Cera currently resides on Coast Salish lands also known as Seattle and is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington. She builds upon her family’s legacy and supports Native communities as a neuroscience researcher. Cera promotes Indigenous traditions of learning and education in the lab and classroom. Outside of the lab, Cera finds new ways to connect to the land whether that be hiking, biking, or skiing.

Joelle started snowboarding with the First Nation Snowboard team and was given the opportunity to compete in boarder cross races. As a way to give back to the First Nation Snowboard team, Joelle has dedicated her winters to coaching and instructing the youth along the sea to sky. She has since continued her love of snowboarding and started to venture out into the backcountry. She has the goal of providing the youth the opportunity to learn about the backcountry and explore their territory.

Growing up I didn’t participate in any mountain sports, but as a young adult I learned to climb and ski thanks to some amazing friends and mentors. As an Indigenous woman and a member of the outdoor community, it is isolating to be underrepresented in the spaces that bring me so much joy. I want to see more representation of BIPOC individuals and women in these spaces and I want to help make this become a reality.

Stephanie now lives in Alaska on Lingit aaní studying marine biology and helping with language preservation of the Tlingit and Coast Salish peoples in conjunction with the University of Alaska Southeast. Her favorite community activity is to take people and school groups on rainforest walks and tide pool explorations, sharing knowledge and stories of the natural world around them.

Learning how to snowboard in her mid-twenties, Taylor first noticed the amount of joy it brought her but it didn’t take long for her to notice the lack of inclusivity on the mountain for the BIPOC community, especially in Denver. However, having embraced “being comfortable being uncomfortable,” it can be difficult to handle that weight when riding when you are not represented. Taylor’s overall goal is to create and foster a community to lower the barrier for Indigenous riders of all levels along with challenging herself to grow as a rider and enter the backcountry.