Sierra Club Names New Director of Outdoors Campaign

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, the Sierra Club announced that Jackie Ostfeld will serve as the new director of its campaign to ensure access to the outdoors for all. Under her leadership Sierra Club Outdoors will deepen its advocacy for equitable access to nature for kids and communities, facilitate outings for all people, including members of the military and veteran community, and work to support community-driven conservation at the local level to ensure all people can explore and enjoy the outdoors.

“We are working to build a future where all people thrive through a direct and lifelong connection to the natural world,” said Ostfeld. “In this world, every neighborhood will have a public park or open space where community members can breathe fresh air, have a family picnic, play tag, and laugh together. Public health professionals will prescribe a walk in the park to improve physical and mental health.  Educators will teach kids in and about nature, using schoolyard  gardens or outdoor classrooms. And our vast network of public lands and waters will be welcoming and accessible to people of all identities and abilities. Access to nature will be respected as a human right, and all people will have opportunities to improve their lives by getting outdoors, whether in a neighborhood park or a national park.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to work with the Sierra Club and all of our partners to build this world, where children are happier, healthier, and smarter thanks to access to the outdoors. A world where physical and mental health is on the rise; where communities are strengthened; where veterans and military families have the opportunity to experience the lands they served to defend. As we work to build this world, new generations of environmental leaders will be born from the deep and personal connection to nature that we will help to foster along the way.”

Ostfeld is a leader in the movement to expand access to the outdoors for kids and communities. She joined the Sierra Club in 2008 as a national youth representative working on environmental education policy in Washington, DC. Since then she founded the Outdoors Alliance for Kids (OAK) a national partnership of nearly 100 organizations advocating for equitable access to the outdoors for children, youth, and families. She also helped launch the Nearby Nature initiative to support community-driven conservation at the local level.