May 2026

Progress Newsletter

By Cayman Bentley, Social Media Manager

At Philanthropic Ventures Foundation (PVF), we believe that transformative experiences outside of their comfort zones can unlock something powerful in young leaders — resilience, confidence, a deeper sense of purpose, and courage. That's the kind of growth we want to invest in.

Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, PVF supported two young women this Spring with a Leadership Fellow Award to attend an excursion with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) — a world-renowned outdoor education organization whose multi-day wilderness expeditions teach technical outdoor skills alongside real-world leadership. These Fellows are educators from our fiscally sponsored project Forest & Tree, an Oakland-based program dedicated to connecting young people and their communities to the natural world. What came back with them was far more than outdoor skills.

Emily Ramirez, Outdoor Guide, Forest & Tree

Emily Ramirez is an outdoor guide at Forest & Tree and was born and raised in the Fruitvale community in East Oakland. A first-generation UC Berkeley graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Ethnic Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Conservation and Resource Management Studies, Emily has spent her career rooting herself in the intersection of community, equity, and the environment — including highlighting marginalized communities that are disproportionately lacking access to basic needs and infrastructure, and the ways in which these communities are resisting through alternative practices.

When the opportunity arose to join a NOLS lightweight backpacking course in Utah in April 2026, Emily jumped in — and quickly found herself face to face with fears she hadn't anticipated. She'd never backpacked before, never been to the desert. The course meant no phone, limited food, no potable water, a 30-pound pack, and terrain that included canyon slots, slickrock, boulders, and snowstorms. She spent nights before the trip unable to sleep, questioning whether she'd made a mistake.

She hadn't.

"Even though some of my fears were true, I faced them and overcame them with strength that I never could've imagined existed within myself," Emily wrote in her reflection to PVF. Navigating the landscape alongside a group of strangers who quickly became a community, she found herself moved by the Navajo dwellings carved into canyon walls 500 years ago, the way the group found water in scarcity, and a landscape whose warm brown and red tones mirrored her own skin. "I'd never been anywhere that was the same color as me like this," she wrote.

The trip carried deep personal weight too. Emily chose Utah in part to honor a close friend who had spent time there before her passing. What she found in the canyons was grief, healing, and a reckoning with her own strength — all at once. She also drew inspiration from the young people she works with every day at Forest & Tree, thinking of their bravery the first time they try something new outdoors. "They trust us so much, and trust in themselves to overcome their fear and step out of their comfort zone," she reflected. In the hardest moments on the trail, that courage reminded her to do the same.

She returned from Utah with big goals still intact — a master's degree in climate justice, a children's book, a run for city council, greener spaces for Oakland — and a new certainty that she is capable of all of it. As Emily looks towards what is next for her, she is interested in building connections with anyone who has similar experiences and welcomes folks to reach out to her at emilynram33@gmail.com.

Leslie Magaña, Outdoor Education Coordinator, Forest & Tree

Leslie Magaña is Forest & Tree's Outdoor Education Coordinator and a lifelong Oaklander with more than a decade of experience working with youth and families in her own community. Raised by a single mother who modeled quiet, relentless strength, Leslie grew up knowing that perseverance was not optional. She recently returned to school to complete her degree — a deeply personal milestone she describes as something she's doing not just for herself, but for her mother and everyone who came before her.

Leslie chose NOLS' women's kayaking expedition in Baja, and the experience exceeded anything she expected. Paddling for multiple days on open water, sleeping under the open sky, learning to slow down in a world that rarely allows it — the trip offered Leslie a kind of stillness and presence she hadn't known she needed.

"I started noticing everything: the sound of the wind brushing across the water, the steady rhythm of paddles, birds moving above us like quiet companions, even the silence between conversations," she wrote. "In those moments, I felt both small and deeply connected at the same time — like I was exactly where I was supposed to be."

The difficult moments were as powerful as the beautiful ones. Discomfort became a teacher. And being surrounded by other women — their strength, their softness, their realness — offered Leslie a kind of healing she hadn't anticipated. "It reminded me of the kind of woman I want to continue becoming. Not perfect, but grounded, supportive, open, and real."

She came home not as a new person, but as a more honest version of herself — more confident in her voice, her work, and her ability to trust herself in uncertainty. To future participants, she had this to say: "Go in with an open heart, even if you're nervous or unsure if you belong yet. There is a stronger, more grounded version of you waiting on the other side of that experience."

Emily and Leslie are exactly the kind of leaders this program was designed to support — rooted in their communities, committed to young people, and ready to grow in ways that ripple outward. The outdoors has not always been an accessible or welcoming space for women of color from working-class backgrounds. Programs like this one are part of changing that.

PVF is proud to have made these experiences possible, and deeply grateful to the anonymous donor whose generosity put Emily and Leslie in those canyons and on that water. Their stories remind us that when you invest in a leader, you invest in everything and everyone they carry with them.

As the 2025-2026 school year comes to a close, we are proud to announce this year’s recipient of the Christopher Wellington Moore Memorial Scholarship is Stella Young, an exceptional graduating senior from Oakland High School.

Each year, the scholarship committee selects one student who exemplifies academic achievement, artistic dedication, and a commitment to using their gifts in service of others. The award is intended to support students pursuing higher education with a focus on music and/or education.

Accepted to multiple prestigious universities, Stella has chosen to pursue a four-year degree in Marketing and Communications at UCLA, with the goal of pursuing a career in marketing within the live music industry.

Read more about Stella on our blog, linked below!