Creating Community Outdoors
Channel: Rene Benavides
Date: 2021-03-14

This video is part of my application for the Holman Prize 2021.

My project outline:
The Holman Prize would help fund a years worth of work that would be broken down into three phases with specific milestones at the end of each phase:  
1. Engagement - I will gather host interviews with others in the blind community, engage experts in technology and outdoor navigation, and engage disability activists and those in formal governmental positions to shed light on existing infrastructure and initiatives in outdoor accessibility. An online announcement of an itinerary for the journey and introductions of those participating in the trip will be made.
2. Adventure - I will lead a group of individuals with disabilities to survey and capture public spaces at the city, county, state, and national level in California.  The trip will be designed by and led by folx with disabilities.  We will capture and record our experiences using cutting edge technology.  Short testimonials and a series of personal stories that will be posted online.
3. Creation - In partnership with existing organizations, I will create an online application prototype to create an interactive way for accessibility information to be shared more easily online (testimonials, reviews, voice overs, audio clips, and terrain simulation).  The third phase will be wrapped up by hosting a forum that showcases the design prototype and the stories of those who participate in the journey.

A little about me:
I am queer and Chicanx.  I am a leader and designer and work full time in the Bay Area at the intersection of Special Education and mental health.  I host professional development sessions for educators all over California who are eager to reflect on their practice, name aspirations and take action in service of their vision for equity.   I am passionate about racial and disability justice and challenge myself daily to re-design social systems to disrupt the status quo. I am a former National Equity Project Leading for Equity Fellow and am in regular practice of engaging with liberatory design mindsets and modes as I design solutions to the challenges I face.  
I am personally passionate about exploring and love to camp, hike, and be active outside with family and young people. To me, the most valuable experiences are made together and in community with others.  I have completed training with Bay Area Wilderness Training in Frontcountry Leadership and have experience planning, facilitating, and designing projects around outdoor learning. 

More information on the Holman Prize can be found at http://holman.lighthouse-sf.org/