NWF’s Own Na’Taki Osborne Jelks Appointed to “21CSC” Federal Advisory Committee to Get Youth Outdoors

Recently Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC) Advisory Committee.  The 21CSC is an entity called for in President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Report.

This was big news in its own right, but it has added importance for NWF. Our very own Na’Taki Osborne Jelks was appointed to the 21CSC Advisory Committee.  Congratulations Na’Taki!!!

Na’Taki is NWF’s Manager for Education and Advocacy Programs in the Southeast Region, based in Atlanta, GA.  She works with individuals and community organizations to restore the communities in which they live, work, play, worship and learn through NWF’s youth environmental education and leadership development program for teens of color, Earth Tomorrow, and many adult civic engagement and advocacy initiatives.

In addition to her role at NWF, Na’Taki is a part-time lecturer in the Environmental Science and Studies Program at Spelman College and is Chair of the Board of the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA), an organization committed to ensuring environmental justice in Southwest and Northwest Atlanta’s African American neighborhoods.  She’s been honored by a wide range of groups–from the Georgia House of Representatives to Turner Broadcasting Services (TBS).  Na’Taki is an alumna of Spelman College.  She earned her Master’s of Public Health in Environmental and Occupational Health from Emory University and is currently working on her Ph.D. in Environmental Public Health at Georgia State University.

Here’s what Interior Secretary Ken Salazar had to say about 21CSC:

“The 21st Century Conservation Service Corps will be a way for our nation’s young people to work on conservation initiatives that drive America’s economy and to find new ways to connect to their communities and build their careers. The conservation-service movement is steeped in rich history dating back to the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. I am confident that this committee of dedicated individuals with vast experience in conservation and outdoor recreation will help shape a sustainable structure to train and employ the next generation of conservationists.”

(Read the full press release here.)