As Director of Education and Outdoor Equity, Katie Mills leads a team of 20 who provide environmental education in TreePeople’s 46-year old legacy programs as well as new equity-oriented programs targeted to LA County’s historically underserved communities. Katie started at TreePeople in January, 2023, to help launch the new Outdoor Equity programs while maintaining the organization’s signature Eco-Tours and Generation Earth programs. Previously, Katie worked with multiple school districts for nine years to create and implement equity-focused programs to Title 1 schools and districts throughout Southern California as Co-Director of the K-12 STEM Center at University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering. Katie earned her Ph.D. in Film, Literature and Culture at USC and taught at Occidental College, USC, Cal State Northridge and other Southern California universities, specializing in experiential education and community engagement. As a volunteer on the Mountain Bike Unit based in Malibu Creek State Park and affiliated with the National Park Service, State Park Service and MRCA, Katie has a lifelong commitment to enjoying and protecting nature and sharing it with others.