Jory Macomber
Executive Director, Canyonlands Field Institute
The Basics
Company Name: Canyonlands Field Institute
Location: Moab, UT
Founded: 1984
Full-Time Employees: 5.5 FTE
Products: Outdoor ed school programs, summer youth programs, teacher outdoor ed retreats, adult custom trips, and adult seminars
Social: Instagram // Facebook
Claim to Fame: Our emphasis on immersive experiences, building connections with nature to foster respect and stewardship of the natural world
The Culture
The best thing about working at Canyonlands Field Institute is:
Everyone shows up every day with a growth mindset and a strong belief in our mission of connecting people to the natural world.
When we’re not working, we’re:
Outside moving on a trail or river; playing music and boating; making functional clay pieces and swing dancing; Djing at the Community radio station, exploring, dreaming; Mountain biking, fly fishing or sleeping.
What we’re reading:
"Rest Is Resistance", Tricia Hersey; "There There", Tommy Orange; "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents", Isabel Wilkerson; "The Intersectional Environmentalist", Leah Thomas; "Braiding Sweetgrass", Robin Wall Kimmerer
What we’re listening to/Watching on Netflix:
The sound of the river, or silence of the desert; Raven’s wings flying in the canyons; “Nonprofits are Messy” with Joan Garry, The Moth, soul, jazz, R&B, the Blues; A lot these days!
If they made a movie about our workplace, it would be called:
"Yes, And!"
Inclusion in the outdoors matters because:
The outdoors should not be a place of privilege only available to those who have grown up without obstacles or barriers to access. We all have a connection with nature somewhere in our history, and every person has a right to nurture that connection if they desire. Nature can nurture everyone!
Five years down the line, it’s our hope that:
Canyonlands Field Institute will be a hub for inclusive, holistic, community-centered, innovative, collaborative, place-based, joyful, and intergenerational outdoor education programming centering the cultural teachings of indigenous communities, justice, diversity, equity, accessibility, and connectivity.