ABOUT

Jody Karr has over 20 years of leadership experience in the non-profit sector specializing in youth development, environmental education/recreation, and national service.  Bringing a full spectrum of experience from program design and implementation, to reporting and evaluation, Jody is a powerful collaborator helping clients successfully secure, manage and report on grant funds.

 

Jody mentored with the acclaimed Chicano poet, activist, and community-builder, raulrsalinas, in her role as Administrative Director with Red Salmon Arts, an Austin-based cultural arts organization supporting young emerging writers.  Serving as the Education Director at Westcave Preserve, she developed train-the-trainer frameworks for placed-based science education programs, and collaborated with community organizations to develop a youth conservation corps program for El Ranchito Nature Discovery Camp, a residential camp breaking down barriers for local opportunity youth to have access to meaningful outdoor experiences. 

 

Operating AmeriCorps programs for nine years, Jody served as Regional Director for the Southwest Conservation Corps in Salida, Colorado (a program of Conservation Legacy), and Director of the Texas and Louisiana Conservation Corps programs with American YouthWorks in Austin, Texas.  She worked to co-create powerful community with program participants, colleagues and partners, generating transformational learning environments. 

 

As a grant writer, Jody continues to work toward environmental and racial justice, advocating for fundraising and philanthropic practices that integrate asset-based inclusive language, principles of ethical storytelling, and a racial equity lens into the way we tell powerful stories about the critical work being accomplished in the non-profit sector each and every day. 

 

Jody earned a BA in Environmental Studies from Prescott College, and an MA in Human Services Management/Conflict Resolution from St. Edward’s University.