WTA's Emerging Leaders Program celebrates a successful fifth season
"Overall, the past 5 years of the program show a huge testament to investing in early professionals, and there is so much to teach about the outdoors: trail work, backpacking, snowshoeing and more."
2025 marks the fifth season of WTA’s Emerging Leaders Program, which supports early career professionals, including BIPOC individuals, in breaking into the outdoor industry. The 14-week program, starting in January, was packed with trail work, professional development, leadership skills and community building.
MJ Mahan, WTA’s senior community partnership and leadership development coordinator, says the program provides pathways for people — in particular, those from communities that have historically had inequitable access to the outdoors — into professional roles in the outdoor industry.
The cohort spent plenty of on-trail time developing trail maintenance and leadership skills. Photo by Angelic Friday.
“The program continues to stand true to the value of investing in early professionals and providing professional and leadership development opportunities to share that spark into an outdoor industry career,” MJ said. “We hope sharing the excitement and stories from community partners can help lead to a career in the outdoor industry.”
We introduced the cohort back in February — the program was led this year by MJ, Angelic Friday, program project coordinator; and Zenwa Shimabukuro, program crew leader. The cohort members were Aleece Thurman, Laurel Ovenell, Maria Garcia Figueroa and Maya Chinen.
In the spirit of all WTA work parties, the cohort this season was safe (with multiple new certifications), had a lot of fun and got quite a bit of work done!
developing skills
Each cohort member got their wilderness first aid and CPR certifications. They also received their A sawyer bucking certifications for crosscut saw use from the Forest Service, led by WTA’s logistics coordinator, Patrick Wallum, with support from other WTA BIPOC staff.
“Crosscut training was a highlight, and it was special working as a saw team with another cohort member during the training,” Laurel said.
The crew learned how to de-sheath and put handles on crosscut saws (like Maya and Laurel are doing here), as well as saw through logs by themselves and with a partner, during crosscut training. Photo by Angelic Friday.
The cohort also worked on building leadership skills, attending a WTA Outdoor Leadership Training backpacking workshop at the Ozette Triangle on the Olympic Coast and a snowshoeing workshop. During these workshops, cohort members learned outdoor skills, leadership skills, on-trail games, and how to hike in groups and navigate specific terrain like snow and beaches.
Trail time
The cohort worked at four main locations this season over 17 days: Moss Lake Natural Area near Carnation, Deception Pass State Park, Wallace Falls State Park and Garfield Gulch in Tacoma. Along the way, they...
- built 35 feet of new trail
- cleared nine logs
- built three box steps (in just 4 days!)
- decommissioned a 15-foot bridge, then replaced it with a rock retaining wall
Barbara Molina, WTA’s South Puget Sound trails coordinator, spent a couple of days on trail with the cohort, including at their crosscut certification this season (and getting some much-enjoyed milkshakes afterward).
“Working with the Emerging Leaders Program was such a treat. They were a very eager and sharp group of individuals. Their willingness to learn was very exciting for me as a teacher,” Barbara said.
Brandon Tigner, WTA’s senior North Puget Sound trails coordinator, did a logout with the crew at Wallace Falls and showed them how to maintain tools.
Some of the logs the crew had to logout at Wallace Falls were big enough to require all four of them — plus their crew leader, Zenwa! Photo by Angelic Friday.
“Watching the Emerging Leaders Program crew step up this season was genuinely inspiring,” Brandon said. “Their impact will be felt well beyond the projects they worked on this year.”
Independent learnings
As part of the program, each cohort member puts together an independent project. This year, cohort members chose projects that focused on community engagement and strategic planning. Allie Tripp, WTA’s senior strategic initiatives manager, got to work closely with each member.
“The effort and passion from this year's cohort have been infectious,” Allie said. “Each one of these projects will have powerful impacts on the WTA community long after their last day with the program.”
Two of the cohort members' (Aleece, far left, and Maria, center) independent projects culminated at Pierce County's Earth Day event in April. Photo courtesy of Pierce County Planning and Public Works.
The projects:
- Maya built an online template for WTA’s storytelling through maps, creating a process for spreading the word about our trail work through maps and documenting how to do it in the future.
- Maria translated three WTA outreach fliers focused on families into Spanish, sharing them for the first time at Pierce County’s Earth Day Fair at Meridian Habitat Park.
- Aleece developed a kid-friendly coloring page and bingo card, and also attended the Earth Day event, where she gave a presentation and handed out the activity sheets she made.
- Laurel facilitated a youth program participant listening session as part of WTA’s strategic planning process.
Community building and strengthening bonds
This year was the third year WTA partnered with Washington State Parks (WSP) for the program. A slew of in-person and virtual activities were in store for the cohort this season, planned by Janette Chien, Washington State Parks’ DEI director; and Yelley Taylor, Washington State Parks' DEI consultant, in collaboration with Angelic and MJ.
The Washington State Parks DEI team got to know the cohort over a batik dyeing lesson with Kuen Kuen, folk and traditional arts program specialist, at Tolmie State Park. Throughout the program, cohort members met with other Washington State Parks staff, including the Tribal relations team — who talked to the cohort about Washington State Parks in-person events with Tribes and the annual Youth Canoe Journey — and park rangers at Kanaskat-Palmer State Park — to learn more about what it’s like to work as park staff.
Krista Dooley, WTA’s Community Partnerships and Leadership Development director, thinks the partnership with Washington State Parks is a valuable part of the program.
“The additional collaboration with Washington State Parks has also brought some unique aspects to the Emerging Leaders Program,” Krista said. “This year, the cohort members got to engage and learn from a whole host of Washington State Parks staff who shared the breadth of the agency's expertise and responsibilities.”
The cohort learned about farming while doing restoration work at Ayeko Farm. Photo by MJ Mahan.
Outside of meeting with community members, the cohort also spent time bonding with each other — oftentimes playing games, telling stories or making dinner after a long day of trail work.
“One of the most rewarding parts of the program was developing such a positive and fun relationship with the entire cohort,” Laurel said.
What’s next?
As they closed out the program, the cohort members reflected on the last 14 weeks.
“The program helped increase confidence in myself, but also in my outdoor skills,” said Aleece. "I learned lots of leadership skills."
Laurel mentioned she was “excited to apply these skills to my future career opportunities."
Maria said, “Trail work is fun and I enjoyed it a lot. It is a lot on the body. Kudos to people who do that.”
Regarding the program, Maya said, "I overall felt supported through the entire season."
A main goal of the program is to help cohort members leave with more outdoor skills and confidence. Photo by Angelic Friday.
Looking ahead, some cohort members are applying for jobs in the outdoor industry, while some are considering going back to school. One member is graduating from college soon. We’re excited to see where they end up!
Today, the Emerging Leaders Program alumni network has 20 folks, including some full-time and seasonal WTA staff, and others working at other outdoor organizations.
“This is the fifth cohort of the Emerging Leaders Program, and there have been a lot of glows and learnings from each year,” MJ said. “The program provides opportunities, community, certifications, stewardship and more. Overall, the past 5 years of the program show a huge testament to investing in early professionals, and there is so much to teach about the outdoors: trail work, backpacking, snowshoeing and more. WTA has it all to provide these experiences: curriculum, fun and safety.”
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