The Outdoor Citizen: Get Out, Give Back, Get Active - Hardcover

John Judge is president and chief executive officer of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), which was founded in 1876 and today is the oldest outdoor recreation and conservation organization in the United States. He is an internationally renowned advocate for connecting people to the outdoors, conservation stewardship, and advancing the outdoor economy, and since 2012 has led the AMC's sustainable growth and its work to get hundreds of thousands of people active in the outdoors and conservation stewardship. He also oversees the AMC community of 300,000 outdoor enthusiasts and 16,000 dedicated volunteers, as well as 70 AMC overnight facilities, more than 100,000 acres of protected conservation and recreation lands, and 8,000 annual programs and activities for AMC members and the public. Prior to working at the Appalachian Mountain Club, Judge served in leadership roles at nonprofit, for profit, and government organizations, including as chief planning and economic development officer for Springfield, Massachusetts, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston Inc, founder of an inner-city real estate and development business, and in a variety of nonprofit leadership roles. Judge has a bachelor's degree from Stonehill College and a master's degree from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He lives with his family in Boston, MA.

“In this compelling and necessary book, John Judge offers a bold new model for environmental policy and action beginning with the truth that a personal connection with the outdoors is the first step toward preserving it. The Outdoor Citizen is a visionary blueprint for how individuals, communities, and, indeed, our entire civilization must act to become outdoor-centric in an epoch defined by both climate change and miraculous technological promise.”
—Joseph E. Aoun, President of Northeastern University

"With the extraordinary experience as president of America's oldest conservation and outdoors organization, John Judge maps out a new framework for global outdoor citizenship, a vision for conservation coupled with an appreciation for an active outdoor lifestyle. As a company founded to help people explore wild places and an early leader in how to be a socially and environmentally responsible business, Patagonia believes there is a sense of urgency—today more than ever—for all of us to be champions for the outdoors and our home planet."
—Rose Marcario, President and CEO of Patagonia 

"Since 2013, Outdoor Afro has been working alongside the Appalachian Mountain Club with a shared mission to train the next generation of outdoor leaders and Outdoor Citizens. John Judge's efforts have prioritized making the outdoors accessible to all, which has included expanding leadership training and outdoor skills learning; building hundreds of miles of trails in underserved areas; and establishing outdoor centers and nature-based programs in urban areas."
—Rue Mapp, Founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro

“John Judge is uniquely qualified to outline a vision for the next generation of Outdoor Citizens. The legendary activists of the 60s and 70s made incredible progress in turning the tide of profit vs. conservation, but those victories are ancient history now and we are waiting for the next generation of heroes to emerge. The Outdoor Citizen makes a strong case for how that can happen.”
—Dan Nordstrom, Owner and CEO of Outdoor Research

“The Outdoor Citizen sets forth a framework for all of us to participate in the fun of the outdoors, while embracing a responsibility to conservation stewardship. As the chief executive of America's oldest conservation organization, the Appalachian Mountain Club, John understands firsthand the power of nature to transform our lives through deeper outdoor recreational and conservation experiences.”
—Steve Smith, CEO of L.L. Bean