DEIJ Expert Gabrielle Roffe Joins the Council Fire Team
Always Working for Mutually-Beneficial Outcomes
As a purpose-driven company committed to equity and sustainability in every aspect of our business, Council Fire is delighted to welcome Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) expert, Gabrielle Roffe, to the team.
With over a decade of DEIJ leadership in the environmental field, Roffe offers an intersectional approach to stakeholder and community engagement, creative placemaking, environmental stewardship, and DEIJ implementation that will expand upon Council Fire’s extensive expertise in designing and executing collaboration frameworks to drive mutually-beneficial outcomes. Roffe’s long-standing and impactful work with nonprofits and environmental organizations, profound stakeholder network, and deep commitment to addressing environmental justice and other equity issues make her an invaluable asset to our team.
Since childhood, Roffe has felt a strong pull to address systemic societal barriers and support underrepresented communities. She staged her first sit-in in the 6th grade and has carried that mantle throughout her career. Combining that attribute with her love for the outdoors, she majored in environmental studies at the University of Southern California (USC) and then earned her Masters of Environmental Science from Towson University.
“The way I go about this work is personal to who I am,” said Roffe. Leading with empathy and compassion, Roffe’s fine-tuned perception of person-to-person dynamics and interactions help her work with communities and against dominant cultural norms that are embedded in systems. “When I walk into a room, I immediately try to understand everyone’s motivations for being there – what everyone is feeling, who’s speaking or not speaking, why they might not be speaking, who’s comfortable or uncomfortable, who’s not in the room or has always been in the room, who are we speaking about, and whom are we speaking for,” she explained. Redefining and addressing dominant norms such as hierarchy, urgency, quantity over quality, and individualism – and bringing awareness to them – are key components of her work.
Roffe’s masterful approach to community engagement is often centered in ‘creative placemaking,’ using arts and culture by diverse partners to shape the physical and social character of a place to spur economic development, promote enduring social change, or improve the physical environment. A self-described ‘creative at heart,’ Roffe asserts that bringing creativity into this work is an important way for people to connect to space and nature, “There is no one way to be an environmental steward. There’s no one way to connect with nature. Finding creative ways to tap into different forms of connection – that’s what creative placemaking is.” Activities might include nature art, mural painting, community gardens, mind mapping, photo voice projects, and the usage of creative mediums that don’t require words. Roffe added, “When you create something, you put part of yourself into it.”
Inclusivity is also central to success. Roffe advocates that DEIJ lenses should be part of every project, “Communities who can be or are some of the biggest stewards of the environment are not included in the movement because they don’t look, speak, or connect to the environment in the same way,” said Roffe. To redefine the environmental movement, it requires bringing underrepresented communities into the conversation.
It feels inevitable that Roffe’s path would intersect with Council Fire. Through value alignment and navigating amongst common circles of impact including the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, National Aquarium, and the Masonville Cove Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership – Roffe is a natural fit for the team. Her national connections and tight ties to the Chesapeake Bay region and communities serve as critical pinpoints to cover the map of Council Fire’s global footprint and further expand upon our DEIJ expertise and capacity.
To learn more about Council Fire’s offerings and to start a conversation with our team, we invite you to email us at info@councilfire.org or connect with us on our Contact Us webpage.