105: Get out of Your Box and Go Find Some People of Color to Talk to About the Profession

Sam Cook joins us once again on the Leadership Nature podcast! Sam is the Executive Director of Forest Assets at North Carolina State University's College of Natural Resources. Sam has been involved in a wide variety of aspects in natural forestry — everything from government service and research to wildlife firefighting and teaching. On today's show, Sam discusses the types of programs a student interested in forestry can enroll in, ways to introduce more diversity into the field, and so much more!   Key Takeaways: [:55] A message from Leadership Nature. [1:40] A quick intro to Sam's background. [5:25] How did Sam get into forestry and natural resources? [9:50] What was the transition from Tuskegee University to North Carolina State University like? [13:25] What's the Outward Bound program all about? [22:10] How does Sam begin to educate families on the importance of forestry and natural resources? [26:25] Has Sam ever experienced professional barriers due to his color? [34:00] Sam has a new scholarship program at Tuskegee to help bring in a more diverse set of people into forestry. [37:50] It's always been someone else's job to do the right thing but in today's landscape, people are doing more than just talking about diversity. [40:30] What advice would Sam like to give young professionals? [43:15] There are a lot of people out there willing to help but they're not out there looking for you to be a mentee. [46:24] What is MANRRS.org and how does it help students of color?   Mentioned in This Episode: S1|E12: Sam Cook — "Young leaders today have to say no and engage teams" Sam on LinkedIn Outwardbound.org MANRRS.org