Join us for our next Wild East Women (WEW) Network Call! Guest Speaker, Marinel M. de Jesus, Esq., will share her journey and transformation from being a lawyer to a global mountain nomad, social entrepreneur, and solutions-focused journalist in the outdoor and travel industries. In this call, participants will learn about the inclusion and equity issues that the mountain expedition workers or porters are dealing with on Peru’s Inca Trail, Nepal’s Himalayan treks & Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro trek, as well as, the gender-based inequities that female porters in the industry are currently facing. Participants will gain insight on how to identify equitable tour operators, how to be an advocate for Workforce Equity, and how to cultivate an equity and inclusion-driven mindset when going on mountain trekking tours or expeditions anywhere in the world.

During the call, we will also share upcoming stewardship events and other opportunities to get involved with Wild East Women.

Wild East Women is an affinity group working under the umbrella of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) to support women* in engaging with trails and outdoor spaces in meaningful ways. WEW features interviews and workshops by women and non-binary folks who steward and advocate for trails, provides tips and strategies for outdoor adventures, and inspires women to get involved with hiking and trail stewardship. 

*This group welcomes and celebrates cis women, trans women, and non-binary people who feel comfortable sharing in a women-centered space. 

Express Your Interest

A Zoom link will be sent out to those who register for the event within two days prior to the call.

Advanced registration is necessary. Please register for this event by clicking on the “Express Your Interest” button below and then fill out the following form.

About the Speaker:

Marinel M. de Jesus, Esq. is a former civil rights litigator from Washington, DC who turned her passion for hiking into a full-time endeavor as a social entrepreneur, solutions-focused journalist, and speaker. She is the founder of the award-winning media platform, Brown Gal Trekker, and mountain trekking enterprise, Equity Global Treks, both of which aim to elevate the status and roles of women and indigenous communities in the outdoor and travel industries. Marinel is a full-time global mountain nomad and travels to mountain destinations regularly to explore tourism initiatives that are community-led and/or focus on female leadership in the tourism industry. In 2019, she founded the non-profit human rights organization, The Porter Voice Collective, which aims to advocate for the human rights of porters in Peru, Nepal, and Tanzania and Workforce Equity Tourism as a form of sustainable tourism through the use of storytelling and all forms of media. Marinel has written for various outdoor & travel publications such as the Alpinist Magazine, Outside, Fodor’s, Backpacker Magazine, Huffpost, and Adventure Journal. She is a Board member of the American Hiking Society and an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the travel and outdoor industries.