Alexis Dickerson
Alexis Dickerson
Alexis Dickerson is the Senior Director of Community Conservation at the Potomac Conservancy. She is a trained Master Gardener and Master Naturalist with urban sustainability and permaculture design expertise. She is involved in environmental education initiatives and promotes diversity and inclusion within the environmental field.
Alexis Dickerson grew up in Baltimore County, Maryland, spending much of her time outdoors near creeks and streams, exploring everything the natural world had to offer. Her parents helped channel her curiosity for the outdoors by enrolling her in Girl Scout activities and summer camps. These experiences deepened her passion for nature and the environment. Though interested in the environment, she fully sees herself as an environmentalist in adulthood. Dickerson attended the University of Southern California for her undergraduate degree in American Studies and Ethnicities (African American Studies). As she began to experience digestive issues in her 20s, she did a deep dive to understand the physiology of what was happening. Dickerson quickly understood that gut health and the health of food and water are connected to soil health and other threatened systems. This event is what she sees as a turning point, where she saw herself as an environmentalist despite the many years exploring the outdoors in her youth. She is a Master Gardener and Master Naturalist, trained through the Virginia Cooperative Extension, and also holds certifications in Urban Sustainability and Permaculture Design.
Dickerson’s experiences include serving as Co-President of the D.C. Environmental Education Consortium, a member of the Virginia Master Naturalist Diversity and Inclusion Working Group, and Fairfax County’s Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance Exception Review Committee. She holds a certification in Wilderness First Aid and has completed training in Wilderness First Response.
Among the many people who have helped Dickerson throughout her career is Karen Mullen, who Dickerson says "embodies the joy of connecting with nature through experimental learning" (2024). Mullen has supported Dickerson's work and trusted her with essential roles on critical projects, making her feel seen, heard, and supported. Dickerson also cites Katie Blackman as championing her staff and balancing capacity. Moreover, Tom Ackerman, Hedrick Blein, and Amy Green were influential mentors in Dickerson's career, and she was supported under their leadership. Dickerson currently mentors a 2024 Maryland Corp/Service Year program member.
Dickerson advises young professionals to be curious and ask people about their journeys to their current positions, as many come from something other than an environmental background. Still, their work intersects with the field in some way, as it "intersects with every aspect of our lives" (2024).
Staff. Potomac Conservancy. (n.d.) Retrieved November 2023 from https://potomac.org/team-potomac-staff
Survey and interviews conducted by Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative staff. 2022-2023. Yale University-School of the Environment. New Haven, Connecticut.
Survey and interviews conducted by Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative staff. 2022-2023. Yale University-School of the Environment. New Haven, Connecticut.