Outdoor Retailer - January 2021 - 28

Lise
Aangeenbrug

INSIGHT

The Path Forward
Outdoor Industry Association Executive Director Lise Aangeenbrug talks about how the outdoor industry can work with the
Biden administration to move forward on climate, public lands,
and trade-and how a love for the outdoors can cut through the
partisanship of American politics. By Doug Schnitzspahn
LISE AANGEENBRUG GOT THROWN INTO THE
fire when she became Outdoor Industry
Association's (OIA ) executive director last
February. When she was just a month into
the job, the world was shutting down, outdoor brands were struggling to survive, and
OIA had to pivot its funding without immediate revenue from Outdoor Retailer's
summer show. But Aangeenbrug-who
previously led the Outdoor Foundation,
OIA's philanthropic arm, and holds a master's degree from the Yale School of Forestry
and Environmental Studies-has kept the
organization vibrant and effective during
the pandemic, overseeing the implementa-

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/ January 2021

tion of OIA's Climate Action Corps (see page
12) and seeking ways to stabilize funding
and serve the needs of OIA members nervous about unfriendly politics and economic
shutdowns. After the election, she took the
time to talk to us about how the outdoor industry can benefit under the Biden administration and how OIA will continue to work
on both sides of the aisle to promote policies
that prioritize action on climate, protection
of public lands, and stability on trade.
What are you looking forward to about
working with the Biden administration?
I think we'll certainly have a partner on a lot

What policies do you see the new
administration enacting that align
with OIA's work?
The Biden administration is going to be active
on climate change, and the outdoor industry
will be able to provide a business voice when it
comes to the effort to combat climate change.
Controlling the pandemic and stimulating the
economy are going to be at the top of the list for
the new administration, and we believe that
our public lands and waters can be a key part
of the recovery. We can preserve our public
lands and really make them the cornerstone of
economic recovery. On the trade front, we're
looking for a more stable, predictable environment for our businesses. We've been dealing
with trade wars and punitive tariffs, and, while
I think the Biden administration is going to
look very closely at domestic priorities initially, we will have a more stable, predictable environment for our businesses, which will help
them to get back to what they do best.
We're seeing a surge in interest in outdoor
recreation and we want to be part of helping
to sustain it, so we'll be quite active with the
next administration and Congress, even with a
divided Congress. I think we have the opportunity to work across the aisle as we demonstrated with the success of the Great American
Outdoors Act (GAOA). Which brings up an
important point: We want to be working with
the next administration and Congress to make
sure that GAOA is implemented.
Will you build on relationships and
initiatives from the Obama years?
We had a solid relationship overall with the
Obama administration and with secretary
Jewell at Interior, since she came from the
outdoor industry. So I'm confident-based

Courtesy Outdoor Industry Association

of our key issues, and we're looking forward to
the ability to work across our policy agenda.
We can work with the president on making
investments in green infrastructure and closeto-home recreation. We'll have the opportunity to work with him to make sure the outdoors
is open to all Americans. We want to ensure
there's diversity and close-to-home recreation.
We can really play a key role in that.

http:// https://outdoorindustry.org/

Outdoor Retailer - January 2021

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