About Pathways Community Groups
The Marine Protected Area (MPA) Collaborative Network (CN) supports three Pathways Community Groups (PCGs) – which are spaces for Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI), Black, and Latine identifying individuals to come together around shared identity and connection to water.
The groups provide members with a space to share their voices, stories, histories, culture, struggles, barriers, and solutions with one another, and create pathways to deeper engagement and leadership in coastal connection, stewardship and management. Group member participation is supported through engagement stipends.
Additionally, groups are funded to complete projects of their choosing to elevate and make progress towards their visions for their communities as well as provide learning opportunities and policy and management recommendations to partner organizations and management agencies.
Examples of previous projects include scholarship programs, the creation of a marine Lunar New Year calendar, a marine Loteria game, webinars about cultural connections to the coast and ocean, a report with AAPI-specific inclusivity recommendations for partners and decision makers, book clubs, documentary screenings, and group trips to the coast to learn and build community.
Meet the Coordinators
Pathways Community Coordinators serve as the lead for each Pathways Affinity Group and facilitate intentional discussions that guide the group to collectively decide on the issues and topics that are relevant and important to them.
Michelle Chuang
AAPI* Community Coordinator
mpacnaapi@gmail.com
Cianna Carrillo Walker-Flom
Black Community Coordinator
cianna@theavarnagroup.com
Kayleigh Wade
Latine Community Coordinator
wade.kayleigh@gmail.com
Please reach out to the community coordinators listed below to express interest about joining the 2026-2027 Cohorts.
We invite you to follow us on Instagram or join a MPA Collaborative to receive updates. You do not need to live within a MPA Collaborative’s geographical boundaries to be a member!
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞
Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community Group
The Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community Group launched in the Fall of 2023 as the inaugural Pathways program. The AAPI Pathways Group showcased their creativity, knowledge, and passion for our ocean through various projects (links below): the creation of a Lunar New Year Zodiac Calendar and an activity/coloring page; an AAPI Heritage Month campaign with blog interviews and a webinar highlighting AAPI contributions to marine sciences; a report with AAPI-specific inclusivity recommendations for partners and decision-makers; and an AAPI Marine Scholarship program for students and early career professionals.
Black Community Group
The Black Pathways Community Group has been making waves. The group meets quarterly to discuss the Pan-African historical and cultural connections to the ocean, highlighting Black contributions to marine science, and discussing group projects or scholarships. The group has hosted two rounds of scholarships as well as a documentary screening and webinars spanning multiple topics.
Latine Community Group
¡Olas y holas! The Latine Pathways Community Group is underway fostering community within the marine world via monthly group meetings, reflections on the vast and shared identities and experiences from Latin America (LatAm), and representation of LatAm identities across the California Coast. The Latine group has created a marine-focused Loteria game, hosted two book clubs, and hosted two in-person gatherings.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why was the Pathways initiative created?
Our mission is to empower diverse communities and amplify their voices, fostering inclusivity and equity in coastal conservation. By doing so, we aspire to create a future where all individuals and communities are empowered to participate in and lead the decisions that protect our oceans. The MPA Collaborative Network does not believe that we, as a society, can have healthy, thriving, and diverse marine ecosystems without inherently practicing this belief as humans with other humans in every aspect of our lives.
Furthermore, we acknowledge the systemic racism and injustices that have caused harm to these same communities, which resulted in permanent displacements and/or severed connections to the ocean, for some of whom are their ancestral homelands. The MPA Collaborative Network is proud to support programs that elevate equity for our staff, members, and partners—in other words, humans.
2. Is the MPA CN considering supporting more Pathways groups?
Yes! We would love to create more affinity spaces for the Pathways program in the future. We hope to expand with a Queer Community Group, and more depending on interest and support. We’d love to hear from you about your ideas for future groups. And if you’d like to be the first to find out about future groups, you can sign up for our newsletter and stay in touch.
If you’d love to support our program, please consider a donation to the MPA CN.
3. I still have questions. Who should I contact?
For specific inquiries related to the community groups such as meeting dates, etc. please contact the appropriate community coordinator(s)—see above for email information.
For other questions, you can contact Jamie Blatter, jamie(at)mpacollaborative.org
Michelle Chuang
Asian American Pacific Islander Community Coordinator
mpacnaapi@gmail.com
Biography
Michelle is a seasoned professional with over 25 years of experience in marketing, communications, and community outreach. Throughout her career, she has been on a mission to drive meaningful change and foster connections within communities.
Beyond her marketing expertise, Michelle is driven by a profound passion for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This passion inspired her to create “When East Meets West,” a cultural blog site dedicated to bridging the gap between diverse cultures and highlighting the shared human experience. Through compelling content and engaging narratives, Michelle actively strives to inspire a better world by celebrating both our differences and our commonalities.
Growing up in the vibrant mosaic of Southern California, Michelle developed a deep-seated commitment to ocean conservation. Her dedication to preserving our coastal environments for future generations is evident in her tireless efforts to raise awareness and advocate for sustainable practices. Michelle firmly believes that our beautiful coastal environment is a precious gift that should be cherished and safeguarded for the benefit of all.
In her new role as AAPI Coordinator, Michelle is committed to leveraging her extensive experience, cultural insights, and dedication to environmental preservation, along with her passion for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, to make a lasting impact on our community.
Cianna Carilla Walker-Flom
Black Community Coordinator
cianna@theavarnagroup.com
Biography
Cianna Carrillo Walker-Flom (she/her/ella) is an equity and inclusion consultant who is driven by her passion for social justice, community organizing, equitable food access, and youth empowerment. Since 2016, she’s partnered across sectors to develop sustainable equity and inclusion strategy and programs. Cianna specializes in integrating DEI principles at the foundational level to develop equitable infrastructure that support an inclusive and thriving organizational culture.
She’s supported a range of organizations as they navigate their DEI journeys including small, nature-based nonprofits to startups in the high-tech space. Outside of her work in DEI, Cianna can be found on a trail with her humans and dogs, at a local playground, or building community on Mvskoke land where she currently resides. She has a BA in Sociology from San Francisco State University and a MA in International Sustainable Development from Escuela de Organización Industrial in Madrid, Spain.
Kayleigh Wade
Latine Community Coordinator
latinepathways@mpacn.org
Biography
Kayleigh Wade (she/they) 𓆝 is a first-gen queer Mexican-American born and raised on Tongva Land. With familial roots in Baja California, the coast is something she cherishes with all her being. She comes to the MPA Collaborative with years of experience in environmental work, first as the Southeast Los Angeles Youth Organizer with Communities for a Better Environment, and then through her current role as the Senior Manager of Inland Outreach with Heal the Bay. In her spare time, she volunteers with Latino Outdoors and Queer Surf, likes going to restaurants, spends time reflecting on water justice’s connection to her environmental work, reading extremely specific nonfiction, loves cooking for loved ones and taking up new skills like fly fishing, and hanging out with her pet babies Penny and Oats.