The Camber Outdoors Board and leadership reported it will cease operations in late August 2024 because of “continued industry headwinds combined with the fact that outdoor industry companies are moving beyond the focused workplace tools that Camber Outdoors traditionally has provided.”

While Camber’s DEI work is “by no means complete,” the outdoor industry “has made gains and progressed with more companies bringing DEI resources in-house and investing in national, regional and local DEI consultants,” the organization wrote in a media release on Saturday, July 27. “Camber Outdoors is proud to have helped move this work forward in the industry.”

 For 28 years, Camber noted it has “worked on behalf of underrepresented groups in the outdoor industry.”

According to Camber, when it started the Outdoor Industry Women’s Coalition in 1996, “the industry lacked organizations supporting gender diversity in the workplace. From its inception, OIWC focused on professional development, education, networking, mentoring, and leadership programming that promoted women’s advancement in the Outdoor Industry.”

On its 20th anniversary in 2016, OIWC rebranded to Camber Outdoors as the nonprofit “expanded its focus to workplace DEI tools that prepare the industry to attract and retain underrepresented groups.”

Camber noted in the media release that it “is proud of its impact and the progress its partners have made” to include the following data:

  • Over 200 organizations and 15,000 individuals participated in the annual Camber programming. Since its inception, the Ann Krcik Professional Mentoring program has had over 1,200 mentors and mentees, and 50 interns from underrepresented groups have been placed over the past three years.
  • Seventy-four percent of Camber partners utilized resources focused on an inclusive hiring process, while the workforce’s demographic has shifted from 17 percent underrepresented groups in 2020 to 41 percent in 2023, according to the 2023 Camber Survey System conducted with the Claremont Evaluation Center.

Given this “recent progress, Camber Outdoors recognizes current and former partners, staff, past board members, and those that recently supported this work at a transformational level, including: REI, VF Corp., Keen, Brooks Running, Winnebago Industries, Noto Group, People for Bikes, Burton, Fox Racing, Deckers, and Perkins Coie.”

“It has been an honor to help the outdoor industry make strides toward building a more diverse workforce and better serving the increasingly diverse outdoor recreation participants,” said Reggie Miller, president of the Camber Outdoors Board of Directors, shown above right. “Since joining the board in 2019, I am pleased to see real commitment to the work, progress being made by many industry leaders, and a wide range of consultants and industry organizations supporting this work. Now is the time for these organizations and workplaces to carry this forward.”

“We are incredibly proud of the progress made over nearly three decades,“ said Tiffany Smith, CEO of Camber Outdoors, shown above right. “The landscape of DEI in the outdoor industry has transformed dramatically, and it has been an honor to be a part of this journey. We celebrate the growth of numerous grassroots and industry-wide organizations that Camber worked closely with and that are now leading DEI efforts. From the Outdoor Industry Association, People for Bikes, Outdoor Afro, Latino Outdoors to the Running Industry Diversity Coalition, these groups and others are driving significant change. Our legacy is the vibrant network of organizations and leaders now championing this cause.”

Images courtesy Camber Outdoors