Tennessee Riverline
TENNESSEE RIVERLINE × PADDLESPORTS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY
The Paddlesports Leadership Academy grew from work I began during the racial reckoning of 2020, when I organized a Black Lives Matter Paddle Out in Kentucky and became increasingly focused on the lack of representation and accessible pathways into leadership within paddlesports. I went on to co-found the American Canoe Association’s DEI working group and worked within the organization to advance new approaches to inclusion, training, and leadership development.
That work contributed to the creation of the ACA’s Community Paddlesports Leader certification, a more accessible pathway into formal paddlesports leadership that became the foundation for a larger idea I had been developing: the Paddlesports Leadership Academy. I created the Academy to prepare people from historically excluded communities to safely lead paddling experiences, build confidence on the water, and bring those skills back to their own communities.
I brought the concept to Tennessee RiverLine, where we launched the first Academy in 2022 and began building the partnerships and resources needed to grow it. As part of that work, the Academy became part of Tennessee RiverLine’s broader partnership with the REI Cooperative Action Fund, supporting a shared vision of connecting more people and communities to the outdoors.
I have continued to lead the Academy as it has grown, combining canoe, kayak, and stand-up paddleboard instruction with rescue, risk management, mentorship, leadership development, and community building.
