Living out your values is never easy. One of our core Camp Fire values is, “We honor the power of young people.” To us, honoring power means sharing power through significant youth participation and decision-making.  

But what does this look like in practice? We’re working hard to authentically integrate youth voice through all layers of our organization. It takes forethought and extra energy to upend the adult-led status quo, but it’s worth it if it builds a Camp Fire truly for and by young people.  

It’s a matter of equity 

Youth Voice isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a justice issue. 

“A huge part of it for me is the equity piece,” said Ben Matthews, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access Manager. “Young people are also a marginalized and oppressed group of people, because of their age and adults’ assumption that they don’t know how to make decisions for themselves.”  

This bias is called adultism, and it’s pervasive in our culture. Ben explained that a major red flag for an adultism attitude is responding to questions from young people with “Because I said so,” “Because I’m the adult,” or “Because that’s just the way we do things.”  

“It’s so much easier to shut down the conversation, rather than to reflect on, ‘Wait a second, why do we do that?’” Ben said.  

Being open to questions doesn’t mean a rule has to change. But treating young people as valuable members of a community means listening to their concerns, brainstorming solutions, and letting them share responsibility for taking action. After all, being a kid or teenager now is completely different from being a kid or teenager 20, 10 or even five years ago. Every generation has unique experiences, challenges and needs. Growing up is hard. 

“Technology, language, the way relationships work—all of that has changed so much,” said Ben. “There’s really no way an adult or anyone more than a couple years older can have any idea what [young people] need right now,” said Ben.  

Challenging adultism by championing youth voice ensures young people get the Camp Fire they need, not the one adults want them to have. 

What is youth voice? 

Inspired by the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality’s work on youth voice, Nikki Roe Cropp, Senior Director, Program Effectiveness, explained that when youth voice is fully integrated into an organization, young people share leadership with adults. On the way to that holistic collaboration, organizations often start with seeking youth input and giving young people more choices. The goal is to build on those valuable beginnings to arrive at true power-sharing.  

• Input: Creating opportunities for youth feedback on activities, programming aspects, and more. 
• Choice: Creating opportunities for young people to make relevant, meaningful and authentic decisions.  
• Shared Leadership: Creating opportunities for all youth to lead in diverse, varied and age-appropriate ways. 

“Youth voice has been a crucial part of Camp Fire for a long time,” said Nikki, “but it’s one of those areas we need to talk about, concentrate on, and ensure we’re doing intentionally—and developmentally.”  

Going from status quo to youth-led 

Making the shift to shared leadership means overcoming ingrained cultural beliefs about how adults and young people are supposed to interact. Both Ben and Nikki emphasized how liberating (and even relaxing) it can be for adult leaders to share power with young people. 

“It’s really getting adults to act as facilitators of learning rather than instructors of content,” said Nikki. “It’s having power with young people instead of power over.”  

Sometimes organizations think of youth voice as something for older teens only, but shared leadership can start early and deepen as children grow alongside their leadership skills. Adults still need to be responsible for making safety decisions along the way, but other leadership roles can be shared at all ages. Youth voice isn’t always a linear trajectory, and Camp Fire creates space to share power in multiple overlapping ways. The leadership opportunities listed below roughly correlate to developmental stages, but don’t underestimate younger kids’ abilities to carry out more high-responsibility power-sharing. We want young people to be the leaders they are today, not just build leadership skills for the future.  

• Lower responsibility leadership tasks:  
• Handing out materials 
• Presenting ideas to a small group 
• Helping peers 
• Setting up snacks 
• Helping a group stay positive 
• Taking responsibility for daily routines 
• Explaining directions 

• Intermediate-responsibility leadership tasks:  
• Leading a group discussion, song, project, event, etc. 
• Co-facilitating program activities with an adult 
• Participating in a program task force or leadership program 

• High-responsibility leadership tasks:  
• Planning program activities 
• Facilitating program activities 
• Mentoring other youth 
• Participating in a youth advisory group 
• Starting their own initiative or group 
• Shared power in organizational decision-making 

Advising the adults 

Youth advisory groups deserve a special mention in any discussion of youth voice. They are a powerful channel for integrating youth voice into the larger organization—if the advisory component is prioritized. Leadership programs aren’t the same things as an advisory board whose function is to practice leadership. It’s easy for adults to blur the lines between youth programming and youth advisory cabinets, but adult sponsors can help maintain the focus.    

Julia Fleenor Bejarano, Camp Fire Marketing Manager, and Hannah Howard, Camp Fire Evaluation Manager, both serve as Youth Voice Coordinators for the National Youth Advisory Cabinet (YAC).  

“We think of our YAC like a person on our staff,” explained Hannah. “We treat our YAC members equally; they are important.” 

YAC members are 16 to 18 years old, have Camp Fire experience, and commit to meeting (virtually) with Camp Fire adult leaders (our CEO, president, senior directors and directors) once a month, September through May. As experts in youth experience, they are paid for their time. 

“We try to be really clear,” said Julia, on making sure other adult leaders understand the purpose of the YAC. “The youth are here to help you make decisions. Come ready.” 

YAC meetings include educational content when it’s necessary for them to fulfill their mission, but the first goal is shared leadership. YAC has advised on a wide variety of topics including website design, social media content, how to word youth survey questions, internal training courses and more. In the past, the YAC has led the redesign of awards and recognitions and traditionally been one of the first stops for strategic plan feedback.   

Julia and Hannah have led a professional learning community for Camp Fire affiliates interested in expanding youth voice and have met with other national youth organizations who want to start youth advisory groups. They report that it’s hard for adults everywhere to make the youth-voice shift.  

“It’s really hard for folks to wrap their brain around,” said Hannah. “It’s a longer process of rewiring our brains to understand that young people are equally if not more important in conversations about youth development. It’s a reframe of the power dynamics between adults and youth.”  

Learn more about youth voice at Camp Fire 

The post It’s not a program; it’s a practice appeared first on Camp Fire.

We know that kids who have a certain set of competencies and skills are better able to navigate through challenging times and cope with adversity.  The process in which youth gain these necessary skills and competencies is called social-emotional learning or SEL.  Social-emotional learning is nothing new—teachers, counselors, coaches, and youth workers have been modeling and teaching social and emotional development strategies for a long time.  There are decades of research that illustrates the benefits of SEL for kids both in and out of the classroom.   SEL is infused into Camp Fire’s program framework, making it a cornerstone of the Camp Fire experience.     

SEL has changed over the years.  It was changing before the pandemic as folks implementing it started recognizing that this process of building social and emotional skills needs to be contextualized to different cultures, norms, and priorities. Just as regular teaching has evolved over the years to include more culturally responsive practices, so has SEL. And then during and after the pandemic and racial unrest in our country, SEL had to evolve again—as kids’ needs changed during that time.   

Transformative SEL was born in response to us finally acknowledging the disparities in education and opportunities based on a kid’s socioeconomic status, race, zip code, home language, disability status, and other factors. “Transformative SEL” is a form of SEL implementation where young people and adults build strong, respectful, and lasting relationships to engage in co-learning. It facilitates critical examination of individual and contextual factors that contribute to inequities and calls for collaborative solutions that lead to personal, community, and societal well-being.  It recognizes that youth can be a part of creating just environments now and for the future.  

Today’s young people are primed for Transformative SEL. Search Institute recently reported that youth are more invested today in caring, equality and social justice, cultural competence, and valuing diversity than they were in 2016.   

Graph to the right: Internal comparison of trends between 2020 and 2022 Attitudes & Behaviors Survey aggregate data 

We know that empathy and compassion are not enough to advance equity.  At Camp Fire, we employ practices and programming that center humanity, honor identity, promote healing and liberation, and build skills needed to act and advocate for social justice.   This is Transformative SEL in action!

Want to read more about SEL and Camp Fire? Check out Building Equity with Social Emotional Learning (SEL).

The post Center Humanity, Honor Identity, Promote Healing & Cultivate Liberation: This Is Transformative SEL appeared first on Camp Fire.

In this post, Illuminative well-captured the devastating stats about the lack of safety and high suicide rates that impact our 2SLGBTQ+ young people, just like Nex (learn more here at the Trevor Project). Camp Fire has long supported and affirmed all 2SLGBTQ+ young people and works to create spaces where all young people feel safe and can thrive. In fact, we just published a new study about “the impact of both physical spaces and psychological conditions that allow youth “to just be,” with an emphasis on identity and gender-affirming practices for transgender and non-binary young people,” because we KNOW how much it matters for all adults and organizations to CREATE these spaces. They don’t just happen.

We must come together and support one another – especially our 2SLGBTQ+ youth. Our young people should never live in fear. They need us.

Members of Camp Fire Green Country plan to be at Nex’s vigil Sunday evening

Please be aware of and share these important lifesaving resources:

• Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860 (Staffed by transgender folks, for transgender folks; toll-free)
• The Trevor Project Hotline: 866-488-7386 (Available 24/7; with counselors trained in supporting LGBTQ youth)
• Rainbow Youth Project: 988 or call (317) 643-4888 (Crisis line)
• Native Crisis Text line: Text NATIVE to 741741 (Available 24/7; text support provided by crisis counselors)

Follow on IG:

• @FreedomOklahoma 
• @TransAdvocacyOK 
• @glaad @trevorproject 
• @WeRNative 
• @stopbullyinggo

The post Protect Trans* Kids: Remembering Nex Benedict appeared first on Camp Fire.

What is an accomplice? 

An accomplice is someone who holds power in an oppressive system and actively uses it to help others and change the system. 

“An accomplice is willing to be involved, not just sit on the sidelines and observe,” explained Kira. “An accomplice takes action. An accomplice unapologetically names how systems of oppression are operating, how they might be benefitting from those systems of oppression, and then actively works to disrupt and dismantle them.” 

As people in oppressed groups began to feel the word ally was too basic and linked to performative actions without true impact, accomplice became a compelling and illustrative alternative. Kira said that some people have said the word makes them nervous: It sounds too naughty, too dangerous. 

“I encourage them to think about how dangerous it is to live in systems of oppression,” said Kira.

“The idea of moving from ally to accomplice is to push people to actually be in the fight.” 

Joining the fight

Being “in the fight” looks different for every accomplice and every situation. It could be a public act of power-shifting support, like how James Tyson stood between police and the protestor Bree Newsome as she scaled a flag pole at the South Carolina state capitol to remove the Confederate flag in 2015. 

“Bettina Love talks about this example in one of her books,” said Kira. “That man understood the assignment. He understood that his systemic value as a white man would literally change the dynamic in a collaborative, accomplice sort of way.” 

But being an accomplice can also take more everyday forms of action.

“A classic example is you’re in a meeting when someone with less power or with a marginalized identity speaks up, but their idea isn’t given attention or the appropriate response,” Eric said. “An ally might go up to that person after the meeting and say, ‘I heard you and feel like you had something important to say. I’m sorry we didn’t listen to you.’ At least that’s recognizing the power disparity. But an accomplice stops the meeting to say, ‘This person is saying something really important, and I think we all need to take a second and listen.’” 

The common accomplice denominator is discomfort. It’s not comfortable to challenge the status quo! Being an accomplice usually means feeling discomfort — and making others in power feel uncomfortable, too — in order to push for systems change. Accomplices remember that people being oppressed are already uncomfortable, at the very least. In many cases, their lives are at stake.  

“Accomplices put themselves into the fray to not let that person be uncomfortable alone,” said Eric. 

Accomplices for youth

As adults, in most systems, we hold more power than children and teens do. We can use that power for good, to both be accomplices for young people and help them learn to cultivate an equity mindset (see Kira’s video on raising “equity nerds”) and be accomplices for others. Here are a few ways to join the fight for and with kids and teens: 

Name systemic oppression

“As we enter a heightened political campaign season, we have to increase our tolerance for having difficult dialogues about naming what is, seeing the broader context and allowing space for nuance,” said Kira. Don’t be afraid to dive way past sound bytes, headlines and memes to help youth understand how systemic oppression works, especially during heated political contests. 

Celebrate differences in identity 

Kira emphasized that now is not the time to shy away from talking about identities. Instead, highlight how valuing each other’s differences can create strong, dynamic relationships. 

She explained: “If I say, ‘I see you in your identity, I value you, and I’m looking for ways to help you get what you need.’ And you are hearing my experience as a Black woman and asking what I need — that’s how we do community.” 

“We need to be able to talk to young people about what they are hearing,” agreed Eric, “so that they understand that in many cases people are using identity for political purposes — that they are trying to create an us versus them. But there are also adults who are working to create communities where all young people can be cared for and included.” 

Have action-oriented conversations

“Adults can pose questions to help empower young people to be accomplices when they see something happening,” said Eric. When you and/or the children and teens you know witness someone using their power to harm others, we can call it out as wrong and ask: 

• What is happening?
• Who is being hurt?
• Did we do or say anything? 
• If not, why? 
• What can we do next time? 

“Those kinds of questions can help young people understand what it sounds, feels and looks like to be an accomplice,” said Eric. 

Be willing to be uncomfortable

This means not only being willing to take action that might make you or others uncomfortable but staying open when the young people in your life seem to be pushing too hard or too fast for systemic change. 

“We have to remember that most change isn’t comfortable,” said Kira, citing how many leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela, were criticized for being too radical. “As young people are playing with how they want to engage in movement building or change, we need to catch ourselves and not squash their exploration simply because we’re uncomfortable.” 

Camp Fire’s latest Increasing Accessibility and Inclusivity report showcases examples of pressing through discomfort to create more equitable experiences for young people. Affiliates across the country listened to young people’s calls for change and took action, even when it meant doing things differently; investing extra time, energy and money; and risking upsetting people in positions of power who might not agree with the changes. That’s exactly what it takes to move toward being an accomplice!

Pace yourself 

We’re not only in the middle of a contentious political season, but in a decades-long era of change. Choose your battles, practice daily self-care and settle in. Being an accomplice is a marathon that never ends, not a sprint to a clear finish line. 

“This doesn’t stop when the election is over,” said Kira. “Having conversations with young people about shared humanity is key to supporting them not just in this season, but in this society.”  

Read more about becoming an accomplice: 

• How Civil Wars Start: And how to stop them by Barbara F. Walter
• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
• We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom by Bettina L. Love. 
• “White Folks: It’s Too Late for ‘Allies,’” by Rev. Dr. Stephany Rose Spaulding in Colorlines 
• “White Shame: How to Convert Guilt Into Action,” by Ali Pattillo in Inverse (Kira is quoted in this article)
• “White Allies, Let’s Be Honest About Decolonization,” by Kyle Powys Whyte in Yes!

The post From Allies to Accomplices: Get uncomfortable!  appeared first on Camp Fire.

Our values are our North Star. They guide our strategic vision and our day-to-day work. We’ve been a values-led organization since 1910, and it’s what has allowed us to survive for 114 years and it’s what will help us continue to meet the current moment.

On our journey to inclusion, which includes a commitment to expanding spaces for young people to “simply be”, we sought to understand how the intentionality in which we create programs impacted participants. We asked the question,  

“What impact (if any) do gender-inclusive and gender-affirming measures have on young people, their caregivers, and their camp experience?” 

This question led to a year-long study at two of our camps, which engaged transgender and non-binary youth and their caregivers following their summer camp experience.  The result is this report, a product of the vulnerability and honesty the participants were willing to share with us. We are honored to share with you and the world today: the first-of-its-kind report around the impact of both physical spaces and psychological conditions that allow youth “to just be,” with an emphasis on identity and gender-affirming practices for transgender and non-binary young people.

We believe all young people deserve to belong and access opportunities to thrive, so we intentionally craft our Camp Fire programs and spaces in ways that make this possible. Inclusion, belonging, and thriving don’t just happen by accident – it takes a lot of thoughtfulness, attention, and work.

The Othering and Belonging Institute website says, “The concept of belonging describes more than a feeling of inclusion or welcome. Its full power is as a strategic framework for addressing ongoing structural and systemic othering, made visible, for example, in the wide disparities in outcomes found across a variety of sectors and identity groups.”

Camp Fire isn’t just implementing gender-affirming practices, we’re expanding opportunities for young people to exist in their fullness through any means necessary – looking at and updating our policies, practices, language, operations, and structures.

We believe this report is just the tip of the iceberg. Our goal and hope is to scale the research in the years to come and continue to learn and grow, while always centering youth voice. So Camp Fire can continue to best serve our incredible transgender and non-binary youth. 

Download the full report below.

Download the Report

Space for Identity Exploration: Through the Lens of Gender © 2024 by Camp Fire, is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International 

The post New, First-of-its-Kind Study: Creating Gender-Affirming Spaces at Summer Camp appeared first on Camp Fire.

When we talk about equity at Camp Fire, we’re not talking about an unreachable ideal. We’re not focusing on a simplistic, everybody-gets-the-same-size-slice-of-pizza approach. We mean an inclusive value that is alive, nuanced and, frankly, difficult. 

We’re committed to fairness that does the hard work to remove barriers. We’re working towards equity that wants everyone to have what they need to thrive—but also understands all the diverse places we start from and the very different things that get in our way. We mean we are committed to taking action to bring awareness to and change to systems that promote racism, sexism, white supremacy and other oppressions. 

We’re focused on equity in action. We want to be a more equitable organization, and that takes work! We wanted to highlight some of the changes our Camp Fire affiliates have made recently to create more equitable camping opportunities. Pay attention to how much cooperation, conversation and communication it took for each of these camps to become places where more young people can belong. That’s hard-working equity! 

Building inclusive and accessible cabins

Camp Fire Columbia

Since 1924, Camp Namanu has been a summer home for Oregon’s young adventurers. In the past few years, Camp Namanu has made belonging a priority by asking how they can better welcome campers who have physical differences, financial limitations or come from traditionally marginalized communities. The camp took a methodical approach to recent updates, using audits and focus groups to narrow in on the changes that would make the most impact. They were supported by committed leaders, an experienced board, diverse funding sources and transparent communication with their whole community. Those intentional conversations led to three transformational projects: 

1. ADA-accessible updates: In the progress-not-perfection mindset, the camp wanted to make their cabins more accessible for campers with disabilities, even if the camp itself couldn’t be completely ADA-compliant because of its mountainous location. They added shower and toilet bars, ADA ramps, and an accessible, electric golf cart for easier transportation. 
2. Gender-inclusive features: Namanu designed new cabins with private changing, showering and toilet spaces to help reduce camp stress for trans and non-binary campers. 
3. Neurodivergent considerations: Campers who are sensitive to sensory input now have more comfortable cabins with thoughtful elements like dimmable, sound-free lighting and windows that open.  

Camp Namanu said these changes helped bring new families to camp, welcome more trans and non-binary campers and staff into their community, and maintain strong alumni relationships. 

Creating an inclusive swimwear policy

Camp Fire Heart of Iowa

Camp Fire Heart of Iowa has been creating places of belonging since 1919 and is looking for ways to make camp safer and more affirming for all campers. The camp was welcoming more campers identifying as LGBTQ2S+ and wanted to create a swimsuit policy that would be inclusive, not body shaming, and embraced by families with diverse backgrounds and financial means. 

Camp Fire Heart of Iowa collaborated with Camp Fire National Headquarters and Iowa Safe Schools to craft the new policy: Everyone at camp would wear swim gear that covered their tops, clavicle to stomach, and some kind of swim bottoms. The Friendship Fund helped the camp purchase extra swim shirts for campers who needed them, and the camp led an effective communication plan that emphasized the inclusion, safety and health benefits of the new policy.

Camp Fire Heart of Iowa reported that the new policy helped trans, non-binary and other LGBTQ2S+ campers feel like they belonged. As promised, the brightly colored swim shirts also increased water safety and reduced sunburns!  

Expanding leadership program access

Camp Fire Alaska

Camp Fire Alaska has been helping campers experience the wilderness at Camp K since 1966. Recently, the camp noticed that many older teens were opting to get summer jobs instead of returning to camp. With a grant from the American Camp Association, Camp K developed a month-long Leadership in Training (LIT) program with young people from rural and Indigenous communities in mind. In its first year, Camp K flew in LIT participants from around the state and provided room, board and a $500 stipend — essential for reducing participation barriers. The LIT teens learned the basics of youth programming, built their leadership skills, and discovered their individual leadership strengths. 

Camp K said LIT participants appreciated having a safe space for self-exploration, practicing new skills and growing in confidence. The camp wants to continue to deepen collaboration with rural and Indigenous communities, increase cultural competence and relevance, and continue to raise awareness of the program. 

“By design, the hope is that we are not only diversifying the camp environment for campers and for staff, but also building workforce pipelines for both our sleepaway camp as well as our rural program that’s working on the local workforce development.”

—Melanie Hooper, CEO, Camp Fire Alaska     

These are just three ways Camp Fire affiliates are working to create more equitable camp experiences, where all are welcomed and all belong. Are you passionate about equity, inclusion and belonging? Help us continue to build equitable, accessible and inclusive youth programs. Donate to Camp Fire this Giving Tuesday, November 28. 

Want to learn more about the work these affiliates did to create more equitable experiences for young people? Read the full case studies!

Dive into the full changes and learnings from each affiliate and what they reccommend you take away to apply to your own programs.

Download The Report

Recommended Citation

Camp Fire (2023). Increasing Accessibility & Inclusivity in Summer Outdoor Programs.

Available at: https://campfire.org/blog/article/equity-in-action/

Learn more about how Camp Fire is becoming a more equitable organization: 

• But what does belonging feel like?
• Dear Young People
• CAMPER 2.0: Increasing camp accessibility for historically excluded groups of young people
• Why equity is essential for developmental relationships
• Advancing Equity at Camp 
• Building Equity with Social Emotional Learning 
• Questioning Power & Repairing Harm: Addressing Cultural Appropriation in Our History

The post Equity in Action appeared first on Camp Fire.

Camp Fire: How has an understanding of nature led to your work and where you are today?

José González: The most recent element that has shaped my work is how nature heals severed connections. The land can be instructive for creating the conditions, structures, and elements for people to have a livelihood and to relate with each other. If we continue via a reductive, mechanistic approach, then all we’re doing is perpetuating harm. How can we be truly revolutionary? The root of the word revolutionary means revolution — cycles. If we were to design a workforce with regenerative cycles, it doesn’t mean money disappears overnight. It doesn’t mean you can’t have an iPhone. But you now have to approach work with different responsibilities and logic. It allows us to see people as complex, not just elements in a pipeline, and imagine a career path more like a braided river.

Camp Fire: How does making the shift to a nature-based metaphor for work help young people imagine different futures?

José González: I think it’s having a sense that there’s an agency of co-creation in that vision versus just taking what you inherit and playing the role. But it’s a both/and. I understand the frustration, the urgency to say: “Burn it all down! This capitalist, colonial, extractive, consumer-based economy and structure is no good. Be gone!” I say, “Yes, and…” Just like prescribed burning, there’s an intention and an approach. Here’s that mentorship from the land again: You have to look at the conditions we’ve inherited. If any spark makes the whole forest go away, that’s not good. At the same time, you can’t ignore all the underbrush and the necessity for prescribed burning. What does it mean to be a responsible fire tender? What does it mean to burn to create a healthy landscape? For young people, I say channel it. Help others envision this solar punk future that you’re so excited about. What are the careers? What does it mean to have a livelihood with roles that give your life meaning and don’t just treat you as another bit of the productive, mechanistic infrastructure? 

Camp Fire: What are some ways you’re seeing “responsible fire tenders” create careers and livelihoods for themselves? 

José González: A lot of young people are moving back on the land, so to speak. They are working with environmental justice, renewable energy and fossil fuel consumption. They are looking at the challenges around affordable housing and creating more community-oriented types of living. I think it’s important to ask the question: How does this job give meaning and serve my community, versus only being driven by a paycheck? 

Camp Fire: What are other ways nature metaphors are playing out in the organizations you consult with? 

José González: I tell people nobody is going to a meadow and saying, “You’re not meadowing enough today.” What does this tell you about how you can move with cycles of productivity? You can’t always be in the blooming and fruiting stage. And yet think about how often that’s exactly what’s expected or demanded of you! It’s like saying to a tree, “You know, what your issue is, tree? You’re suffering from burnout.” And the tree is like, “Yeah, it’s called fall. I’ll see you next year.” We can ignore these cues from our non-human kin, but it’s perpetuating a separation from nature. I’m not going to be exactly like the squirrel or exactly like the raven — being human is its own beautiful mess. But if I ignore what some of those natural relationships are, then I’m only deepening harm. What is the healing process? What does it mean to reconnect all of these different elements?

Camp Fire: How can we reconnect with cycles and seasons of rest, especially when our macro-culture isn’t supportive of that? 

José González: Step one is struggling with (and having grace for) the question: Where’s the urgency behind this coming from? Am I treating work like an emergency room situation as a default? Second: actually getting out in nature. I have to challenge myself to go for that walk, go for that jog, spend time in the garden, talk to the tree. The last part is acknowledging privilege. I can’t callously say to someone: “You need to go out in nature and chill!” And they’re like, “Yeah, can you pay my rent?” Don’t be fooled by thinking it’s only an individual choice. I applaud and support self care, but I don’t want us to ignore community care and structural care, so that the onus is not just on individuals. So when people say, “Hey, the outdoors is for everyone,” that’s an invitation to say, “You’re right, but why does not everyone feel that’s true?” We can ask what are the social constructs that we have agency to change.

Interested in “planet, inclusion and adventure”? Take the Outdoorist oath. 

The post How can nature help us reframe ‘work’?  appeared first on Camp Fire.

I believe anyone can lead from anywhere in an organization. Actual leadership has little to do with title or position and more to do with influence. At Camp Fire, our definition of leadership and shared power also includes young people in the decision-making process AND a distributed leadership model that goes beyond the individual. Enter Just HQ. 

At Camp Fire National Headquarters, Just HQ is a voluntary, employee-led group of leaders focused on championing the inclusive, equity-driven organizational culture and learning environment we want and seek. Just HQ does this through leading biweekly Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA) staff meetings on different relevant topics, facilitating reflection and intentional conversation, inviting guest speakers (most recent was someone from the Anti-Defamation League to talk to us about Antisemitism), touching on a ‘This Day in History’, actionable Land Acknowledgment, conducting regular culture surveys, and helping keep us accountable to our values. This grassroots initiative makes a positive difference to all of our employees, affiliates, and the youth and families we serve. By creating the conditions where employees and staff feel safe and supported to learn, lead, and thrive, they are, in turn, strengthening the ecosystem that offers youth the same conditions. We know DEIA doesn’t just happen, and Just HQ is a way for us to intentionally prioritize it and bake this value into our culture and organization. We are all on a continual learning journey.

I had a great conversation with two Just HQ members and leaders, Nikki Roe Cropp and LaSheé Thomas, who are working toward a better culture at Camp Fire. We talked about their experience so far on the small but mighty team and what they are learning individually and as a group. 

Shawna: For those who aren’t familiar with Just HQ, could you share what it is and why you wanted to be a part of it?

Nikki: Just HQ was formed to champion an engaged, positive organizational culture and to move us forward in our diversity, equity, and inclusion work. We believe that they are very much intertwined.

LaSheé: I would add that Just HQ is staff-led, so you get all of these voices at the table from multiple levels in the organization. That was extremely important to me and one of the reasons I volunteered to join. I have a strong personal belief that the more voices at the table, the better. 

Nikki: Compared to other staff engagement committees I’ve been a part of at other organizations, this feels more meaningful. It’s more than having a hot dog day to show appreciation for staff. We are truly working on culture–increasing trust, sense of belonging, decision-making, and communication among our staff. 

Shawna: I think it’s a strength that C-suite leaders are not on Just HQ. There is no one who is a de facto leader because of their title. Everyone leads. Can you talk a bit about how that works?

Nikki: We aren’t really prescriptive about who does what, but we do know what jobs need to be done and take turns doing them. For me, since I am a manager, I try to hang back and give other members the opportunity to lead in that way. I try to listen more than I talk. 

LaSheé: Our process is the definition of collaborating. There is conversation and figuring it out together. I get to do things with Just HQ that I normally wouldn’t do in my regular role. We allow people to do what they desire to do even if it doesn’t match their job role. 

Nikki: We spent a lot of time in the beginning talking about how we wanted to function together as a team and how we wanted our meetings to go. 

LaSheé: On this committee, we’re all learning as we go. We’re learning together.

Shawna: I’m curious, what has been the most challenging part of your work on Just HQ? 

LaSheé: I ask myself whether we (Just HQ) are doing enough to allow people to push themselves to the next level of equity work, not just attending meetings and taking in information. I want to be sure that we are taking equity work to the next level.

Nikki: I agree with what LaSheé said. We know that everyone has to own our culture–this team is here to champion that. So, while we want 100% of the staff to feel like they belong and feel included, we’re not at 100% yet. We have to keep figuring out what’s not working and why and keep trying to improve. We also need to keep lines of communication open with the rest of Camp Fire staff and learn from feedback about the education we are offering so our discussions can stay productive.  

LaSheé: I would add that we need to know our limits as a group. There are areas where we have to seek outside assistance to be able to provide the information staff needs in a particular area of equity. Even though there are multiple voices at the Just HQ table, there are still voices missing. 

Shawna: A standard part of your meeting agenda is reviewing Camp Fire norms and values. Can you talk a little about why you do that?

LaSheé: We feel like leading with those is an important way to hold ourselves and each other accountable to what we collectively believe and want to accomplish. It’s turned into an opportunity for staff to affirm each other for acting out those values. Team members give shout-outs to each other for things like exhibiting strong trust and collaboration. 

Nikki: We regularly check in on the values and make sure that they are still relevant to the culture we want and seek. That is part of the process, to make sure we’re staying on the same page.

Shawna: Are there other parts of Just HQ we haven’t talked about yet? 

LaSheé: We have optional book clubs and podcast discussion groups that give people a casual way to connect over certain topics and broaden thinking by considering perspectives from outside the organization. 

Nikki: We borrowed a framework from Christopher Littlefield that encourages teams to learn and grow, laugh and play, rest and rejuvenate, celebrate and appreciate, and connect and reflect together. We use that framework as a guide to make sure we’re staying balanced. 

Shawna: With a team that’s spread across the country, it’s so important to connect and see people as whole people. 

Shawna: What advice do you have for someone who wants to start a group like Just HQ in their organization?

LaSheé: I would encourage them to be clear and honest about what the organization is already doing to advance equity because if that work has not already started, it will be a lot harder. And allow teams, not leaders, to set parameters around what the team might look like. Staff have a closer view to what’s happening on the ground and this process allows those voices to be heard when they might not otherwise be.

Nikki: We don’t want a top-down structure, but leadership does have to be committed to the work in order for it to be successful. We’re able to do what we do because our leadership prioritizes the work.  

Shawna: How has your experience at Camp Fire changed because of your involvement with Just HQ?

LaSheé: I have never been in a role where I am leading or presenting anything, ever. Being a part of Just HQ has allowed me to be in that role and combat my fear of public speaking and present to my peers on topics I’ve researched. It’s allowed me to be more comfortable speaking and leading. It has allowed those walls to come down. I still get nervous but I am not afraid anymore. Instead, I’m proud of the things I’ve learned, researched, and presented.

Shawna: How has your experience at Camp Fire changed because of your involvement with Just HQ?

LaSheé: I have never been in a role where I am leading or presenting anything, ever. Being a part of Just HQ has allowed me to be in that role and combat my fear of public speaking and present to my peers on topics I’ve researched. It’s allowed me to be more comfortable speaking and leading. It has allowed those walls to come down. I still get nervous but I am not afraid anymore. Instead, I’m proud of the things I’ve learned, researched, and presented.

Nikki: I am generally happier, more productive, and more motivated in my job because of my involvement with Just HQ.  It’s energizing to be a part of something that is truly making a difference to how we function and work together.  My hope is that this effort outlasts my time at the organization–that there will always be a committee dedicated to this important pursuit. 

Shawna: How has your definition of leadership changed as part of your experience on Just HQ? 

Nikki: For me, I have gotten fulfillment in seeing others on the team grow in their leadership. It’s more satisfying for me to watch others lead and leverage what power I have to advocate for this group. I now measure my leadership in terms of how each individual on the team feels empowered to create change. 

LaSheé: I have a hard time with the concept of leadership. While I believe everyone can be a leader, I have struggled to define what it means for me personally. But I think that has changed. I have been able to say to myself, “you are leading the values of this organization” which is a quality of leadership. Even if that makes me feel uncomfortable, it is allowing me to step back and see leadership qualities in myself that I have not been able to see before working with the Just HQ committee. I would encourage other organizations to think about those employees that are not as vocal and to prioritize bringing voices to the table that are otherwise not heard.

Shawna: I’m struck by how many important leadership lessons I’m hearing from you two today, like sitting in the discomfort, sharing power, designing from the margins, progress over perfection…all of those things that are pivotal for individuals and organizations that are committed to equity. Just HQ hasn’t been around that long but it’s already changed the org culture and the ways that people are showing up. It’s really quite remarkable. With that, I’ll end with saying thank you for all that you do for the organization, for the team, and for each of us as individuals on our own journeys!

The post Creating a Just Organization Through Distributed Leadership: A conversation with LaSheé Thomas and Nikki Roe Cropp appeared first on Camp Fire.