Dr. Finney explores race and identity through her intriguing lived experience in nature. She deftly and movingly intertwines her own story with that of the history of Black environmentalism. Many communities are beginning to examine how to invite a more diverse audiences into their spaces and activities. Dr. Finney helps us see how to include all people in our stories and special places--including those who have been there but not necessarily acknowledged. She also shares excerpts from her upcoming one-woman play about a conversation on race with well-known conservationist John Muir. 

Dr. Finney, currently an artist-in-residence and the Environmental Studies Professor of Practice in the Franklin Environmental Center at Middlebury College, is a storyteller, author, and cultural geographer. A Fulbright Scholar, a Canon National Parks Science Scholar and recipient of a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Studies, she has served on the U.S. National Parks Advisory Board assisting the National Park Service in engaging in relations of reciprocity with diverse communities. Her first book, Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors was released in 2014.

This program is a joint presentation from the Groton Public Library and The Groton Conservation Trust. It is made possible, in part, with grants from  the Town of Groton’s Trust Funds’ Lecture Fund and the Groton Public Library Endowment Trust.