Being #forestproud can mean being committed to keeping forests as forests, being climate-positive, rethinking our future in terms of carbon, and reconnecting people to the forest. Kayla Stuart began her career as a nurse while juggling the roles of being a single mom. Her daughter’s continuous battle with asthma is what led Kayla to look beyond the medicine. She wanted to learn the natural benefits that being outdoors and in nature had on the body.  

In 2021, Kalya left the security of her nursing job and the career she had built for herself and enrolled in the University of Tennessee to embark on her #forestproud journey.  

Kayla started working at The Works Inc. in Memphis, Tennessee, an organization dedicated to addressing food access, regenerative initiatives, and housing. There, she was striving to help give communities of color opportunities in green spaces. While working with 12 students in the program, Kayla was able to provide them with unique opportunities, such as camping and woodworking.  

She was then able to help build the curriculum to continue the organization's work in education after she left. “I think we as forest stewards and forestry professionals and students of natural environment should operate like we are carrying for the oldest living organisms on land.” This is the message she gave to students and members of the program when introducing them to natural resources.  

Working in Memphis then led Kayla to her research project at the University of Tennessee. She is working to study the specific characteristics that community members face when seeking careers in green spaces. She is also the program director for the Tennessee Champion Tree Program. 

In 2024, she began working with Job Corps in the Appalachian region, focusing on underserved and underdeveloped communities and students in the foster care system to help them become aware of forestry and the environment. The overall goal of the program has been to grow these students into forestry and conservation professionals. “Focusing on understanding how people who come from one space and into a natural resources position view the industry.” 

When Kayla was asked what #forestproud meant to her, she said, “Thinking about all the wildfires in Helene that affected western Carolina and Eastern Tennessee and my own personal journey, I hope the forest is proud of me.”  

If you are interested in furthering your education in forestry and natural resources and want to attend a program like Kayla's, check out the programs the University of Tennessee offers at their School of Natural Resources  

Want to help a give a student a pathway to success in the forestry industry? Check out and give to the various scholarships and grants SAF offers to students looking to further their educational and knowledge in the forestry profession. Give to SAF