Based in Seattle, Wash., Glenn Nelson is the founder of The Trail Posse, which explores the intersection of race and the outdoors. He also is Community Director, leading anti-racism activities for Seattle Audubon. Nelson has won several national awards for his writing, photography and Web publishing, including second place in 2020 from Best of the West for his columns on race for Crosscut and South Seattle Emerald, first-place honors from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2018, 2019 and 2020 for his columns on race for Crosscut and Outstanding Beat Reporting (Race, Inclusion and Environmental Justice) from the Society of Environmental Journalists. His photography is published in Bird Photographer of the Year and has been honored by North American Nature Photograhy Association and Share the View.
Nelson also is a founding member of the Next 100 Coalition, a national alliance of civil rights, environmental and community groups advocating for more inclusive management of public lands, and a founding steering committee member of the Outdoor CEO Diversity Pledge, which advises outdoor brands on DEI work. A graduate of Seattle University and Columbia University, he was born in Japan and started his career at The Seattle Times. He later founded HoopGurlz (now at ESPN), which covered girlβs basketball and college prospects nationally, and helped found Scout.com, a network of sports websites. Nelson is the primary author of a teen book about the NBA, has been published in numerous magazines and book collections, had his photographic work appear at the Smithsonian, and has been profiled by NPR. He also serves on the board of Seattle Jazz Fellowship, Spectrum Dance Theater, as well as the Washington Governor's advisory committee on outdoor recreation, the advisory committee for the Japanese American Remembrance Trail, and the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Task Force.
