Meet the Crew: Asia Bradford, staff
Please welcome our new program manager, Asia Bradford! We're so excited about adding her to the team alongside longtime Program Director Paige Young, a move that will allow us to greatly expand our Crew Pathways programs.
"We are immensely fortunate to have Asia join our team!" said Executive Director Libby Hunter. "Asia possesses a unique blend of professional and lived experience that will be invaluable to the growth of our organization. Her skill as an outdoor adventurer, long history of creating equitable opportunities for Black and Brown people to experience nature and outdoor recreation, and the many years she has worked as an athletic director for Cincinnati Public Schools, our largest partner, bring a wealth of knowledge and skills that will lead to even greater impact for the young people we engage."
Asia's varied background includes entrepreneurship in the form of brick and mortar businesses; working as a contractor or independent consultant for organizations such as Cincinnati Public Schools; and serving on the boards of various nonprofits.
She connected with Adventure Crew in 2019, while working as district assistant athletics director for CPS, and stayed connected through her own outdoor organization, Black Girls Camp. "Adventure Crew's mission aligns with my personal mission to diversify the outdoors and to bring 'brown faces into green spaces,'" she said.
When she saw the Crew was seeking a program manager, Asia, who also owns a survival and preparedness education company, was excited for the chance to work in the outdoor sector. "With my son leaving for college, my time became fluid, allowing me to finally walk in what I've always desired," she said.
Born and raised in Cincinnati and a product of Cincinnati Public Schools, Asia grew up spending time outside.
"I'm naturally an explorer and love the outdoors," she said. "My maternal grandfather was Quapaw Native American, and he broadened my love for the outdoors. Whenever there was something I was hesitant about, he'd always reply with 'you ain't ever gone learn nothing, chick.' He made sure I knew how to navigate and survive in the outdoors."
In fact, she loves the outdoors so much that even when she's at home in North College Hill, she often sleeps outdoors in a four-season canvas tent that she's turned into "a studio apartment of sorts."
Beyond working and spending time outside -- her favorite activities are camping and hiking -- Asia has an 18-year-old son who attends Saginaw Valley State University on a football scholarship and studies psychology. She's also associate pastor of The Chosen Church in Clayton, Ohio.
Welcome to the Crew, Asia!