Omimah Hassan (she/her) – Calgary Summer Events Lead
Omimah is a Moroccan-Egyptian Canadian exploring on Treaty 7 land. She found a love for the outdoors after high school and has been trying to spend as much time in nature since.
She spends the summer hiking, camping, and exploring the backcountry when she can. In the winter she switches over to skiing, skating, and snowshoeing.
Omimah believes the outdoors should be accessible to everyone and that time outdoors is time well spent. She looks forward to sharing her love for the mountains and recreation with others and creating a space for everyone to learn and gain confidence in the outdoors.
Omimah will be running hikes, conservation, and possibly climbing events this summer!
Allison Mootoo (she/her) – Calgary Trail Running Lead
Allison is a Filipino Canadian, relocated from her home in Toronto to Calgary in search of a lifetime of mountain adventures to enjoy with her family.
New to the land, Allison wanted to engage in outdoor activities with little to no experience and unsure of what to expect. As a mother to a multiracial family, Allison noticed the lack of diversity on the hikes and trails. This did not stop her from engaging, exploring, and learning from the land and those around her. Allison joins us as the chapter leader for Colour the Trails and is driven to connect with the Black, Indigenous and all people of colour who are new to an outdoor and active lifestyle. Leading a Diversity and Inclusion committee, she shares the challenges of knowing and feeling like you belong and is always looking to support the voices of those who feel unheard.
Allison loves to hike, run (trail+road) and practices/teaches yoga in the city. She loves any off-roading adventure in her Jeep and has two active huskies who are always up for a run. Allison brings her passion for people and movement to the Colour the Trails team, with drive to continue this chapter of change in Calgary.
Tolu Amuwo (she/her) – BC Hike Lead
Tolu is a serial hobbyist when it comes to outdoor activities. As a Nigerian immigrant in British Columbia and with a lack of know-how or a community to guide her interest, access to nature had always felt just out of reach. As much as those barriers have existed, she has been able to build connections with other like-minded folks and explore the different ways to enjoy being outside, whether it’s hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, camping, or skiing.
For Tolu, an important part of engaging in outdoor activities involves deepening her understanding of decolonising practices and exercising reciprocity with the land. She hopes that through her role at Colour the Trails, she can continue to empower more Black, Indigenous, and racialized folks to enter into outdoor spaces as well as exercise sustainable and healthy relationships with the land.
Amanda Lyn (she/her) – Ontario Summer Events Co-Lead
Amanda is passionate about amplifying the diverse experiences of people of colour within leisure spaces, centering joy and authenticity. She strongly believes that our communities, the sharing of our experiences, our joy and our moving bodies are radical acts of resistance.
Amanda embraces any opportunity to trying new things and meet new people. Amanda is currently exploring her interests in horseback riding, snowboarding, paddleboarding and bouldering. As a lifelong learner, Amanda challenges herself to embrace being a beginner, explore joyful movement and reconnect with nature. Through working with Colour the Trails, Amanda hopes to connect with community in a fun and adventurous way.
Hafsah Penny (she/her) – Edmonton Trail Running Mentorship Lead
Hafsah will be facilitating the trail running program here in Edmonton. She is a university student currently studying Education. Outside of work and school you can find her at the gym or on a run. She has spent the past 2 years volunteering and facilitating community events specifically catered to the female Muslim community in Edmonton. Hafsah is super excited to work alongside Colour the Trails for this amazing program.
Medāneghā́ʼ Detʼele (Zir/zir/zirs) – BC Trail Running Mentorship Lead
Medāneghá Det’ele is a Indigenous, 2S and Disabled runner. They have been running for a long time on and off and haven’t always liked running. Once they got into trail running they found a lot more joy in running again and running with friends is always a fun time. Medāneghá Det’ele has spent most of their running career running solo, as the running community and even more so the trail running community, is not very diverse or welcoming, so being able to create more space for people to get into trail running is something Medāneghá Det’ele looks forward to.
Meh-heh Alahshe (she/her) – BC Sea Kayak Mentorship Lead
Meh-heh is an uninvited guest, as a foreign migrant from her African homelands, on the traditional, unceded, ancestral homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ Nations. While she has spent her life on these territories, Meh-heh had little opportunity or guidance to explore outdoor recreation in her youth. As she grew, she quickly discovered her love for the trees, mountains, and oceans, but found that she did not have the skills or gear to keep-up with her friends.
As a long-time community member with the Vancouver CTT chapter, she holds a deep gratitude for receiving invitations to try a number of CTT activities for the first time, which allowed her to take space, give grace, and learn at her own pace.
Being a AAA battery at her core, she identifies as an unwavering Activist, Anti-racist, and Abolitionist, and loves holding deep conversations on decolonizing spaces and practices. As the first hijabi to enter many spaces on her life journey, she aims not for equity, but for justice– which seeks to also remove barriers for all, so that equity-seeking folks, particularly those with multiple intersections, can make positive change, and further their circumstances forward. Meh-heh is also passionate about disability advocacy, and adapting and accommodating recreation so that everyone can participate and find their joy. You can find her in the grassroots or the tidal pools of any activity, sport, or court– holding your invitation to, “collective care, collective liberation.”
Nicolás Peña Parra (he/him) – Montreal Hike Lead
Nico is an environmental educator and outdoor leader with a wide range of outdoor experience from trail running, climbing, hiking, and scrambling. As a Latinx person coming from Colombia, he developed an increased interest in making the outdoors more inclusive and diverse.
When his schedule allows and the need for adventure arises, he also delivers workshops and conferences to schools and community centers on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the outdoors.
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, Mental Health Wilderness First Aid.