An Appalachian community organizer who has spent fifteen years building community and resistance. gabby began their activism journey in queer liberation work in 2004 and moved into environmental organizing in 2007. gabby spent many years in leadership with Mountain Justice, organizing spring breaks and summer camps supporting learning around environmental justice, community organizing and non-violent direct action in coal impacted communities around Appalachia. Their learning and sharing was shaped by the popular education model, grounded in the concepts of experiential learning and the idea that we all come into learning spaces with expertise to offer.
gabby was hired by the Sierra Club in 2015 and has since become a core trainer for their new organizer training as well as being involved in designing and facilitating many workshops, meetings and retreats. While their work is mostly grounded in environmental justice communities in Southwestern Virginia impacted by coal and gas extraction, they remain committed to leadership development, mutual aid, and dismantling oppression. As an herbalist and healer with much knowledge passed down from ancestors and chosen family, gabby is dedicated to incorporating healing justice into their work as a trainer and organizer.
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