I am an educator, writer, activist and community leader in Durango, Colorado, who mentors diverse youth to become leaders in environmental sustainability and social justice. I have focused for the past eight years on connecting my students to wild spaces and providing them with experiential education opportunities that foster a stronger sense of justice, environmental ethic, and connection to place and community. My students have worked to support the homeless population in Durango, provide mental health resources to La Plata County residents, and advocate on behalf of public lands conservation with Bears Ears and Greater Chaco. Further, they’ve learned how to defend political, legal and moral philosophies of justice in reenacting Korematsu v. US (1944). I also teach advanced electives in 20th century American Literature, Leadership Development, and Imperialism and Foreign Aid in Sub-Saharan Africa. Through SOLES in particular, I have worked to foster a community of young women who actively lead themselves and their peers and contribute to the vitality of the San Juan Mountain region. We’ve restored a high alpine Fen, contemplated the preservation of silence while cross-country skiing through Aspen groves, discussed Martin Luther King’s legacy after hearing one of our SOLE Sisters cover John Legend’s “Glory” on a backcountry ski trip where we learned how effective communication can help us not only avoid avalanches but also inter-personal relationship conflict. We have a lot more work to do.