Tanya Pappa is youth leadership network coordinator at Children & Nature Network. She brings a deep commitment to the idea of community by focusing on strengthening partnerships and centering equity in her work. At the Children & Nature Network, she works on helping grow the capacity of young leaders and community based organizations to create more opportunities for equitable access to nature. As a former community engagement specialist, she re-envisioned and implemented Club Outdoors, a teen and pre-teen program occurring at multiple Boys and Girls Clubs to center program outcomes on a connection to place, stewardship, self-efficacy, mental health, and inclusion. Her dedication to intersectionality (protection of people and the planet) has led her to create a community building framework at the city level, conduct habitat restoration research and monitor conservation easements in rural communities in Colorado and California, support reforestation and permaculture efforts in Peru and Chile, assist elders in preparing for winter in the Navajo Nation of Arizona, and reintroduce Asian elephants into the wild in a remote village in Thailand. Her experiences abroad honed her ability to adapt to situations outside of her comfort zones, expand connectivity with people despite language barriers, and work humbly within the context of new communities and cultures.