Biography
Charissa V. Jones (she/her), in the simplest form, likes to talk and to listen—though she tries to listen more than talk. Known as Charzy to her friends, she strives to be a community and cultural connector. Originally from Suriname, South America, Charissa understands the power and necessity of grounding her work in her subjectivity to hold herself accountable to the communities she works with. This attention to her identities and how they intersect with her work allows her to provide attention and care to implementation processes.
With over 20 years of experience in outdoor and environmental education, formal education, outdoor recreation, and community engagement, she is interested in (re)connecting folks to their environments by exploring the intersections of culture and environmental and outdoor education and how culture filters what “nature”, “the outdoors”, “environment” and “conservation” means to various communities. She is also interested in (re)connecting mainstream environmental organizations to the many ways people explore, engage with, and participate in their environments.
Charissa earned her M.S. in Environmental Studies from Antioch University New England (AUNE) and a B.A. in Environmental Studies focusing on Environmental Education from New College of Florida (NCF). She is a doctoral candidate in the College of Education at Oregon State University, exploring how race, gender, power, and identity affect how we experience the outdoors.
Vices include travel, being outside, AVOCADOS, books, frozen (MANGO) margaritas, Surinaams roti (roti Dahl Puri or roti Aloo Puri), GIANT hair flair, sloths, sea turtles (Leatherbacks), and generally being a bit silly.
