This article centers on the ‘DEI’ movement (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). If you are unfamiliar with this movement or encounter any terms with in this article that you would like the definition for, please refer to this helpful DEI vocabulary resource created by the Avarna Group!

We always appreciate the chance to connect with our incredible alumni across the nation and learn about where life has led them after their service terms. Recently, we caught up with Jordan Katcher, an alumni of our Stewards program–she served as an AmeriCorps VISTA, AmeriCorps VISTA Leader, and also held a staff position. Now, she’s leaving a legacy for our organization with the research she completed for her capstone project.

Jordan pictured during her AmeriCorps VISTA assignment with the United Tribes Technical College’s Land Grant department. In this image, she is shucking an ear of indigenous-cultivated maize.

After obtaining her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, Jordan decided to pursue her first position with Americorps. She began a 1700 hour VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) position in 2013 with the Sovereign Nation Service Corps on the Mescalero Apache reservation in New Mexico. “I started out on a crew of 10, which quickly shrank to just six members,” she recalled. “It was a tough job, but I really grew from that experience.” She then served as a Stewards AmeriCorps VISTA with the United Tribes Technical College. After completing her term, Jordan took an AmeriCorps VISTA Leader position with Conservation Legacy’s Stewards program in Beckley, West Virginia. She was eight months in when a staff position opened up, so, with the encouragement of her supervisor, she quickly seized the opportunity and became a coordinator for the Stewards program.

Within her new role, Jordan was able dig deeper into a topic that had always been important to her: DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). She recognized a need for more DEI resources in the corps world. Later, when pursuing her graduate degree and deciding on a capstone project, Jordan was inspired to create a toolkit to help guide corps in their implementation of ‘single identity-based’ crews, to help corps innovate and diversify their programming.

A single identity-based crew is comprised of members that all share a commonality–like being differently abled or sharing a racial identity or gender expression. Jordan was motivated to create her toolkit after experiencing the single identity programs within Conservation Legacy, like the Ancestral Lands program, which engages Native American youth and young adults. “In my opinion, Ancestral Lands has been one of the frontrunners in challenging what a conservation crew experience can look like,” Jordan said. “They’ve been intentional since the very beginning by establishing and maintaining trust in their communities for the long run. Seeing how well they crafted their program inspired me to figure out how to share their model with other corps. I really wanted other corps to know about their work. Within my toolkit, I wanted to help expand who the ‘ideal’ corps member has traditionally been (able-bodied, straight, white, male) and continue conversation about how we not only recognize this barrier, but work to dismantle it.”

Combining the Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards she had earned during her AmeriCorps service, Jordan hit the road to visit conservation corps around the country. Traveling over 10,000 miles, she was on a mission to learn how corps were (or were not) integrating identity into traditional crew experiences by starting single-identity crews.

Jordan weighs rainbow trout at the fish hatchery during her Americorps service with the Sovereign Nations Service Corps on the Mescalero Apache Reservation.

Jordan compiled the research she gathered from her travels into a toolkit that she has now established as a free public resource. She emphasizes that its intention is not to definitively say whether a corps should or should not start a single-identity crew, but rather to offer insight into the experiences of other corps that have run them, so organizations can draw from these years of experience before diving in. Most importantly, her goal was to create something that could be used for years to come, not just sit on a shelf after she finished it. “Academic work so often is kept within the academic world,” Jordan lamented. “I wanted to bridge that gap between academia and boots on the ground, and open the door for vulnerable conversations about DEI. The more we can adapt and change to meet the needs of every crew member, the stronger and more effective we will be. I’d love for others to take this resource and further develop it.”

Jordan today on a hike near her home in Salt Lake City, Utah.

These days, Jordan works as a Community Development Specialist within the Utah Community Development Office in Salt Lake City. Her career goals for the future are specific–she wants to work in regional planning–but the passion that drives her is more broad. “The core of what I want to do is to bridge divides and make space for healthy dialogue,” she said. Jordan says she still references the toolkit she created in her everyday life. “Two aspects of the toolkit that come up a lot for me are the importance of recognizing and embracing differences, and to evaluate and critique the work that I do. I reference these aspects daily. I try not to not get so invested in something that I’m unwilling to change.”

“My experience with Conservation Legacy set the foundation for the work that I’m doing now,” Jordan said. “It changed my life. Through my service with Stewards and my staff position, I was able to learn what my skill sets were and determine what I wanted to do with my life. During my time with Conservation Legacy, I learned that I love to work with people and communities.”

Conservation Legacy now uses Jordan’s toolkit as a guide for developing new single-identity crew models. We are so grateful for the work Jordan has put into developing this resource, and excited to see where her path takes her next!