The Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship, a collaborative land conservation and youth investment foundation today announced the appointment of Rue Mapp to the position of Youth Investment program officer with the Stewardship Council’s Youth Investment team. She started in her new capacity on Aug. 16.
Mapp brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience to promote health, youth development and environmental stewardship. She is the founder of Outdoor Afro, a community that reconnects African-Americans with natural spaces and one another through recreational activities such as camping, hiking, biking, fishing, gardening, and skiing, using social media to create interest and to partner with regional and national organizations that support diverse participation in the great outdoors. She also served most recently as the development associate for Golden Gate Audubon (GGA), managing and planning for fundraising events and campaigns, and managing social media and member relations. She also was an analyst for Morgan Stanley, and served as an entrepreneur for the game store It’s Your Move, in Oakland, Calif.
Her collaboration with the Stewardship Council began when she was invited in March to participate on the External Advisory Panel (EAP), assisting the Youth Investment Program in its grant proposal review, and providing recommendations on which projects to support. Mapp also serves on the Board of Advisors for the Children and Nature Network, and is a fellow with the Center for Whole Communities.
“We are delighted to bring on staff someone who so deeply understands the communities and programs we serve,” says Allene Zanger, executive director of the Stewardship Council, “Moreover, Rue’s personal outdoor experiences and her background in helping communities of color get outdoors will be a great asset to our grantmaking program and to the youth and organizations we help support.”
Growing up in Oakland, Calif., Mapp knows first-hand how experiential programs can have a profound effect on a young person’s life. Having been exposed to outdoor programs at Yosemite National Park, the Marin Headlands, and local conservation job opportunities as a youth, she developed a lifelong passion for the outdoors that is now a motivating example for others in her family and community. That passion began when, as a participant in Outward Bound, Mapp was told to “trust her feet.” This is a metaphor that she still uses to this day to advance in life.
A recent invitation to President Obama’s historical White House Conference on America’s Great Outdoors provided Mapp timely insight on the new national imperative to help more Americans engage with our vast natural spaces.
She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and is a Citizen Scholar from the Mills College Institute for Civic Leadership Program, a program that informed her of the design of social change and public policy.
As the mother of three active children, Mapp is a seasoned practitioner of getting youth outdoors in a sustainable, varied way, offering repeated experiences for outdoor education with her children. She is also an accomplished cyclist, and enjoys exploring some of Northern California’s world-class bike routes with her family. 
“Rue is a great addition to the Youth Investment Program staff, said Steve Hagler, director of Youth Development. “Her background and experience will help strengthen and guide our future giving.”