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About meI make space for the stories, leadership, and knowledge of youth in rural areas with particular emphasis on their imaginings for the future. I believe youth are powerful agents shaping their communities into places for collective thriving. My research and practice in youth development and environmental education emphasize the knowledge held by communities and how such knowledge can improve community members' material conditions.
I have a Ph.D. in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at Clemson University and work as Lab Manager for the REYSE Research Collaboratory. Contact: [email protected] |
Educational backgroundPh.D. Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management
Clemson University, 2026 M.S. Experiential & Outdoor Education Western Carolina University, 2022 B.A. Biological Sciences North Carolina State University, 2017 |
Research interestsI hold as a core commitment the reimagining of how we understand nature, healing, and knowledge production, particularly as these are entangled in the interconnections of youth development, social ecologies, and place.
Currently, I am exploring social ecologies; rural cultural geographies, histories, and contemporary practices of solidarity; the use of speculative fiction in environmental education; youth-led and intergenerational civic engagement; arts-based and creative inquiry; community-engaged research; and youth participatory action research. |
Dissertation research
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Research & PraxisTheory is not inherently healing, liberatory, or revolutionary. It fulfills this function only when we ask it to do so and direct our theorizing towards this end. -bell hooks My relational approach allows me to center the embodied knowledge and creative strategies of communities attuned to the ways social and ecological systems shape daily life. Rather than producing knowledge for knowledge's sake, I aim for my research to be useful to people taking steps to achieve more harmonious social-ecological systems.
Please take a look at some of the publications and projects I have been a part of. If you cannot access an article, please email me ([email protected]) for an author copy. Full Curriculum Vitae |
PUBLICATIONS, TOOLKITS, & MEDIA APPEARANCES
2026
Between two worlds: an exploratory study of outdoor experiences of Black trans people
2025
National Audubon Society: Engaging young adults in climate change education in informal settings (Book Chapter in The Handbook of Climate Change Education: Research, Policy, and Practice)
Navigating Discourses of Racialized Bodies in Outdoor Leisure (Book Chapter in Inclusion and Equity in Outdoor Leisure: Whose Body Belongs?)
2024
Youth Development & Racial Healing Toolkit
North Carolina K-12 Environmental Literacy Plan (Guidance)
Land-based radical healing with Black ecologies and Critical Native Studies
Evaluating long-term impacts of Oregon Zoo’s Zoo Apprenticeship Program
REI Cooperative Action Fund - Health & Nature Research Evidence: Rooted in Solidarity ($166,595)
2023
Art as counternarratives: A/r/tographic understandings of Black youth’s conceptualizations of "nature"
Leisure, Race, and Racism (Book Chapter in Leisure Matters: Exploring Leisure in a Changing World)
Researcher as curator: Making room for the politics of emotion in leisure research
eeGuidance for equitable pay and hiring in environmental education (White Paper)
Can (or should) white women do Black Feminist Theory?: Exploring tensions, contradictions, and intersectionalities while performing justice-focused research
2022
Art zine of Black youth’s conceptualizations of "nature"
Anti-oppression self-expression: An a/r/tographic understanding of Black and Brown youth’s conceptualization(s) of "nature" (Master's Thesis)
Engaging youth as community leaders in outdoor education research, program design, and evaluation
WNC Nature Center's Young Naturalist program offers learning opportunities for teens (Press Release)
2021
$10,000 Youth Development & Nature-based Programming Grant from Children & Nature Network
Racially Diverse Speaker Series for Nature-based Teen Volunteer Program (Mini Grant)
Program awarded Significant Achievement in Education for Budgets Less than $8 million from Association of Zoos & Aquariums (Press Release)
Mountain teens give back as they explore nature with a passionate mentor (Press Release)
2020
Outstanding Practitioner Award 2020 from Environmental Educators of North Carolina (Press Release)
Children & Nature Network Natural Leader Profile (Press Release)
2026
Between two worlds: an exploratory study of outdoor experiences of Black trans people
2025
National Audubon Society: Engaging young adults in climate change education in informal settings (Book Chapter in The Handbook of Climate Change Education: Research, Policy, and Practice)
Navigating Discourses of Racialized Bodies in Outdoor Leisure (Book Chapter in Inclusion and Equity in Outdoor Leisure: Whose Body Belongs?)
2024
Youth Development & Racial Healing Toolkit
North Carolina K-12 Environmental Literacy Plan (Guidance)
Land-based radical healing with Black ecologies and Critical Native Studies
Evaluating long-term impacts of Oregon Zoo’s Zoo Apprenticeship Program
REI Cooperative Action Fund - Health & Nature Research Evidence: Rooted in Solidarity ($166,595)
2023
Art as counternarratives: A/r/tographic understandings of Black youth’s conceptualizations of "nature"
Leisure, Race, and Racism (Book Chapter in Leisure Matters: Exploring Leisure in a Changing World)
Researcher as curator: Making room for the politics of emotion in leisure research
eeGuidance for equitable pay and hiring in environmental education (White Paper)
Can (or should) white women do Black Feminist Theory?: Exploring tensions, contradictions, and intersectionalities while performing justice-focused research
2022
Art zine of Black youth’s conceptualizations of "nature"
Anti-oppression self-expression: An a/r/tographic understanding of Black and Brown youth’s conceptualization(s) of "nature" (Master's Thesis)
Engaging youth as community leaders in outdoor education research, program design, and evaluation
WNC Nature Center's Young Naturalist program offers learning opportunities for teens (Press Release)
2021
$10,000 Youth Development & Nature-based Programming Grant from Children & Nature Network
Racially Diverse Speaker Series for Nature-based Teen Volunteer Program (Mini Grant)
Program awarded Significant Achievement in Education for Budgets Less than $8 million from Association of Zoos & Aquariums (Press Release)
Mountain teens give back as they explore nature with a passionate mentor (Press Release)
2020
Outstanding Practitioner Award 2020 from Environmental Educators of North Carolina (Press Release)
Children & Nature Network Natural Leader Profile (Press Release)
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Presentations & LecturesEducation is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it. -Marian Wright Edelman I love sharing work born out of my passions, especially when it is collaboratively created. Please take a look at some of the lectures and presentations I have been a part of and reach out if we have a common interest.
Philosophy of Teaching Statement |
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
2025
Schmidt, A., Goodwin, D., Raines, C., Chestnut, A., McKenzie, G., R., K., R., L. (2025, September). Fostering powerful youth-adult partnerships in civic and environmental engagement. Environmental Educators of North Carolina Conference, Asheville, NC.
Schmidt, A., Goodwin, D., Raines, C., Chestnut, A., McKenzie, G., R., K., R., L. (2025, September). The power of place and play: Appalachian youth imagine the world otherwise. Environmental Educators of North Carolina Conference, Asheville, NC.
Schmidt, A., Lewis, S., & Outley, C. W. (2025, March). Wake work: Thoughts on leisure studies and a composted doctoral curriculum. The Academy of Leisure Sciences, Pittsburgh, PA.
Schmidt, A. & Patterson, K. R. (2025, March). Land-based radical healing with Black ecologies and Critical Native Studies. The Academy of Leisure Sciences, Pittsburgh, PA.
Outley, C. W., Schmidt, A., & Aminulai, O. (2025, March). Disrupting the hegemony: Fugitive scholars as bridges to transformative leisure scholarship. The Academy of Leisure Sciences, Pittsburgh, PA.
Goodwin, D. & Schmidt, A. (2025, February). Experiential advocacy: Our role in creating sustainable change. Association for Experiential Education Southeast Regional Conference, Elon University, Elon, NC.
2024
Schmidt, A. (2024, July). Safeguarding liberatory themes in participatory meaning-making of critical arts-based leisure research. Leisure Studies Association, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, UK.
Schmidt, A. & Patterson, K. (2024, July). Beyond individual coping: A review of leisure for radical healing. Leisure Studies Association, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, UK.
Schmidt, A. & Barg, H. (2024, February). Radical rest stops for the climate emergency: Experimenting with rest, creativity & connection as resistance. Presented at Leisure, Justice & The Climate Emergencies Workshop, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
Schmidt, A. & Outley, C. (2024, February). Silence is not an option: Uses of anger in minority women’s scholarship. The Academy of Leisure Sciences, New Orleans, LA.
2023
Schultz, C., Schmidt, A., Schultz, J., & Bobilya, A. J. (2023, December). Researcher as curator: Making room for the politics of emotion in social justice-focused leisure research. World Leisure Congress, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Schultz, J., Bobilya, A. J., Schultz, C., & Schmidt, A. (2023, December). Do immersive poverty simulations work?: Exploring the efficacy of the MCAN Poverty Simulation for shifting student views on poverty. World Leisure Congress, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Schmidt, A., Schultz, C., Schultz, J., & Bobilya, A. J. (2023, December). Art as counternarratives: A/r/tographic understandings of Black youth’s conceptualizations of nature. Australia and New Zealand Association for Leisure Studies Conference, Auckland New Zealand.
Schultz, C., Schultz, J., Bobilya, A. J., & Schmidt, A. (2023, December). Why “just make it free” isn’t the only answer: The role of simulations in Recreation students’ understanding about the complexity of poverty. Australia and New Zealand Association for Leisure Studies Conference, Auckland New Zealand.
Schmidt, A., & Smith, C. (2023, June). Say what you mean, mean what you say: Race-conscious language to promote youth and nature equity. Accepted at Children & Nature Network Inside Out International Conference, Boulder, CO.
Schmidt, A., Outley, C., Schultz, C. (2023, February). Can (or should) white women do Black feminist theory? Presented at The Academy of Leisure Sciences Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
2022
Schmidt, A. (2022, May). Black and Brown youth’s artful counterstories of “nature” in the children and nature movement. Presented at the Children & Nature Network Inside-Out International Summit, Atlanta, GA.
Barg, H., & Schmidt, A. (2022, May). Youth Got the Power: Adult Allies in Youth-Led Movements. Workshop delivered at the Children & Nature Network Inside-Out International Summit, Atlanta, GA.
Schmidt, A. (2022, March). Anti-oppression Self-expression: An A/r/tographic Understanding of Black and Brown Youth’s Conceptualization(s) of Nature. Paper presented at The Academy of Leisure Sciences Annual Conference, virtual.
2021
Barg, H., & Schmidt, A. (2021, October). Youth Got the Power: Adult Allies in Youth-Led Movements. Session presented at the North American Association of Environmental Education National Conference, virtual.
2020
Butler, Z., & Schmidt, A. (2020, September). Evaluating Effective Biological Artifact Curation. Paper presented at Environmental Educators of North Carolina Annual Research Symposium, virtual.
INVITED PRESENTATIONS, TRAININGS, & WORKSHOPS
2025
REYSE Collaboratory. (2025, January). Social Justice Youth Development, Youth-Adult Partnerships, and Youth-led Social Movements. Full day staff training, Youth OUTright, Asheville, NC. [co-designer & co-facilitator]
Inform Evaluation & Research. (2025, January). Evaluation Capacity Building. Two-day staff training, San Diego Zoo and Wildlife Association, San Diego, CA. [assisted workshop]
2024
Smith, C. W. J., & Schmidt, A. (2024, September). Promoting Equity in Nature: Embracing Race-Conscious Language. LEAD Workshop. North Carolina Recreation & Parks Association, virtual.
Schmidt, A. (2024, June). Rest, play, create: A zine workshop for climate artivism. Young West Virginian Empowerment Conference, Marshall University, Huntington, WV.
2023
An (incomplete!) Reflection on Anti-Oppressive Approaches to Research
LDAR 6949 - Research Strategies & Methods
University of Colorado
Analyzing Policies for Equity in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism
PRTM 3250 - Global Perspectives in Leisure, Recreation & Tourism
Clemson University
2022
Let’s Talk About Gender
PRTM 3250 - Global Perspectives in Leisure, Recreation & Tourism
Clemson University
Religion & Spirituality
PRTM 3250 - Global Perspectives in Leisure, Recreation & Tourism
Clemson University
Questioning Power and Nature in Asheville
Everybody’s Environment Coalition of Western North Carolina
Graduate Student Research Project Pursuing Social Justice in PRM
PRM 275 - Diversity and Inclusion in Parks & Recreation Management
Western Carolina University
2025
Schmidt, A., Goodwin, D., Raines, C., Chestnut, A., McKenzie, G., R., K., R., L. (2025, September). Fostering powerful youth-adult partnerships in civic and environmental engagement. Environmental Educators of North Carolina Conference, Asheville, NC.
Schmidt, A., Goodwin, D., Raines, C., Chestnut, A., McKenzie, G., R., K., R., L. (2025, September). The power of place and play: Appalachian youth imagine the world otherwise. Environmental Educators of North Carolina Conference, Asheville, NC.
Schmidt, A., Lewis, S., & Outley, C. W. (2025, March). Wake work: Thoughts on leisure studies and a composted doctoral curriculum. The Academy of Leisure Sciences, Pittsburgh, PA.
Schmidt, A. & Patterson, K. R. (2025, March). Land-based radical healing with Black ecologies and Critical Native Studies. The Academy of Leisure Sciences, Pittsburgh, PA.
Outley, C. W., Schmidt, A., & Aminulai, O. (2025, March). Disrupting the hegemony: Fugitive scholars as bridges to transformative leisure scholarship. The Academy of Leisure Sciences, Pittsburgh, PA.
Goodwin, D. & Schmidt, A. (2025, February). Experiential advocacy: Our role in creating sustainable change. Association for Experiential Education Southeast Regional Conference, Elon University, Elon, NC.
2024
Schmidt, A. (2024, July). Safeguarding liberatory themes in participatory meaning-making of critical arts-based leisure research. Leisure Studies Association, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, UK.
Schmidt, A. & Patterson, K. (2024, July). Beyond individual coping: A review of leisure for radical healing. Leisure Studies Association, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, UK.
Schmidt, A. & Barg, H. (2024, February). Radical rest stops for the climate emergency: Experimenting with rest, creativity & connection as resistance. Presented at Leisure, Justice & The Climate Emergencies Workshop, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
Schmidt, A. & Outley, C. (2024, February). Silence is not an option: Uses of anger in minority women’s scholarship. The Academy of Leisure Sciences, New Orleans, LA.
2023
Schultz, C., Schmidt, A., Schultz, J., & Bobilya, A. J. (2023, December). Researcher as curator: Making room for the politics of emotion in social justice-focused leisure research. World Leisure Congress, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Schultz, J., Bobilya, A. J., Schultz, C., & Schmidt, A. (2023, December). Do immersive poverty simulations work?: Exploring the efficacy of the MCAN Poverty Simulation for shifting student views on poverty. World Leisure Congress, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Schmidt, A., Schultz, C., Schultz, J., & Bobilya, A. J. (2023, December). Art as counternarratives: A/r/tographic understandings of Black youth’s conceptualizations of nature. Australia and New Zealand Association for Leisure Studies Conference, Auckland New Zealand.
Schultz, C., Schultz, J., Bobilya, A. J., & Schmidt, A. (2023, December). Why “just make it free” isn’t the only answer: The role of simulations in Recreation students’ understanding about the complexity of poverty. Australia and New Zealand Association for Leisure Studies Conference, Auckland New Zealand.
Schmidt, A., & Smith, C. (2023, June). Say what you mean, mean what you say: Race-conscious language to promote youth and nature equity. Accepted at Children & Nature Network Inside Out International Conference, Boulder, CO.
Schmidt, A., Outley, C., Schultz, C. (2023, February). Can (or should) white women do Black feminist theory? Presented at The Academy of Leisure Sciences Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
2022
Schmidt, A. (2022, May). Black and Brown youth’s artful counterstories of “nature” in the children and nature movement. Presented at the Children & Nature Network Inside-Out International Summit, Atlanta, GA.
Barg, H., & Schmidt, A. (2022, May). Youth Got the Power: Adult Allies in Youth-Led Movements. Workshop delivered at the Children & Nature Network Inside-Out International Summit, Atlanta, GA.
Schmidt, A. (2022, March). Anti-oppression Self-expression: An A/r/tographic Understanding of Black and Brown Youth’s Conceptualization(s) of Nature. Paper presented at The Academy of Leisure Sciences Annual Conference, virtual.
2021
Barg, H., & Schmidt, A. (2021, October). Youth Got the Power: Adult Allies in Youth-Led Movements. Session presented at the North American Association of Environmental Education National Conference, virtual.
2020
Butler, Z., & Schmidt, A. (2020, September). Evaluating Effective Biological Artifact Curation. Paper presented at Environmental Educators of North Carolina Annual Research Symposium, virtual.
INVITED PRESENTATIONS, TRAININGS, & WORKSHOPS
2025
REYSE Collaboratory. (2025, January). Social Justice Youth Development, Youth-Adult Partnerships, and Youth-led Social Movements. Full day staff training, Youth OUTright, Asheville, NC. [co-designer & co-facilitator]
Inform Evaluation & Research. (2025, January). Evaluation Capacity Building. Two-day staff training, San Diego Zoo and Wildlife Association, San Diego, CA. [assisted workshop]
2024
Smith, C. W. J., & Schmidt, A. (2024, September). Promoting Equity in Nature: Embracing Race-Conscious Language. LEAD Workshop. North Carolina Recreation & Parks Association, virtual.
Schmidt, A. (2024, June). Rest, play, create: A zine workshop for climate artivism. Young West Virginian Empowerment Conference, Marshall University, Huntington, WV.
2023
An (incomplete!) Reflection on Anti-Oppressive Approaches to Research
LDAR 6949 - Research Strategies & Methods
University of Colorado
Analyzing Policies for Equity in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism
PRTM 3250 - Global Perspectives in Leisure, Recreation & Tourism
Clemson University
2022
Let’s Talk About Gender
PRTM 3250 - Global Perspectives in Leisure, Recreation & Tourism
Clemson University
Religion & Spirituality
PRTM 3250 - Global Perspectives in Leisure, Recreation & Tourism
Clemson University
Questioning Power and Nature in Asheville
Everybody’s Environment Coalition of Western North Carolina
Graduate Student Research Project Pursuing Social Justice in PRM
PRM 275 - Diversity and Inclusion in Parks & Recreation Management
Western Carolina University
