We expect the We Are ONE gathering to draw at least 400 participants from all 50 states. Our goal is to ensure the audience reflects the rich tapestry of our nation's geographic and cultural diversity, fostering a truly inclusive environment. By bringing together individuals from every corner of the country, we aim to create a unique opportunity for dialogue, learning, and collaboration that transcends boundaries, highlighting the strength and unity found in our diversity.

Based on prior event audiences and our outreach tactics, we are confident the gathering will attract attendees from varied personal and professional backgrounds, such as activists, scholars, policy experts, nonprofit staff and leaders, artists and culture-makers, spiritual leaders, naturalists, writers, students and educators, urban planners, youth leaders, and more. 

Past events have included participants representing an array of fields, including: Academia, Arts (incl. visual arts, dance, music, writing), Civil society, Climate justice, Climate organizing & activism, Community Leaders, Conservation, Consulting, Environmental advocacy, Environmental education, Environmental justice, Food justice & agriculture, Food sovereignty, Government (national, state, local), Grassroots and social movements, Health & wellness, Indigenous land conservation, Mobility justice, Native rights and sovereignty, Nonprofits, Organizational equity & inclusion, Organizing, Outdoor education, Outdoor recreation & access, Parks & open spaces, Philanthropy, Public health, Research and policy, Social justice, Sustainability, Urban planning, Youth development

Sponsors will benefit from acknowledgment during the event as well as on our organizations’ social media platforms, which have a sizable combined reach:

• Facebook: 3,930

• Instagram: 12,050

• LinkedIn: 4,114

• Newsletters: 5,950

The We Are ONE agenda is in development, and will include speaker presentations and discussions, interactive guided sessions, and loosely structured gatherings, as well as unstructured time for participants to connect and reflect.

• Skill Shares/Trainings: Participants learn a specific skill, such as power-mapping, fundraising, sign-making, facilitating, flyer design, budgeting, etc.

• Interactive Workshops: Participants engage in a guided exploration of a question, concept, experience, problem, or project. Workshops include space for discussion and reflection and often engage multiple learning modalities, such as movement, visual learning, journaling, and group discussion.

• Art & Culture Workshops: Visual artists, performance artists, muralists, filmmakers, craftspeople, puppeteers, and other artists share their work and/or engage an audience in an interactive discussion, training, or creating process.

• Panels: Leaders across differences share their experiences and perspectives on a topic, issue, or question. Panels include a moderator and at least three panelists. 

• Action Planning Sessions: Participants work together to plan future activities, events, policies, and/or programs related to a specific topic or opportunity and in support of shared values.

• Affinity Groups: In these participant-driven spaces, people who share a particular identity come together to network, build community, share resources and ideas, and identify the support they need from each other and from allies.

Our past events have featured presentations, panels, workshops, trainings, and other sessions on a range of topics, from organizational change, ethical storytelling, and inclusive community engagement to environmental science and climate advocacy. Examples include:

• Not Your Mama's Nonprofit: Building Radically Equitable Organizations

• Use Your Outside Voice: How to Harness Your Personal Narrative to Make a Difference in Outdoor Spaces

• Bridging the Nature Gap through Research & Policy Advocacy

• Migratory Story: Raptor Migration & Human Immigration

• A Deeper Look at Disability in the Outdoors

• B(l)ack in Nature: Black Landscapes and Cultural Heritage

• Untold History of Asian Pacific Islander Americans in Outdoor & Environmental Sectors 

• Land Protection is Cultural Protection: Telling the Story of Bears Ears

• Community Investment vs. Capital Investment: How Park Development Can Support Neighborhood Resilience 

• This was the best conference I have ever been to! Thank you so much for your hard work and dedication to this work and making this a reality for so many of us who need to feel community and know that we are not the only ones doing good work in what feel like isolated POC areas. #praisehands Thank you! 

• The conference was well organized, well-staffed, and a wonderful opportunity to meet interesting people and partake in thoughtful discussion. It was refreshing to be in a safe space and to not feel like I had to filter what I had to say about people of color working towards enhancing our relationship with the natural world.

• This was such a beautifully-intentioned space that was clearly created with so much love. I felt cared for and considered - it was very powerful and healing to share space with such positively energized folks who were able to let their guards down and just be who they are, and participate, and shine. So dreamy.

• This was such a wonderful, empowering experience. I was so struck by the isolation that so many of us feel in this work and what a wonderful opportunity this was to connect, recharge, and simply not feel alone. I was also very aware that this was not an accident. There were so many ways that I saw the organizers very intentionally creating this space from the speakers selected, to the warm and relaxed way I was welcomed when I first came in, to the beautiful and moving welcome ceremony, to the affinity spaces, to the attention given to the movement/creativity/nourishment/outdoor time we needed as participants (something most conferences don't do enough of) that made this possible. Truly phenomenal work!

• Thank you for providing such an amazing space. It felt like more than a conference to me - community space, learning space, and healing space all in one. 

• It was the first time in eight years working and attending conferences and summits around the environmental/social justice space that I felt a sense of belonging. It was refreshing, exciting, and cathartic to be around so many people of color on the same page and sharing the similar experiences and also connecting with people with whom I will now stay in contact to ensure a continued path. 

• This has been a powerful cohort. The sessions and exercises we employed have had a profound impact on me as an individual. These positive impacts are having ripple effects on my network. Furthermore, the knowledge and understanding I've obtained has helped me as a leader to facilitate a more inclusive and equitable network. 

• If there’s one thing I learned from the programming, it’s that it’s never too late. We all deserve access to the outdoors. We all deserve to not only envision ourselves in these spaces, but also actively do what our hearts are calling us to do.