Triangle Land Conservancy’s Wild Ideas series provides a unique venue where attendees can hear from leading voices and experts in the community. The speakers share innovative ideas and share tips to encourage community action that improves lives through conservation by safeguarding clean water, protecting wildlife habitat, supporting local farms and food, and connecting people to nature. Wild I.D.E.A.s for a More Vibrant Tomorrow was held on February 16, 2023 at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. Together we explored how diverse people are shaping critical environmental issues in our community and beyond.
See photos from the evening on our Facebook page!
Meet the Speakers
During the event we heard from several trailblazing voices and how their organizations and businesses are making Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access priorities in the outdoors and what you can do to support a more vibrant tomorrow.
Earl B. Hunter, Jr. is an experienced business leader across multiple industries. he has been widely recognized for his ebullient personality, hard work ethic, and non-traditional approach to building relationships and closing deals.
Mr. Hunter is the Founder and President of Black Folks Camp Too— a marketing-driven business whose mission is to increase diversity in the outdoor industry by making it easier, more interesting, and more fun for Black folks to go camping.
Vickie Jeffries (Mihe Heyananhes Yattse) is the Tribal Administrator for the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, and she has held this position for the past seven years. Ms. Jeffries is also the Chair of the annual OBSN Pow-wow. Ms. Jeffries retired from UNC Healthcare as an Administrative Associate and lives in Graham, NC.
Ms. Jeffries is a community linguist and a Southeastern Studies Linguistics Group member for the Tutelo-Saponi language of the Occaneechi Saponi Nation. Ms. Jeffries is also a beader, basket weaver, and Indigenous herbalist. She owns Mihe Hetoa, Inc., which sells Indigenous-made items.
Kierra joined TLC in September 2021 after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Becoming somewhat of a foodie in college was the spark that catalyzed her interest in the connections people share with the environment through food.
The search for opportunities to further develop that interest brought her to TLC, where she’s since helped establish the Good Ground Initiative. Through this program, she enables TLC to participate directly in community agriculture, food security, and environmental justice.
As Co-Founder and Director of Operation Climate, Matthew Brune uses his platform to inspire fellow youth and support the upcoming generation of great climate storytellers and educators.
Operation Climate is a climate education non-profit organization created by young people for young people. Their mission is to modernize current environmental education by offering multimedia creative content, such as a podcast, infographics, and short videos, and training youth in the creation of such products through their internship and ambassador programs.
Event Emcee
Dale Threatt-Taylor brings over 25 years of conservation leadership, deep academic expertise in agricultural science, and a talent for effective communication as Executive Director for The Nature Conservancy in South Carolina.
Known by her former colleagues as North Carolina’s “conservation evangelist,” Dale Threatt-Taylor, was recognized by appointments to the Duke Energy Water Resources Fund, City of Oaks Foundation, and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s Clean Water Management Trust Fund Board. Read her full bio here.
The Expo
In addition to an inspiring lineup of community speakers, Wild I.D.E.A.s brought 25 community partners and organizations together for a tabling expo in the Museum’s lobby. Event attendees toured the expo and saw how existing models and local organizations are already working to create a more vibrant future for the Triangle region.
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