Maricela Rosales
California Associate Program Director
About Maricela Rosales
Maricela (pronoun: she, her, ella) is from Southern California, and after experiencing the physical and emotional benefits of engaging with the outdoors, she is dedicated to advocating for diversity in outdoor recreation, equity, and access to public lands, while changing the ethos of conservation. Moving towards cultural and social relevance as a framework to empower, organize, and support partners, colleagues, and community. Using her platform to elevate the narrative of black, indigenous, and people of color in conservation and nature-based solutions.
She has served as a Youth Climbing Coach for Touchstone Climbing and a Community Advocacy Program Coordinator for Disability Rights Legal Center. And previously was the Los Angeles Regional Brands Partnership and Advocacy Coordinator for Latino Outdoors. She was a member of the Access Fund & American Alpine Club’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) "Climb the Hill" Taskforce and the American Hiking Society’s JEDI Federal Outdoor Recreation Policy Working Group.
During her free time, Maricela volunteers for Latino Outdoors as an ambassador. Creates digital content and spends time in the National Conservation Lands System.
Maricela graduated from the University of California Riverside with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology/Law and Society. She enjoys listening to jazz, dancing, gardening, photography, jump roping, trail running, road tripping, and spending time with her mini-dachshund Dalí.
“All lands are ancestral lands. I live and work in Shoshone, California, the unceded and ancestral lands of the Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) and Newe (Western Shoshone) peoples. I hope this land acknowledgment inspires others to stand in solidarity with Native nations.”
— Maricela Rosales, California Associate Program Director