Danielle Russell graduated from DePaul in 2016 with a Bachelor’s in Sociology and minors in Peace, Justice, & Conflict Studies, and Community Service Studies. During her time at DePaul, she was passionate about youth empowerment and engagement through Restorative Justice practices within the Community Peacemakers program. She also worked with young students to improve their reading skills through the READS program. 

When she graduated DePaul, she wanted to learn more about how to engage youth in the most enjoyable and empowering ways possible. So, Danielle joined the Public Allies Americorps program hoping to be placed at a restorative justice or nonviolence-focused youth agency. Instead, she was placed in an environmental organization that she’d never heard of called Openlands to support a “green infrastructure” program. She loved nature, but never saw herself in the environmental field, and was worried she wouldn’t be able to explore youth empowerment work.

On her first day at Openlands, she witnessed in awe as young people she knew through the READS program found focus and peace through gardening. Since then, she has learned about gardening and the environment, where she loves facilitating people’s experiences with nature, especially Black and Brown youth. She has been at Openlands since 2016 and works with school communities to design green schoolyards and activate school gardens. Danielle knows that when children connect to nature and gardening, it helps with their well-being. She sees that ensuring access to nature and environmental wellness are issues of race, gender, and class-based justice. She feels so privileged to be able to help people grow their own food and connect to nature in fun and healing ways.