Breaking New Ground at Yale

Chuck Sams, a trailblazer in environmental stewardship and the former director of the National Park Service, takes on a new leadership challenge at the Yale Center for Environmental Justice.

Q: There’s an emphasis on environmental joy at YCEJ. It’s the overarching theme of the center’s annual conference and central to its mission. What has brought you joy or a renewed sense of hope in your work recently?

That’s a great question. The outdoors always brings me joy. My wife will tell you, if you can get me up in the mountains or on the river, out from behind my desk, I will always find joy because being in the natural world, taking your boots off, and putting your feet in the river, just touching the soil in itself is a reconnection of who I am as a human being because my own story tells me my eyesight comes from eagle, my skin comes from the hide of elk, my entire nervous system comes from the plant people. It’s just a reconnection of those gifts that were given to me to become a human being and a reconnection of those things that give me life.

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