The Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) hired Chris Perkins as a senior director with a particular focus on rural economic development, Great American Outdoors Act implementation and the Together Outdoors program.
Perkins will support local and state government relations work, ORR stated, and expand ORR’s programmatic capacity, leading efforts to build on ORR’s Rural Economic Development Toolkit and create new state-level Offices of Outdoor Recreation.
“Chris brings a work ethic and knowledge of business and environmental issues, elevating the work we can achieve on behalf of the industry,” said Jessica Turner, executive director of ORR. “He has proven time and time again that no task is above him, he will get the job done professionally and thoughtfully and you will likely learn something from him along the way. Chris’ education and professional background is only second to his deep desire to preserve our outdoor heritage and make these places more welcoming and accessible to all. We cannot be happier to have Chris on board full-time moving forward.”
Chris Perkins is an outdoor recreationist, thought leader and strategist, ORR stated. He holds a Master’s in Environmental Management from Yale School of the Environment, a Master’s in Business Administration from the Yale School of Management and a B.A. in Biophysics, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Whitman College.
“I feel so fortunate to join the ORR team of outdoorists, entrepreneurs, business and thought leaders to work on opportunities to grow this industry,” Perkins said. “ORR has built something special in a short amount of time, helping to achieve huge victories for the outdoor recreation industry, and I cannot wait to be part of this collective work.”
Before joining ORR, Perkins worked as program director for the Shift Conference in Jackson, Wyoming and was a fellow with the House of Representatives’ Natural Resources Committee. Perkins is a backcountry skier who has twice skied the Grand Teton and enjoys whitewater rafting and kayaking.
