A new organization, the Outdoor Diversity Alliance, has formed to help harness industry-wide collaboration to support historically excluded and marginalized communities. 

ODA is inviting outdoor brands and nonprofits to join its mission and plans to serve as a central group driving and supporting industry-wide collaboration between businesses and historically underrepresented communities in the outdoors. ODA will do this by helping brands move from self-driven, isolated diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) work, toward shared, collective action to support BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, and other members of historically excluded communities.

The idea and effort to launch the Alliance has been led by a group of industry professionals, including Teresa Baker, founder of the Outdoor CEO Diversity Pledge and In Solidarity, Josie Norris, an industry veteran who was previously with the Conservation Alliance, as well as thought leaders from seven outdoor brands and organizations:

• Dan Walker at Arc’teryx Equipment
• Ashley Laporte at Burton
• Damien Huang at Cotopaxi
• Eoin Comerford at Moosejaw
• Kent Ebersole at Outdoor Industry Association
• Torrey Udall at Protect Our Winters
• Alicia Chin at Smartwool

Through listening to brands and community advisors, the founding board members learned there is a clear need and an unmet demand for collaborative work around DEI in the outdoor industry. Many industry leaders and companies need help setting a clear path forward to advance equity. Others have gained ground in DEI work, but they want to do more across their organization. Brands want to consult with other brands and ask relevant questions like: What are you doing to advance DEI? What has worked for you? What hasn’t? What mistakes have you made? How did you correct them?

ODA developed its goals and activities based on the feedback and recommendations from the community advisors. The group believes it will be critical to center the needs of historically underrepresented communities in the outdoors as they shape the work in the first year.

Those goals are:

1. Support the development of authentic relationships by helping brands and historically underrepresented groups connect. Through these relationships, brands can share what they have been doing and ask questions without judgment.
2. Create the framework for an industry-wide equity assessment. Standardized metrics help brands know what to track and unites them around shared goals. Plus, this data will serve as a tool for accountability.
3. Create authentic storytelling models led by members of underrepresented communities. ODA will work with community advisors to build an industry guide for authentic storytelling, ambassador relationships, partnerships, and marketing campaigns.

“Now is the time to create real lasting change, so more people, including BIPOC and underrepresented communities are welcome, comfortable and safe in outdoor spaces,” said Lestarya Molloy, ODA Community Advisor and founder of Fridie Outdoors. “Collectively, the Outdoor Diversity Alliance can make it possible for every person to have the opportunity and enjoy their right to explore outside.”

While focusing on the needs of marginalized community members, the Alliance will help members proactively advance equity and inclusion with peer-to-peer sharing on topics like representation in marketing, building authentic community partnerships, selecting vendors from marginalized groups, adopting inclusive language in internal and external communications, and more. The founding board believes that every department can use this peer support – from marketing executives to HR managers to product team members to social media coordinators and beyond.

To learn more visit www.insolidarityproject.com/oda and to join, email: OutdoorDiversityAlliance@gmail.com.