ABOUT US
Our Mission
This space is created with you in mind. For and by Adaptive, LGBTQIA2S+, and BIPOC communities in the mountains.
Our Vision
We strive to grow culturally cohesive practices and spaces within the greater outdoor narrative.
AN INCLUSIVE OUTDOORS
Who we are
We are everyday people like you from diverse backgrounds, creating space in our world for folks on the margins.
What we value
We value our relationships, both human and with our natural world, in cultivating more caring growth for all communities.
Vasu Sojitra
(He/Him)
Vasu Sojitra is a professional skier and a Disability Access Strategist living in Bozeman, MT. He has climbed peaks like the Grand Teton and was the first Disabled person to ski peaks in Montana’s Beartooth and Bridger Mountains with monumental ski descents on Tahoma (Mt Rainer) and Denali all on one leg and without a prosthetic leg. Through his goals and ambitions, he hopes to create more accessible spaces for people with disabilities and people of color in the outdoors and the ski world with the motto of “#ninjasticking through the wood to center intersectionality in the outdoors.”
Board President and Founder
Dani Aravich
(She/Her)
Dani was born and raised in Boise, Idaho. She was born missing her left hand and forearm. She fell in love with the outdoors at a young age. Dani competed in Division 1 cross country and track and field in college and went on to work in the NFL & NBA. She was introduced to the Paralympics in 2019 and has since become a fierce advocate for people with disabilities participating in sports and the outdoors. She is a summer and winter Paralympian. Dani was intrigued by IOP in 2022 when she participated in the Rut, and became more involved in programming. She has a graduate certificate in disability policy from the University of Michigan & works with the Inclusive Outdoors Project on program development.
Program Coordinator
McKinley Hall
(She/Her)
Bozeman Chapter Lead
McKinley is from Bozeman and has been lucky to recreate here for most of her life. She grew up with epilepsy and was told many times that she should not be in outdoor spaces which only made her more determined to participate and improve access for others. McKinley started Inclusive Outdoors Project Bozeman (formerly mellow mountaineers) with the goal of building a diverse and inclusive outdoor community in Bozeman that could support each other in goals both big and small. She loves mountain biking, skiing and just going on a good meander. Professionally, McKinley works as a DEI & strategy consultant.
