About
Launched on Earth Day, 2019, and based in Ventura, California, Runners for Public Lands is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit environmental organization committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
OUR MISSION
Runners for Public Lands is dedicated to protecting the people and places we love by organizing runners for climate action, the protection of public lands, and equitable access to nature.
Board of Directors
Staff
National Advisory Council
Jordan Marie Daniel
Los Angeles, CA
Laura
Cortez
Denver, CO
Peyton Thomas
Wilmington, NC
Zachary Friedley
Albion, CA
Joe
Gray
Colorado Springs, CO
Tina
Muir
Louisville, KY
David
Roche
Boulder, CO
Backstory
On September 24, 2018, a local runner presented the concept of Runners for Public Lands (RPL) to regional runners and other friends at a local event hosted by Ventura Land Trust at Topa Topa Brewing Company in Ventura, CA. Six months later, RPL launched as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit environmental organization on Earth Day, April 20, 2019, with a community trail run and habitat restoration event at Harmon Canyon in Ventura.
The following inspired the concept of RPL and its founding:
- The 2016 Water Protectors Movement at Standing Rock, specifically the Oceti Sakowin youth, running with their people’s prayers and petitions over 2000 miles in resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline.
- Mike Foote’s 2017 Trail Runner magazine article “No Free Lunch: Trail Running and the Public Lands Debate,” which called trail runners to step up and join the fight against corporate and government threats to native and public lands.
- The fact that runners are the largest outdoor recreational group in the United States, numbering over 60 million, and don’t have an organized, collective, national platform promoting the protection of the environment
- The night of December 4, 2017, when the Thomas Fire burned through Ventura, California, and the surrounding area, scorching nearly 300,000 acres and destroying more than 1000 structures; and the next few weeks as the air remained unbreathable and the region unrunnable.
- The rains, floods, and mudslides that came after the Thomas Fire, killing 23 people and destroying 130 more homes in the Ventura area.
- The 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report setting out the fact that an average temperature increase of just a half-degree Celsius (nearly one degree Fahrenheit) makes in human suffering, ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss, and mass extinction.
- The December 5, 2019, Washington Post article reporting that with an average temperature rise of 4.7 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels, Ventura County is the fastest warming county in the Lower 48, heating up at double the rate of the rest of the nation.
- The Indigenous prayer runners (organized by the Bears Ears Prayer Run Alliance, including Wings of America, Utah Diné Bikéyah, and the Seventh Generation Fund) running nearly 800 miles to Bears Ears National Monument in resistance to corporate and government threats to native and public lands.
Milestones & Highlights
From its beginnings in 2019, Runners for Public Lands has built community around educating runners on environmental issues and working with them to protect the environment. We couldn’t have done it without you—our community of members, volunteers, and supporters—who have been with us every step of the way.
Join us as we look back at what we’ve accomplished together.
2021
- Named beneficiary for Trail Runner Magazine’s #MatchTheirMiles Earth Day event; April 22, 2021.
- Joined Ventura’s Westside Clean Air Coalition to stop the poorly planned, toxic soil removal and the expansion of a dangerous compressor station across the street from a local elementary school and after-school club; participated in March for Our Kids’ Health: on April 24, 2021.
- Fourteen Hundreds Club Challenge Fundraiser: hosted a local trail running challenge spanning across the Santa Barbara, Ventura, Ojai, Carpinteria, and Thousand Oaks areas in an effort to educate the community about these outdoor spaces while fundraising, May 14-June 14, 2021.
- Released a Statement in Support of Transgender Youth: May 15, 2021; with Running Diversity Industry Coalition.
- Named beneficiary for 2021 Run for the Planet Cleanup + Fundraiser by Dirtbag Runners; RPL received a $500 donation on World & National Clean-Up Day: September 18, 2021.
- Named beneficiary for 2021 Women Run the Vote presented by Oiselle and Run for All Women; the 900+ mile relay event focused on the relationship between environmental justice and Indigenous sovereignty; RPL received a $37,000 donation September 20-26, 2021.
- Love the Land Event, RPL celebrates National Public Lands Day with Los Padres ForestWatch by hosting an event to clean up and advocate for change in Santa Paula Canyon; September 25, 2021.
- Montaña de Oro Camp + Run Event, RPL celebrates National Public Lands Day with a weekend of trail running, camping, music, environmental education, stargazing, and community; October 15-17, 2021; with Los Padres ForestWatch, naturalist Bryant Baker, and UCSB astrophysicist Jamie Burke.
- Patagonia ‘Run To’ Film Screening: Patagonia ‘Run To’ Film Screening: Corriendo para salvar una Cuenca (Run to Save a Watershed) featuring Patagonia trail runner and activist, Felipe Cancino; November 2, 2021.
- Formed the National Advisory Council in December 2021.
2020
- Co-hosted the Australian Wildfire Relief Run: January 18, 2020; with Inside Track in Ventura, CA; 120 participants raise over $6000 AUD for the Australian Red Cross relief and recovery efforts.
- Designated 2020 AllWeDoIsRun Conservation Partner: December 2019.
- Designated 2020 Spartan Trail Conservation Partner: January 2020.
- Earth Week Composting Presentation, “Where Do Your Food Scraps Go?” with the Queen of Compost: April 20, 2020.
- Earth Week Sustainability Presentation, “State of Recycling and Food Waste in Ventura,” with the City of Ventura Environmental Sustainability Program: April 22, 2020.
- Publishes Statement on Racial Violence and Injustice: June 3, 2020.
- Virtual Trail Run and This Land Film Screening Event: July 9, 2020; with Just Add Water; This Land is a story about land access told through a journey of inclusion and empowerment.
- Forty for the Forest Event: Executive Director, Vic Thasiah, Co-President, Mike Scarber, and Board Member, François Appéré ran 40 miles across the Sespe Wilderness to help raise awareness about a logging project in Pine Mountain; RPL then hosted a virtual event where runners were invited to run the 40 miles over the span of three weeks; all proceeds went to Los Padres ForestWatch’s Pine Mountain Defense Fund: July 25th – August 14th, 2020.
- Fundraised for the SAGE Trail Academy: a regional training program that builds stewardship skills within the trail-user community, August 2020.
2019
- Earth Day Harmon Canyon Trail Run and Habitat Restoration: April 20, 2019; with Ventura Land Trust.
- Designated 1% for the Planet Beneficiary: July 10, 2019.
- Run Wild Event: a gathering of both runners and the stewardship and conservation directors of the lands we run, July 18, 2019; with Ventura Land Trust, Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, Los Padres ForestWatch, Patagonia, and Topa Topa Brewing Company.
- Environmental Scavenger Run Event: RPL builds runner ecological knowledge through a scavenger hunt at the Ventura River Preserve, July 21, 2019; with Ventura Land Trust and Los Padres ForestWatch.
- Started Community Gel Packet Recycle Program: November 23, 2019; with Terracycle; designated a Terracycle beneficiary.
- Annual Ventura River to the Sea Cleanup Event: December 14, 2019; with Ventura Land Trust.
- Pine Mountain Camp + Run Event: RPL celebrates National Public Lands Day with a weekend of trail running, camping, music, environmental education, stargazing, and community; September 27-29, 2019; with Los Padres ForestWatch, naturalist Bryant Baker, geologist Tim Garvey, and UCSB astrophysicist Jamie Burke.
- Co-hosted coalition and supported the county wildlife corridor ordinance: March 20, 2019.
- Informed and mobilized runners to submit public comments on oil and gas leases on regional public lands: Spring/Summer 2019.
- Joined a coalition and signed a letter to the U.S. Forest Service/U.S. Department of Agriculture on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and proposed rulemaking: August 25, 2019.
- Joined the 805 Youth Climate Strike in Ventura, CA: September 20, 2019.
Hey, let’s talk!
Jess Rogers
Jess leads the Trail running and Hike product categories for Patagonia, and has 15 years of experience leading high performance product categories for best-in-class brands across the outdoor and sport industries. She is a trail runner, mom of two rad little girls, outdoor lover, and passionate about building community through sport. She was a founding board member for Runners for Public Lands, served on the leadership team as Co-VP of the board and two terms as President of the Board. She lives in Santa Barbara, CA with her family.
Stephen Efner
Steve is a runner and a founding board member of Runners for Public Lands, where he serves as Board Secretary and helps with IT and website development. He is passionate about grassroots fundraising and creating sustainable systems to support conservation efforts. Steve has a background in IT and enjoys finding practical solutions to enhance organizational operations. In his free time, Steve enjoys gardening with a focus on sustainability, soil health, and regenerative practices. He lives in Ventura, California, with his family.
Vic Thasiah
Vic is a runner and Professor of Environmental Studies and Religion at California Lutheran University. He works on projects that reimagine conservation, finding common ground between people who care about wild places on the one hand and urban nature on the other. Vic also serves on the board of directors of Los Padres ForestWatch, and has a background in U.S. social policy analysis and global humanitarian work, primarily in East Africa. He loves backpacking, and traveling in Southern Europe with his wife. Vic lives in Ventura, California, with his family.
Bryant Baker
Bryant Baker is the Director of Conservation & Research at Los Padres ForestWatch where he works to protect lands along California’s Central Coast. He is a GIS analyst and cartographer who has co-authored several peer-reviewed papers on landscape ecology and management, and his maps and analyses have been featured by the Los Angeles Times, Mother Jones, and many other media outlets. Bryant is also an avid naturalist and an award-winning photographer whose work on California native plants and ecosystems has appeared in books, magazines, and newspapers.
Stacy Swanson
Stacy is the Chief Development Officer at Interface Children & Family Services in Camarillo, California and has over 25 years of nonprofit management and development experience. She is honored to serve on RPL’s board of directors at this exciting and dynamic moment in time, with the opportunity to expand and grow its vision and reach within and beyond Ventura County. Stacy has been married to her husband, Krister (a teacher at Thousand Oaks High School) for 31 years and they have three adult sons.
Laura Alonzo-Ochoa
Laura was the Co-founding President at RPL, and has been a part of the board off and on for the past few years. She has over two decades as an educator at the high school level, currently serving as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Laura really enjoys creating community, being a voice for the voiceless, and advocates for equitable access to outdoor spaces. Laura grew up in South Oxnard and would consider herself an everyday average runner who loves connecting with the land. She currently resides in the ancestral lands of the Utes, also known as Leadville, Colorado with her family.
Jason Keith
Jason is an attorney, a 23+ year veteran as the Access Fund’s Policy Director, serves as Senior Policy Advisor for the American Mountain Guides Association, and is the Managing Director for Public Land Solutions, a non-profit that works on issues related to outdoor recreation management, conservation, and economic development. Jason co-directs Moab, Utah’s Running Up for Air race and lives in Moab with his wife and family.
Tia Bodington
Tia has directed the Miwok 100K Trail Race for over 20 years and is the former Managing Editor of UltraRunning Magazine. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Western States 100 since 2012. A master’s degree in business with a focus on sustainability inspired Tia to develop and market custom reusable coffee packaging for small roasters and bulk coffee bean sellers. Tia lives in southern Oregon, with frequent travels to visit her children and to run obscure international trail races.
Alison Mariella Désir
Alison Mariella Désir is multi-talented: a founder, a doer, an activist, and a visionary with a passion for movement, mental health and racial equity. Alison is the author of the best-selling book Running While Black and the tv host and producer of the award winning PBS show, Out & Back w/ Alison Mariella Désir.
In 2023, Alison was named as one of the “45 Most Adventurous Women of the Past 45 Years” by Men’s Journal and one of the “Changemakers of 2023” by Well + Good. In 2021 and 2022, Alison was named one of the “Power Women” by Women’s Running Magazine. She was also named one of the most influential African Americans, aged 25 to 45, by The Root 100.
Zoë Rom
Zoë Rom is a journalist and writer specializing in environmental science, policy, endurance sports, and public land. She currently hosts and produces Your Diet Sucks and The Trailhead podcasts, and is co-author of the book Becoming a Sustainable Runner with Tina Muir. Zoë is an ultrarunner with top finishes at the Rio Del Lago, Run Rabbit, and Leadville 100s. You can find her running or doing stand-up comedy or performing with Consensual Improv in Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley.
Tim Tollefson
An appreciator of the imperfect, Tim believes that access to outdoors is essential for community health and that our next step, no matter the size, should be taken together. He is founder and head crafter of mammoth trailfest., one of America’s largest trailrunning events that was created to offer opportunity, access, and education through running. Tim is a professional runner for Craft Sportswear, 3x USATF Trail National Champion, 2x Olympic Trials Marathon Qualifier, advocate for mental illness awareness, and an outpatient orthopedic physical therapist
Tim and his wife, Lindsay, are parents to Nacho – a rollicking 12lb doodle – and reside in Mammoth Lakes, CA where they enjoy running and repurposing things from old
Rosamaría González
Rosamaría González is the Vice President of Community at Strava, a leading social platform for athletes that connects millions worldwide to track and share fitness activities. With over two decades in tech and extensive experience in high-growth startups, Rosamaría has built a strong foundation in scaling support solutions for global communities. Since joining Strava in its early days, she has played a key role in creating innovative, scalable support tailored to Strava’s rapidly expanding international user base. Outside of work, Rosamaría is a passionate runner, softball player, and little league coach for her children. She resides in San Francisco, CA, with her family.
Wookie Kim
Wookie Kim is the Legal Director at the ACLU of Hawaiʻi, where he defends civil rights and civil liberties through litigation, lobbying, and community advocacy. His work focuses on issues such as police misconduct, criminalization of poverty, bail reform, reproductive freedom, gender equity, and freedom of expression. Wookie is also an educator, having taught high school English and journalism in D.C. Public Schools and legal writing at the William S. Richardson School of Law. Outside of work, Wookie trains for 100-mile trail races and enjoys exploring the trails and beaches of Hawaiʻi with his wife and daughter.
Dustin Martin
Dustin serves as Executive Director for Wings of America, a not-for-profit that promotes running amongst American Indian youth. As a former Wings program participant that grew into a Division 1 cross country and track competitor, distance running has helped guide much of his educational and professional experience. Since 2018, he has had the honor of being called upon to help organize inter-Tribal prayer relays in response to threats to natural and cultural resources stewarded by Indigenous populations across “the [American] west”. He resides in Albuquerque, NM on Tiwa Lands, and is father to two rambunctious young boys.
Kathleen Baker
After serving on the Board of Directors, Kathleen Baker was selected as RPL’s executive director in 2022. She comes from a career in federal, state, and local government program development, policy implementation, and operations with 20 years of experience in Emergency Management and Preparedness. Kathleen is a Ventura, CA-based runner and backcountry adventurer, the mom of two fearless boys, and is married to her husband Josh – a professional ocean engineer and deep-sea diver. Kathleen is also the founder and 13-year race director of the grassroots, community-focused, Mount Laguna Trail Marathon in San Diego, California.
Bretty Rawson
Bretty Rawson is a Seattle-based narrative & story consultant. In 2022, they created the storytelling agency Slow Blink, distilling a fifteen-year career as a digital strategist for social-justice based nonprofits, government marketing agencies, and independent day schools. They have an MFA in creative writing from The New School, and their projects have been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Heritage Radio Network, and more. Bretty is a co-founding member of Seventh Wave, a queer- and bipoc-led literary arts nonprofit, and sits on the board for Seattle City of Literature. At RPL, Bretty is our Digital Content Manager, working to bring RPL’s offline work to life online. Outside of work, they read, write, and run trails.