A leader in Portland’s Environmental Justice movement, Nakisha is a well-traveled, creative, leadership cultivator and activist. Her background in environmental science, environmental law, and community organizing inform her practice of transformational movement building.
A few years after graduating from Texas A&M University with a degree in bioenvironmental science, Nakisha began her community organizing journey with Texas Campaign for the Environment (TCE) where she and her colleagues generated statewide pressure that helped convince Dell and Apple Computers to establish a free Computer TakeBack program.
In the Summer of 2012, Nakisha moved to Portland and began her studies toward earning a Master of Science degree in Education, with a specialization in Leadership for Sustainability Education from Portland State University. During her time at PSU, she worked as a STEAM Garden Educator, cultivating students’ curiosity and facilitating experiential learning opportunities. She became Bark's Executive Director after working as the Leadership Development Director at the Coalition of Communities of Color, and organizing for Sierra Club, Neighbors for Clean Air and OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon. Nakisha is currently working as an organizational consultant and is dedicated to building power for a Just Transition and racial justice and serves as Board Secretary to Imagine Black and is a board member for Austin's Sustainable Energy for Economic Development.
Nakisha’s love for nature and commitment to Environmental Justice stem from spending her formative years living in Panama, Canada, Texas and throughout the United States. When not at work, Nakisha can be found gaming with friends and family; hiking with her partner and two dogs; photographing Oregon’s natural landscapes, or gleefully pursuing her quest to find every member of the Araucaria araucana species in Portland.
A few years after graduating from Texas A&M University with a degree in bioenvironmental science, Nakisha began her community organizing journey with Texas Campaign for the Environment (TCE) where she and her colleagues generated statewide pressure that helped convince Dell and Apple Computers to establish a free Computer TakeBack program.
In the Summer of 2012, Nakisha moved to Portland and began her studies toward earning a Master of Science degree in Education, with a specialization in Leadership for Sustainability Education from Portland State University. During her time at PSU, she worked as a STEAM Garden Educator, cultivating students’ curiosity and facilitating experiential learning opportunities. She became Bark's Executive Director after working as the Leadership Development Director at the Coalition of Communities of Color, and organizing for Sierra Club, Neighbors for Clean Air and OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon. Nakisha is currently working as an organizational consultant and is dedicated to building power for a Just Transition and racial justice and serves as Board Secretary to Imagine Black and is a board member for Austin's Sustainable Energy for Economic Development.
Nakisha’s love for nature and commitment to Environmental Justice stem from spending her formative years living in Panama, Canada, Texas and throughout the United States. When not at work, Nakisha can be found gaming with friends and family; hiking with her partner and two dogs; photographing Oregon’s natural landscapes, or gleefully pursuing her quest to find every member of the Araucaria araucana species in Portland.