Her first book, Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors was released in 2014 (UNC Press). National Parks Advisory Board for eight years which assists the National Park Service in engaging in relations of reciprocity with diverse communities. Along with public speaking, writing, consulting and teaching (she has held positions at Wellesley College, the University of California, Berkeley & the University of Kentucky), she served on the U.S. (which focused on African Americans and environmental issues in the U.S.) She has been a Fulbright Scholar, a Canon National Parks Science Scholar and received a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Studies.Ĭarolyn has worked with the media in various capacities including the Tavis Smiley Show, MSNBC, & Vice News Tonight wrote Op-Eds for Outside Magazine & Newsweek was a guest editor & contributor for a special section on Race & the National Parks in Orion Magazine participated in a roundtable conversation with REI and The Atlantic interviewed with various media outlets including NPR, Sierra Club, Boston Globe & National Geographic and even filmed a commercial for Toyota that highlighted the importance of African Americans getting out into Nature. (both of these degrees focused on gender and environmental issues in Kenya and Nepal, respectively) and Ph.D. Motivated by these experiences, Carolyn returned to school after a 15-year absence to complete a B.A., M.A. Carolyn is grounded in both artistic and intellectual ways of knowing - she pursed an acting career for eleven years, but five years of backpacking trips through Africa and Asia, and living in Nepal changed the course of her life.

Carolyn Finney, PhD is a storyteller, author and a cultural geographer who is deeply interested in issues related to identity, difference, creativity, and resilience.The aim of her work is to develop greater cultural competency within environmental organizations and institutions, challenge media outlets on their representation of difference, and increase awareness of how privilege shapes who gets to speak to environmental issues and determine policy and action.

Carolyn finney black faces white spaces