Yakuta Poonawalla, the Associate Director of Community Stewardship and Engagement at the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, works to create programs and community partnerships that support  stewardship, volunteerism, recreation, conservation and community science efforts. Yakuta, who also serves on the California Landscape Stewardship Network’s JEDI Roundtable and on the board of TOGETHER Bay Area, has written extensively for the National Recreation and Parks Association, the Children & Nature Network, the Center for Humans and Nature, and Bay Nature, and was recently a recipient of Bay Nature’s 2024 Local Community Hero Award.