Changemakers will provide a cohort of young Latina women from Ossining with an experience that will develop their leadership skills, will provide them with an introduction to the documentary arts as a tool for igniting social change, and will encourage them to use their voice to empower others in their community.

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The program will offer 12 young women an immersive travel experience in nature that is aligned with an ongoing academic program centered on developing the student’s voice, their self-efficacy, and their sense of belonging in the community.

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In combination, we hope these program elements will provide the participants with an opportunity to discover their potential to be active changemakers, while also fueling a deep-seated confidence in their ability to generate the personal life outcomes they aspire to achieve.

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The Changemakers’ Program will begin with two pre-trip seminars to prepare the participants for the trip and to introduce the fundamentals of positive social change and personal growth. In July, the participants will then embark on a weeklong adventure in nature, including a four-day river trip through the Gates of Lodore Canyon on Utah's Green River -- one of our country’s most awe-inspiring wilderness areas. This journey will deliver rare moments of peace and quiet to exhale, reflect on our lives, discover new ways to become authors of our own life story, and continue the group discussions about how to lead change in our communities.

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All of this will set the stage next fall for school-sponsored coursework and projects designed to guide participants through the process of actualizing their intended goals toward social change. We believe that the blend of school-centered coursework and large-scale experiential learning will inspire a dramatic shift in participants’ own voice and  sense of agency to make our world more fair and just. 

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Guiding Principle:

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"Strategies to truly engage the Latino populations in outdoor recreation must incorporate what Chavez (2000) calls the “I” triad: invite, involve, and include (Chavez, 2000). However the “I” Triad is only successful if it is developed with genuine trust or confianza and genuine respect or respeto, two key components for successful engagements with Latinos (Chavez, 2000; McChesney, Gerken, & McDonald, 2005; Williams & Florez, 2002)"

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With this principle in mind, the planning of the trip, as well as the mentors and staff, will include Latina women who have been involved in one or more of the three partner organizations in the past. Ultimately, while the infrastructure and pedagogical frameworks will be provided by the organizations and partners, the heart and goals of the trip will be defined by those closest to the participants’ communities.

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MORE TRIP DETAILS COMING SOON!