Operation ROAM

Operation ROAM is Love Is King’s flagship Living Program — an immersive conservation and sovereignty delegation into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Participants learn directly from Indigenous governance, wildlife ecosystems, and real‑time land threats, rising as advocates who carry land‑based truth into national conservation policy.

ROAM is not a tour.

It is a movement shaped by lived experience on the land.

WHY ROAM EXISTS

The Arctic Refuge is one of the most sacred and threatened ecosystems in the world — a place where culture, ecology, and sovereignty intersect.

Operation ROAM exists to:

ROAM prepares leaders to advocate for land, water, wildlife, and the sovereign rights of Indigenous nations whose stewardship has protected these landscapes since time immemorial.

THE ROAM EXPERIENCE

Participants step into a multi‑day Arctic delegation shaped by:

Indigenous leadership & governance
Wildlife observation & ecological literacy
Land‑based learning & cultural knowledge
Sovereignty‑centered conservation
Advocacy training shaped by lived experience
Storytelling that documents truth on the land

ROAM is designed to build confidence, belonging, and courage — the foundation of conservation leadership.

WHO PARTICIPATES

Operation ROAM uplifts:

Participants rise as protectors of land, water, wildlife, and Indigenous sovereignty.

FROM LAND TO POLICY

ROAM is the first step in Love Is King’s leadership arc.

Participants begin with belonging and land literacy in the Arctic Refuge, then continue into SRI Deployments where they deepen habitat restoration, advocacy, and partnership with Tribal nations.

This arc moves leaders from:

Belonging → Stewardship → Advocacy → National Policy

ROAM is where the journey begins.

WHY THE ARCTIC REFUGE MATTERS

The Refuge is:

the cultural heart of the Gwich’in Nation
one of the last intact ecosystems on Earth
a critical wildlife migration corridor
a sacred landscape threatened by extraction
a living classroom for conservation and sovereignty

Protecting the Arctic Refuge is protecting culture, ecology, and survival.

Summer 2027 TBD

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

JUNE 3 – 14

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge / Gwichin

JULY 3 – 13

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge / Gwichin

September 15

Oregon Timber Trail Expedition Freedom to ROAM

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Signature: iSWLvfv0mXzSHqvZIJ5Wr3ALNaAAPeEb7HY3ECJ2YNWspDIA+plQzYaVh+irRLGkpE4FhI8MYhptffNq5sxlU+ZbwR0jxpNBvL0GPQlQ9nRk+lllvUi1pVByu8Dt8e0hkOYMonUp7/bTLe5TLsYcSE3HbIKWeg9Jo2+6rXdK3zQWVqekRACalzKjmbEVgbn8

THE LOVE IS KING Leaders

OPERATION ROAM LEADERS

Matt McClean

Assistant Roam Leader Guide

Matt (He/Him) has been doing conservation and restoration work for nearly 5 years. He got started doing internships at the nonprofit Wisdom of the Elders, eventually moving on to crew leading and working full time for years with their LLC. He joined the Green Workforce Academy program to further his skills, which eventually led to him doing the Adult Urban Forestry Program with Friends of Trees and Vancouver Urban Forestry. Matt also has worked as a seasonal hire, working for Portland Parks and Rec: Urban Forestry with their science and outreach division. He now works for Forest Park Conservancy as a Land Stewardship Manager.

Matt is a volunteer member of Multnomah County Search and Rescue, fisherman, a mushroom hunting enthusiast, forager, writer, and a proud citizen of the Metepenagiag Mi’kmaq Nation. Being raised off and on reserve throughout his life made him both connected and disconnected at times to the natural world. Increasing urban and non-urban indigenous peoples’ access and direct stewardship/ownership back to our lands is both a passion for him and an ecological requirement for the world moving forward.

Dr. Lisa Collins

Guide Assistant

Lisa Collins (she/hers) is an educational professional with 25 years of experience. She holds degrees in psychology and education and works as an assistant professor at Lewis and Clark College and as a business consultant. As a learning and development professional, Lisa supports talent management and business partners to solve workforce challenges. She brings a gender and equity lens to her working environments. Lisa can see multiple perspectives and creates a community. Lisa serves on the Oregon Assembly of Black Affairs, the advisory board for Strategies of Trauma Awareness and Resilience with Eastern Mennonite University, On The Inside, art-based services for incarnated women, and has served on Oregon School Employee Wellness Conference Committee.

Lisa is an environmental justice advocate; she participated in the 2022 Love Is King Project Roam, which allows BIPOC people to step into the realm of public land and freshwater conservation. As a climate advocate, Lisa participated in the Shades of Water. She advocated for the passage of the River Democracy Act, introduced by Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, to protect Oregon rivers. Creatively, Lisa is a playwright with works produced in New York (Manhattan Repertory Theater) and Portland (Hipbone, and Portland Center Stage, the Armory). Her short film, Be Careful What You Ask For, serves as a discussion platform for racial healing discussions and has been accepted into several film festivals.

Love is king ROAM leaders, Alaska Wilderness League Task Force

Operation ROAM

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Advocacy

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the finest examples of wilderness remaining anywhere in the world. Places like Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon define what it means to be American. The Arctic Refuge is one of these places. To that end, members of Congress must join Indigenous leaders and a majority of Americans who support protecting this national treasure.

Alaska Wilderness League in alliance with Love is King is proud to announce the historic launching of the Alaska Wilderness League Activation Council. This marks a unique partnership between a BIPOC organization and a traditional conservation group to unite and cultivate BIPOC leaders to activate their leadership and build advocacy around protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

“We are combining our human capital to defend the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from destructive oil and gas development,” said Chad Brown, found of Love Is King. “We’re learning from and following the leadership of the Gwich’in, who have lived in this place since time began.” Alaska is home to Native Tribes who have, for millennia, relied on Alaska’s lands and waters for their way of life. Alaska is home to an irreplaceable diversity of peoples, wildlife, and ecosystems.

This partnership is uniquely positioned to engage, enlighten and activate Congress to take action to restore long-standing bipartisan protections that have protected the Arctic Refuge from oil and gas development for decades. The Council will help establish dialogue channels and launch conversations with decision makers that have not traditionally been a part of the efforts to protect the Arctic Refuge. Our purpose is to continue to protect and strengthen our current environmental laws, preventing legislative attempts to undermine our environmental progress.