Oct 29, 2024
In October, the America the Beautiful For All Coalition held its inaugural conference, New Era, New Leaders: 5 Years to 30×30, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Changemakers representing a diverse array of conservation justice issues, geographies and identities gathered to address nature loss which disproportionately harms communities of color and frontline communities. With only five years left to achieve the national and global initiative to conserve 30% of land and water by 2030, the conference aimed to forge an ethical and inclusive path forward, ensuring that the conservation movement truly reflects the diverse communities across the United States and territories. More than 175 participants from Alaska, Puerto Rico, Texas, and beyond attended.
Day 1: Ceremony, Inspiration and Celebration
The conference started off with a celebration of Puerto Rico’s Indigenous heritage, an areíto ceremony, led by a bohique (spiritual leader). The ceremony honored Taíno culture and relationship with Earth mother and invoked blessings from Yocahú, the supreme creator. It featured rhythmic sounds of traditional instruments, culminating in a symbolic gesture of commitment to environmental stewardship through dance and music. Coalition co-chairs, Mark Magaña, Founding President & CEO of GreenLatinos and Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, Executive Director, Children’s Environmental Health Network then reflected on the incredible progress made through coalition collective action and community care before panel discussions kicked off.
Inspiring panel discussions began with Raimundo Espinoza, Executive Director, Conservación ConCiencia, Robert Viqueira Ríos, Executive Director, Proyectores de Cuencas, Inc., Cynthia Lopez Burgos, Founder, La Maraña, Carmen Portela, Executive Director, Fundación Amigos de El Yunque, Inc & Dulce del Rio-Pineda, Founder, Mujeres de Islas on conservation and justice in Puerto Rico and the importance of representation of U.S. Territories in our movement for an equitable conservation movement that benefits everyone.
Greg Masten, National Congress of American Indians Foundation, Theresa Sheldon, Tulalip Tribes Board of Director, Tribal Councilwoman Denise Harvey, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, Patrick Gonzales Rogers, Yale School of Environmental Justice, & Karen Linnell, Ahtna Intertribal Resource Commission/Copper River-Ahtna Inter-Tribal Resource Conservation District held an important panel on Tribal Sovereignty and Self-Determination: Advancing Indigenous-Led Conservation.
Vu Le brought a humorous perspective to the nonprofit sector’s struggles, in a talk about shifting the movement and decolonizing philanthropy. He explored tools for values-driven conservation in the face of challenging power dynamics. Then, numerous breakout sessions focused on equity-centered biodiversity conservation planning, legal empowerment of communities, equity in private land conservation, and effective conservation in ocean and coastal stewardship.
“We’ve become so professionalized as a sector; we can write our theories of change and other strategic plans. But we’ve lost our ability to get 100 people to city hall, or 500 people on the streets in protest.”-Vu Le
Conference breakout sessions:
Equity-centric Biodiversity Conservation Planning
Water, Rights, and Resilience: Empowering Communities Through Legal Innovation
Reclaiming the Legacy: Forging Equity in Private Land Conservation
More than Acres: Ensuring Effective and Equitable Conservation Beyond 30×30 in Ocean and Coastal stewardship.
Following the breakout sessions, Angelo Villagomez, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress, Jerry Otero, Legislative and Policy Director, Grand Canyon Trust, Starlyn Miller, Little Shell Chippewa, Adrian Angulo, Campaigns & Programs Director, Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project & Sheila Babauta, Friends of the Marianas Trench conducted a dynamic panel on practical tools and strategies for implementing justice-oriented, 21st century conservation initiatives.
Coalition members, Kai Tran, Jen Felt, Nicole Yanes, and Michelle Schärer-Umpierre, led community speed talks during breakfast every day, where they updated conference participants on efforts toward achieving our twin goals for 30×30 and Justice40.
The day concluded with a community dinner, dance party and awards for outstanding changemakers at the forefront of furthering ATB4All Coalition twin goals.
2024 Awardees
Amy Cordalis – Transformative Leadership AwardA
pril Monroe – Courageous Leadership Award
Richard Juang – Community Commitment Award
Corina Newsome – Trailblazer Award for Equity in Wildlife Science
Kai Tran – Emerging Leader Award
Julian Gonzalez – Clean Water & Community Award
Day 2: Music, Leadership and Nature
Kevin Chang, Executive Director, Kua’aina Ulu ‘Auamo & Kate Burgess, Conservation Program Manager, National Caucus of Environmental Legislators kicked off the morning by performing two songs and leading a community grounding exercise.
White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory delivered a keynote address on the Biden Administration’s Justice40 and conservation progress. It was followed by a panel on the importance of social and environmental health in conservation by Nathaniel Smith, Founder, Chief Equity Officer, Partnership for Southern Equity, Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, Executive Director, Children’s Environmental Health Network, Joel Pannell, Vice President, Urban Forests Policy, American Forests, Daniel Smith, Board Member, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, and Adrienne Hollis, Vice President for Environmental Justice, Health and Community Revitalization, National Wildlife Federation.
“Privilege is only powerful if you are willing to share it.”-Nathaniel Smith
The afternoon concluded with a discussion on Project 2025, how it targets our shared issues and new ambition for the last half of accomplishing 30×30 in a potential Harris-Walz Administration. This panel featured Jerry Otero, Legislative and Policy Director, Grand Canyon Trust, Will Fadely, Vice President, Cassidy & Associates, B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster, Award Winning Journalist, High Country News, and Addie Haughey, Legislative Director, Lands, Wildlife, and Oceans Policy and Legislation Team, Earthjustice.
What is a trip to la isla del paraiso without quality time in nature? Following another round of unforgettable talks and delicious meals, conference attendees embarked on outings to El Yunque National Forest, Old San Juan, and a local mangrove.
Day 3: Collective Visioning, Narrative Power and Change
The final day of our inaugural conference started with a powerful storytelling panel on building authentic coalition power with B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster, Award Winning Journalist, High Country News, Gabaccia Moreno, Executive Director, The Outdoorist Oath, Amy Thompson, Million Person Project, Sean A. Watkins (they/them), Founder & Principal Storytelling Consultant, Agency of Joy, Rae Breaux, Just Transitions Partnerships Sr Manager, Center for Story Based Strategy & Diandra Esparza, Co-founder of Intersectional Environmentalist.
Then, conference attendees broke out into more than a dozen small groups to workshop top priorities for conservation justice in 2025 and beyond. This was a crucial moment for community collaboration as we prepare to successfully accomplish our shared goals in any and all government leadership scenarios.
Thank you to all who contributed to the success of this bold and inspirational conference. Onwards to a visionary, daring, inclusive, accessible, safe, healthy and just new chapter.
