aparna rajagopal, J.D.

aparna (she/her) is a cofounder of the Avarna Group. She is a former natural resources and environmental lawyer who transitioned to organizational development work that centers justice, fairness, and belonging in 2010. aparna is an artist, storyteller, facilitator, and advisor who thrives at the confluence of justice, youth, and the outdoors. aparna has made it her life’s work to catalyze the radical reimagination of human relationships to land, water, and wildlife to center values of reciprocity, humility, compassion, and interdependence. She does this through writing, speaking, strategic consulting, listening, data gathering, facilitating workshops, coaching, and facilitating affinity spaces within this sector. aparna has also spearheaded initiatives that amplify BIPOC voices, including Expedition Denali: Inspiring Diversity in the Outdoors and People of the Global Majority in the Outdoors, Nature, and the Environment. aparna serves on the boards of the Living Oak Center for Applied Decolonization, Brown Girls Climb, and Dirt Maidens, serves as Vice Chair of the  Oregon Commission for Asian & Pacific Islander Affairs, and is a member of the Oregon Environmental Justice Council. Through the two Oregon state commissions and councils, she advocates for measures at the state and local level that support justice and fairness for environmental justice communities and BIPOC communities throughout Oregon, including measures related to K-12 education, youth mental health, and public health.

When not nerding out reading books on the topics such as the complex and intertwined histories of people and land, you can find her writing, drawing, hiking, running, climbing, and biking in the homelands of the Kalapuya people, where she lives with her partner and son.

Listen to more from Aparna on Rebooting Capitalism Ep #8: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with Ava Holliday and Aparna Rajagopal, co-founders of The Avarna Group,  The Caroline Gleich Show Episode 30: Disrupting Implicit Bias in the Outdoors with the Avarna Group, and She Explores Episode 13: Diversity, “Beyond the Buzzword”.

Read more by Aparna in Flip the Script: Opportunities for the environmental movement to better engage Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color (Earth Island Journal), The Power of Affinity Spaces in Issue 7 of Sisu Magazine, and the Avarna blog.

e: aparna@theavarnagroup.com