About Rachael
Rachael MeyersJones is a neurospicy writer and nonprofit executive director based in Oakland, California, where she lives with her husband and anxious black cat Chi Chi. Oakland is also known as Huichin, the unceded territory of the Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone people who continue to steward and thrive on the land. Rachael grew up in both Boston, Massachusetts, and the Northeast Kingdom, Vermont, splitting her time between urban and rural environments. Her writing has been shaped by her experiences as a Mixed Black woman, and by the many amazing young people she’s known throughout her career. Rachael strives to build and protect consistent communities of care for Black & Brown youth. She loves cooking for her friends and family, making stained glass windows and other visual arts, Prince, and being outside by a lake somewhere. Rachael is the Executive Director of Youth on Root, a grassroots youth environmental justice leadership nonprofit based in California. Her debut novel, King Coyote, will be released on April 14th, 2026.
Environmental Justice
Rachael has been working at the intersection of youth leadership and outdoor/environmental education for fifteen years. Growing up, nature was her safe haven as she struggled to find belonging in New England as a gumptious Mixed Black girl. Her experience growing up low-income in both urban and rural spaces informs her environmental justice leadership, as she learned early that unique communities require unique solutions. She believes deeply that young people hold the answers to protecting our planet, and finds immense joy in supporting their ever-evolving vision and growth. As Executive Director of Youth on Root, she leads a grassroots effort to provide wraparound systems of support to youth on the front lines of environmental racism in California. Though these young people face disproportional environmental hazards every day, their lived experience, creativity, expertise of their own communities, and will to create change make them the ideal leaders of the Environmental Justice Movement.