Dragonfly‘s eighth Diversity Cafe on Feb. 17, 2022, features Katie Dell, outdoor educator and resource teacher naturalist for Baltimore County Public Schools in Maryland. Through this collaboration, audience members will have the opportunity to learn about:

• How historical factors and societal “norms” have created inequities in the environment; a problem that continues to plague communities and conservation today.
• Why equity is a must for conservation organizations.
• How you can begin to understand who is over and underrepresented in your conservation work.
• How we can move forward to create more inclusive, and safer spaces for people and wildlife alike.

Dell holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Towson University and a Master of Arts in Biology from Miami University’s Global Field Program. As a white, LGBTQ+ teacher in a racially and economically diverse school system, her academic research focuses on racial and gender equity in science and environmental education.

Dell spends her free time with family, friends, and her pit bull mix, Luna, hiking, kayaking, and taking pictures in the great outdoors. She also leads field courses for Vermilion Sea Institute (VSI) and volunteers as the Community Outreach Coordinator. In this role, she helps VSI build capacity around diversity, equity, and inclusion as an international organization committed to welcoming visitors, volunteers, and partners from all walks of life.

• “Pursuing Equity: A Must for Conservation” 
• Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, 7:30 p.m. EDT

This Dragonfly Diversity Cafe is part of a developing series of virtual talks focusing on international conservation, urban and rural ecology, inquiry-based education, nature connections, and other relevant topics. Our Diversity Cafes aim to elevate marginalized perspectives on diversity, equality, and inclusion-related topics in an environmental and conservation setting. The invited speakers will explore topical ideas, research, and experience in the first half of the Cafe hour. In the latter half, the Cafe will open up for discussion and audience participation to engage with the speaker(s) and their ideas.