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Nina Roberts
is a dynamic educator and respected leader. Her research is highly regarded in the areas of race/ethnicity, culture
and natural resources. She is also nationally known for her work around urban youth as well as women and girls
outdoors.
Nina is a visionary with incredible energy to "get it done". She has been recognized for
her commitment to diversity and social justice with desire to break down barriers of inequality especially relating to park
access and outdoor recreation opportunities.
She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Recreation,
Parks, and Tourism at San Francisco State University. While she has a variety of responsibilities, her areas of emphasis
are outdoor recreation, leadership, and youth development. She is also the Project Director of the
Pacific Leadership Institute. Nina's connection to this new community continues to grow - She is on the Advisory Council of GirlVentures and a Board Member of the Yosemite Institute. Nina is pleased to continue her role on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Experiential Education.
She came
to SFSU from the National Park Service where she was an Education and Outreach Specialist with the Natural Resource Program Center. One major experience included a 3-month detail with the former NPS Director, Fran Mainella, in
Washington, DC.
Previously, Nina was a Research Associate
for the Student Conservation Association (SCA). In her role at SCA, she was engaged in a myriad of projects from measuring
program outcomes of youth experiences, to designing surveys relating to agency partnerships.
Prior to her role in research and evaluation, Nina was the Assistant Director of SCA’s National Urban & Diversity
Programs managing five regional programs and providing opportunities (including career exploration) in conservation, recreation,
natural resources, and related fields, for primarily young people of color and women. Additionally, she was involved with
recruitment and retention of diverse candidates for college internships.
In general, programs and facilities Nina has worked with throughout
her career include community recreation, YMCA, outdoor recreation and adventure-based programs, park management (multi-use
recreation/sports facility), and youth camp settings. While living on the East Coast, Nina was the Education Representative
for the Massachusetts Recreation & Park Association. After relocating to
the mid-Atlantic region, she taught as an adjunct faculty member at both the University of Maryland at College Park and George
Mason University in Fairfax, VA.
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GirlVentures - Project Courage Course
(photo: GirlVentures Archives)
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Yellowstone National Park
(NPS photo archives)
Me on a kayak trip at Congaree National Park in South Carolina.
Maho Bay, St. John
US Virgin Islands
(NPS Photo Archives)
In this region, she was a former member of the Executive Advisory Committee for Georgetown University’s LIFE Adventure
Outdoor Program where she volunteered with a team of professionals to oversee curriculum development and implementation of
their Outdoor Leader Training Program. Additionally, she served as a volunteer consultant and trip leader for Expanding Horizons
(outdoor adventure programs for women and adolescent girls) in the Metropolitan D.C. area.
Some of Nina’s leadership training has been
acquired through the National Outdoor Leadership School, Woodswomen, Project Adventure, Pro-Image, Washington Women Outdoors
in D.C., and the Student Conservation Association.
Nina is a
former Chairperson of the Publications Advisory Committee and Women’s Professional Group Representative (WPG) to the
Board of Directors for the Association for Experiential Education (AEE). She has been involved as a consultant with the AEE
WPG, NAALA Professional Group (Natives, Africans, Asians, Latinos and Allies). She was also a consultant and volunteer
leader with the Beckwourth Outdoor Education Center serving minority youth from Denver and Girls Outdoors, Inc. in Fort Collins,
CO.
As a bi-racial
woman, Nina's research has guided her to write about people of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and explore their
connection to activities in the natural environment. Her research interests include
outdoor programming and leadership, adventure education, youth development, recreation land management, wilderness studies,
evaluation methods and techniques, race/culture, and gender issues. Her work
has been published in numerous scholarly journals as well as books and magazines. She
has presented her work at conferences regionally and nationally, as well as in Southeast Asia.
Nina has received several honors and awards for her work and commitment to the field.
Nina is a graduate of Bridgewater State College (1983), Bridgewater,
MA with a B.S. in Physical Education and Outdoor Recreation and the University of Maryland at College Park (1992) with an
M.A. in Outdoor Recreation Resource Management. She completed her Ph.D. in the
Department of Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism at Colorado State University (2003).
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