James Edward Mills

James Edwards Mills (born 1966) is an African American freelance journalist, author, outdoor guide, and independent media producer who specializes in telling stories about outdoor recreation, environmental conservation, and sustainable living.

Mills is the author of The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors. He has contributed to publications including National Geographic, Rock & Ice and Alpinist. He received a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley.

In 2009, Mills founded "The Joy Trip Project", a news gathering and reporting organization that covers business, art and culture of the outdoor recreation industry. Through the blog and podcast, Mills covers the people and culture within the industry and unearths buried stories, particularly of adventurers of color.

In 2013, alongside Aparna Rajagopal-Durbin and Jeanne O’Brian of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), Mills helped organize Expedition Denali, the first all African American expedition to successfully summit Denali, North America's highest peak. A documentary about the Denali expedition entitled: An American Ascent was subsequently produced. Mills acted as a cowriter and coproducer on this production.

Mills is a faculty assistant at the University of Wisconsin Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. He teaches a summer course for undergraduate students on diversity, equity and inclusion in outdoor recreation and public management called "Outdoors for All."

Awards & honors

National Geographic Explorer (2023) Yosemite National Park Centennial Ambassador (2016) Banff Centre Mountain & Wilderness Writing Program Fellow (2014)

Selected articles Here's how national parks are working to fight racism (2020) These people of color transformed U.S. national parks (2020) Opinion: Built on smoke (2020) No Pain, No Change (2019)

Filmography

An American Ascent (2014) Credited as a cowriter and coproducer on the production.

Breaking Trail (2021)

Credited as a coproducer on the production.

Blackwaters (2023)

Credited as a costar and executive producer on the production.

Awards

An American Ascent won Best Feature Film at the Mountain & Adventure Film Festival.

Breaking Trail was an Official Selection for the 2021 Banff Mountain Film Festival.

Legacy In 2020, Outside Magazine named The Adventure Gap one of the 10 "Outdoor Books that Shaped the Last Decade".