Arizona Illustrated

Scott and Abbie The day Scott Whitley found Abbie wandering in traffic, his life changed forever. Afro Herper Earyn McGee is a PhD graduate, researching the impact that a drying climate has on lizard populations. She’s also @Afro_Herper, running the popular social media game #FindThatLizard, where she gets to teach people cool facts about the lizards, while shifting the idea of what it means to be a scientist. She’s also exploring ways to get more black women into natural resources careers. Wildland Firefighter Green Valley resident Linda Strader was one of the first women to be hired as a female firefighter by the US Forest Service. She began at the age of 20 in the mid 1970s when women were a rare sight in the field. She describes the job as exhilarating and exhausting, but also very challenging, due to stereotypes and assumptions about women in that field. Two Spirit Powwow Traditionally, powwow categories are listed with the gender binary “ Women” and “Men”. However, many tribes recognize more than two genders. The 2nd Annual Two Spirit Powwow took place in Phoenix last February and the powwow committee decided to remove gender from all categories. The Two Spirit Powwow is hosted by Native PFLAG, an organization with the goal to keep families together and foster the traditional teachings of what it means to be LGBTand/or Two-Spirit. They envision a world where diversity is celebrated and all people are respected, valued, and affirmed inclusive of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.