Guilder Ramirez
Urban Ecology Educator, Crissy Field Center

Guilder Ramirez grew up in the Mission district of San Francisco where he saw cultural pride on a daily basis with art and stores located a few feet away from his door step. Though there was inspiration and beauty on the walls, there was also a lot of violence and drugs that attacked his community every day. He went to Leadership high school where he learned how to critically think about social responsibility as a young member of his own neighborhood and how he believes he would lead his community one day. While attending high school Mr. Ramirez also first participated in the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy leadership program called the Inspiring Young Emerging Leaders (I-YEL). I-YEL was the first program to introduce him to the parks and it also helped him shape a social consciousness about young people in the outdoors. After high school Mr. Ramirez went on to be the first in his family to graduate from college at UC Davis with a bachelor’s degree in International relations and a minor in Education. He rejoined the conservancy as an Urban Ecology Educator in the fall of 2013 to continue his passion that was instilled in him when he was in high school to stride for a more socially just society by serving under resourced communities. Mr. Ramirez recently presented on the behalf of the conservancy at the World Parks Congress in Sydney, Australia the vision of the Crissy Field Center and how to engage under represented youth in the parks.

Water Quality testing at the Crissy Field marsh. Photo by Ilana Somasunderam