Moving to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to live with her grandparents at the age of 13, Emilé Zynobia Newman YSE ‘21 was a stranger in a strange land as a biracial teenage girl who knew nature only from what she saw on TV. Now as an adult who is an avid snowboarder and Yale School of the Environment grad, she finds herself just as much a rarity, but she is working to change that through her writing and film as well as by being an influencer working with top-tier brands. In this conversation, she will speak to her unique experience in which she has claimed the solace and grounding natural spaces as her birthright and what it is like discovering one’s power on the slopes. While BPOC representation in mountain communities and the back country has long been problematic, Emilé sees the solution not in elevating a few individuals but in getting the collective outdoor community to take on systematic marginalization. She’ll share how she leverages the new media landscape of her generation to reframe and communicate. Winter sports enthusiasts are invited to celebrate the joy, and those contemplating strapping on the skis or board can get motivated. Co-sponsored by Yale Blue Green.
