About Us

We explore what it means to stay in Utah through economic transition and climate crisis by producing multimedia projects with, by, and for impacted communities.

We are a collective of Utah-based artists, writers, storytellers, journalists, multimedia producers, facilitators, and community organizers. We formed in 2022 with the belief that storytelling can help Utahns transition from an extractive economy to a dignified and living economy. We love our home – the land, the water, our neighbors – and we want a thriving future here.

We produce storytelling projects with, by, and for impacted communities.

Our Team

  • A photo of a brown nonbinary person with short dark brown hair that flips out at the bottom. They're wearing a light blue jean jackt and a white button up shirt. They have colorful beaded earrings and a necklace. Plants are in the background.

    Olivia Juarez, Co-Founder

    Olivia Juarez (they/them) is a lifelong Utahn based in Salt Lake City, UT. They are the co-host of our podcast Stay Salty: Lakefacing Stories. With GreenLatinos, Latino Outdoors and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Olivia has nurtured Latino/a/e joy and leadership in conserving nuestra tierra pública. Olivia was recognized as one of “10 Under 40” in 2021 by the National Parks Conservation Association for their commitment to creating safe, equitable access to public lands for Latino community health. Olivia holds an Honors Peace and Conflict Studies degree from the University of Utah. They enjoy camping with family, loud music, playing in the snow, bicycling, yoga, and gazing at cryptobiotic soils.

  • A photo of a white woman with dark brown hair in a black short sleeve cotton crop top and black jeans. Her left hand is partway in her jean pocket. She is standing in a garden with greenery and woodchips blurred in the background.

    Brooke Larsen, Co-Founder

    Brooke is a queer journalist, storyteller and writer. She is currently the lead coordinator and producer of our project Stay Salty: Lakefacing Stories. As a journalist, Brooke covers climate, the energy transition, water, agriculture, rural communities, and justice issues. She is currently a fellow with High Country News and the co-editor of the anthology New World Coming: Frontline Voices on Pandemics, Uprisings, and Climate Crisis. Brooke has an MA in Environmental Humanities from the University of Utah, for which she studied the role of storytelling in the just transition movement across the Southwest. Brooke enjoys gardening, running rivers with her partner, and cooking for friends and family.

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    Amelia Diehl, Podcast Producer

    Amelia Diehl is a queer writer, musician and organizer with a background in community based storytelling and grassroots climate justice. She is a producer of Stay Salty: Lakefacing Stories, and she also creates all music for the podcast. Her work has been published in Yes! Magazine, In These Times, Salt Lake City Weekly, The Trouble, and more. Growing up in Michigan, the Great Lakes were foundational to her sense of belonging to and protecting a place. After attending University of Utah’s Environmental Humanities graduate program, she is eager to continue learning from the Great Salt Lake ecosystem. You can find her around town drinking coffee, running, perusing record stores and reading non-fiction.

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    Meisei Gonzalez, Podcast Host

    Meisei Gonzalez is an environmental justice advocate and communicator based in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is the co-host of Stay Salty: Lakefacing Stories. As the Director of Communications for HEAL Utah, Meisei focuses on addressing environmental disparities faced by the Latino and LGBTQIA communities. Meisei is also on the board of West View Media, a nonprofit news organization for Salt Lake’s west side, and Alliance Community Services, which supports Utah’s Latino communities. With a unique perspective as a first-generation Latino, he is affectionately known as the "EnviroCowboy" and is dedicated to making a lasting impact in the fight for environmental equity.

Board of Directors

  • Franque Bains

    Storyteller and Founding Member of Utah Black Artists Collective

  • A photo of a brown man in a traditional Guatemalan shirt with shoulder-length flowy brown hair standing in front a historic building that's yellow and red. His arms are folded and he's smiling.

    Luis Miranda

    Interim Director, Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club

  • Lauren Wood

    Queer Community Organizer and Owner of Holiday River Expeditions