Jaynell Nicholson

Jaynell (she/they) has experience in the nonprofit sector, supporting philanthropic institutions and environmental education as well as community engagement, research and planning to support the management of water resources for the City of Austin. Jaynell is a graduate of Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs where they earned a Master’s of Public Affairs and a Master’s of Environmental Science with special interests in equity and environmental justice. Prior to graduate school she completed a B.S. in Environmental Conservation Biology from Kent State University where her scientific research and social justice interests seemed at odds until she was introduced to the environmental justice movement. Home for Jaynell will always be Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the lands of the Osage, Shawnee, Monongahela, and other tribal groups not explicitly recognized. 

Jaynell has always had a love for the outdoors and spends much of her free time exploring trails, reading in a hammock, and volunteering with organizations that help to diversify and decolonize the outdoors, STEM fields, and the arts.