invaluable outdoor experiences for young people and ensuring outdoor access for all. “How transformational is it for young people to spend dedicated time connecting to nature, their peers, and themselves?” Audrey reflects. She wishes she had known about an organization like NatureBridge during her own childhood, when her personal connections to nature were formed during visits to Guatemala and Chicago’s Lake Michigan.
Audrey sees NatureBridge as a catalyst for growth and exploration. “A NatureBridge experience might be the first time a young person is tapping into outdoor exploration or their first time immersed in a national park. This exposure to a new experience allows them to grow by stretching their imagination of what is possible for their future,” she says.
A NatureBridge experience might be the first time a young person is tapping into outdoor exploration or their first time immersed in a national park. This exposure to a new experience allows them to grow by stretching their imagination of what is possible for their future.Audrey Galo, Equity and Inclusion Director
In her role, Audrey aims to advance NatureBridge’s mission and firmly believes that everyone deserves the opportunity to connect with and learn about the environment. She is excited to collaborate with the NatureBridge community to advance the organization’s Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity (EI&D) efforts. “I look forward to nurturing that foundation and helping to envision what’s next in our evolution,” Audrey shares. Her commitment and vision promise to drive NatureBridge towards a more inclusive and equitable future.
Please help us welcome Audrey to the NatureBridge community!
Stories
Fall Reflections from NatureBridge Yosemite
As an environmental science educator, I spend a lot of time teaching about nature, but this season I’ve been finding that as it turns out, nature has a lot to teach us, too. Sometimes I can let the trees, the meadow, and the lichen teach for me. They show us how to respect each other’s boundaries, how to celebrate differences, how to work together, and how to lean on each other’s strengths in order to exist in a new place. These lessons felt incredibly relevant to me heading into the first week of November, a notoriously busy time at NatureBridge Yosemite. I wanted to focus on messages of kindness and inclusivity with my students, I wanted them to feel a sense of belonging in this new space, and I also hoped that they would share those messages with others.
An Incredible 10th Anniversary of Evening on the Lake
On October 25, the Amazon Meeting Center in downtown Seattle buzzed with celebratory energy as over 300 NatureBridge guests and supporters gathered for the 10th anniversary of "Evening on the Lake," our signature Pacific Northwest fundraising event for our Olympic campus.
"Science became fun" at NatureBridge for Alum Laura Lomeli Russert
Laura Lomeli Russert is a NatureBridge alum who grew up in Groveland, CA and now calls Washington, D.C. home. Laura’s journey with NatureBridge began when she attended the Golden Gate campus as a young student with her class from Tenaya Elementary. Laura credits NatureBridge with shaping not only her love for nature but also her passion for education and science. "Science became fun,” she recalls. “You weren’t learning from a textbook anymore, and it became so much more real." Her hands-on, scientific experiences at NatureBridge laid the foundation for her eventual pursuit of a Ph.D. in psychology. “I feel like I owe a lot to NatureBridge."