The Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association (ESIA), which works to educate and inspire people about the Sierra Nevada and Great Basin, encouraging them to explore and protect our majestic public lands, announces the hiring of a new Outreach Director.
Louis Medina, a resident of Bishop who has worked in the nonprofit sector for close to two decades in Los Angeles, Bakersfield and Bishop, started this new endeavor Monday, July 8. He is ESIA’s first ever English-Spanish bilingual Outreach Director, as the organization seeks to engage more of the community in ongoing education about Eastern Sierra public lands at a time when the use of public lands is increasing. According to the Sierra Nevada Alliance, 50 million people visit the Sierra each year.
Medina comes to ESIA with extensive experience and insights regarding cross-cultural communications, media relations, website management, grant writing and online fundraising. He has worked in areas as diverse as homelessness and poverty prevention for United Way of Kern County and Community Action Partnership of Kern, grant making and philanthropy for Kern Community Foundation, and conservation for Friends of the Inyo. An award-winning writer, Medina also worked as a full-time reporter and weekend editor for Bakersfield daily newspaper The Bakersfield Californian between 2006 and 2009; he has regularly contributed stories to local Eastern Sierra publications in both English and Spanish since moving to Bishop in late 2021.