Outdoorithm

Sometimes you just have to build the thing yourself! ??? Just wrapped up a fun afternoon project using AI to solve a real problem we kept running into with our Outdoorithm families in Yosemite: getting accurate mountain weather forecasts that help our communities feel confident and prepared in the outdoors. Sharing the story because it's wild what's possible now with AI as your coding partner. From problem to solution in 4 hours! When tech doesn't serve everyone equally, we can build our own solutions. Now off to Yosemite with 30 folks in the Outdoorithm Collective family to test it out in real life! ???? #BuildInPublic #OutdoorTech #AI #OutdoorEquity

It’s always a powerful experience to share what you love and bring others along on the journey. Last week, we had the honor of unveiling Outdoorithm as one of the top 10 ventures selected from 200 applicants in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Foundation and Kapor Center pitch competition. At Outdoorithm, we’re increasing access to public lands and rewriting the narrative about who belongs in these beautiful spaces. Camping is transformative, restorative, and healing—a truth backed by research and personal experience. But for historically marginalized communities, barriers remain. For too long, policies and cultural norms have excluded our communities from outdoor spaces, creating gaps in knowledge, access, and belonging. We’re here to change that. This is just the beginning. Through our AI-powered digital platform and in-store partnerships, we’re excited to inspire and guide more urban families into camping, making outdoor recreation more accessible for all. While we didn’t advance to the finals, this experience reinforced the importance of our work and strengthened our resolve. We’re grateful to the NBA Foundation and the Kapor Center for this opportunity and to everyone cheering us on (shout out to my kids who were the loudest cheering section!). The journey continues, and we’re excited for what’s next! ??? If you share our passion for increasing access to the outdoors, Justin Steele and I would love to connect and reimagine the future of outdoor recreation together. ?? And please join us in supporting & cheering on all the founders who participated - they are doing amazing work with real social impact: Sruti Bharat Cynthia Kreng Damien McDuffie, MFA Arthur Garcia Bakari Grant Bobby Arte Dashell Laryea Eve Idusuyi Leandrew Robinson Peter Njongwe of Oben Health Jodi Anderson and Ryan Brennan of rézme Monica Yupa of Inkwire

So excited to share that Outdoorithm has been selected as a semi-finalist in the NBA All-Star Pitch Competition! ?? Next Wednesday, December 4th, I’ll be pitching live at the Chase Center in front of a panel of celebrity judges (including E-40 and Baron Davis!). We’ll be sharing how Outdoorithm is breaking down barriers to camping and helping urban families reconnect with the outdoors. This is an amazing opportunity to win up to $75,000 in funding to grow our impact! Want to come cheer us on? Tickets are FREE, and attendees will also have a chance to win tickets to NBA All-Star 2025. Open to all ages. Register today via?bit.ly/nbafoundation. There will be other great organizations also pitching their innovative ideas - it’s going to be an inspiring showcase of social impact work, and we're honored to be part of it. Justin Steele and I hope to see you there! #NBAFPitch

After ten impactful years at Google, the time has come to step into my next chapter. As part of Google.org’s recent reorganization, this week is my last. It’s been a profound privilege to serve communities that deserve our very best. Reflecting on the journey, I’m struck by the moments that defined our work: responding to the Charleston Church shooting or George Floyd’s murder by partnering with organizations like The Movement for Black Lives and Center for Policing Equity to support communities impacted by racial injustice; partnering with Equal Justice Initiative to bring the Lynching in America project to life; and launching the Google Career Certificates Fund with Social Finance to drive $1 billion in wage gains for American job seekers. Each initiative required us to embrace tension—being bold and measured, innovative and pragmatic, revolutionary and stabilizing. As I explore new opportunities in social impact and justice, I remain deeply committed to advancing these values. If you know of organizations aligned with this work or opportunities in roles like Chief Impact Officer, I’d love to connect. I am also excited to continue dedicating time to building Outdoorithm, the social enterprise I co-founded with Sally Steele. Outdoorithm leverages AI to make camping on public lands more accessible, offering tools that simplify trip planning and make camping more welcoming. Its sister nonprofit, Outdoorithm Collective, focuses on guided group camping trips for urban families of color, turning public lands into spaces for healing, connection, and empowerment. This past weekend, I was reminded of the power of nature and community while participating in a transformative Boyz N The Wood expedition to Big Bend National Park guided by Black Outside, Inc. Under the West Texas sun and night skies filled with stars, we hiked, reflected, and connected. I shared my own story of navigating tough transitions and was supported by an amazing group of brothers. Nature is a space of healing, especially when experienced in community. I am inspired by and grateful for Boyz N The Wood’s mission of helping Black men restore and reignite the best versions of themselves through the outdoors. At Outdoorithm, we work in solidarity towards this vision. Thank you to everyone who has been part of my journey. I’m excited for what’s next and for continuing this shared mission to create belonging, empowerment, and healing in all the spaces we inhabit—whether indoors or out.

Kicking off a month in California with beloved community at El Capitan State Beach was an incomparable start to some work flexibility that I am cherishing this summer. My family and I were lucky to join one of Outdoorithm's inaugural group camping trips where Sally Steele is cultivating accessible ways to help urban families get outdoors together. We saw dolphins, seals, a space shuttle launch, the milky way, and some epic sunsets. But more importantly, my kids got to explore and play with others that looked like them and revel in the joys of the sand and sun together. Outdoorithm recently completed REI’s Embark Accelerator Program. Their platform makes it easier for families, especially those who've had less access from urban areas, to get outside. I encourage you to take a look at the their campsite recs and gear tools!

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit EJI (Equal Justice Initiative) for their Juneteenth celebration and the opening of their new Freedom Monument. It's honors the lives of those enslaved in the U.S., culminating with a 120 foot long, 43 feet high wall on which are engraved the names chosen by recently freed peoples for the 1870 census - the first time they were given that choice. On that wall, I found my family's name (Holmes), as well as my married name (Steele). This returned me to a reflection I've been musing on for a while: how is my relationship to the land tied to that of my ancestors? The freedom and empowerment I find in nature is one of the reasons we founded Outdoorithm, to help others reclaim their own relationship to the land and to themselves. In my latest blog post, I reflect on my father's experience growing up as a Black man in segregated Memphis, how his work on the land shaped his relationship to it, and how that in turn impacted my own relationship to nature. I talk about how we can reshape it and help rewrite that narrative for our children - one where nature is a source of joy, healing, and belonging. I'd love for you to read it, tell me what you think, and even share your own story of the outdoors. https://lnkd.in/gecADT5x

Why hasn't Rumpl made a pillow yet? We've been asked that question for a decade... and today is the day we have an answer. The Camp Pillow is now available exclusively on Rumpl.com. https://lnkd.in/g_5wct5Q