Valeria De Jesus Casas is a first-generation Mexican American storyteller, healer, and self-proclaimed ” Eco Chola.” She works as a Program Manager for the Student Conservation Associations’ Texas Houston Community Program, an urban conservation service program for local Houston youth. She aims to shift the conservation narrative and build bridges between Environmental Justice, Public Health, and Conservation. She also advocates for more representation of LGBTQ and people of color in the outdoor industry; They believe embracing and recognizing our own identities can help shape our connection with the outside world and our place in it.