"Wading into the World of Fly Fishing" with Michala Hendrick
Talk Description Fly fishing is a sport that for decades has been perceived as a white male-dominated form of recreation with an aging population. However, for decades women have been leaving a mark on the sport and paving their way into leadership and guiding roles, as well as media representation. Michala will provide an overview of the history of women in fly fishing, while sharing her own story of struggle and success becoming an avid freshwater and saltwater fly angler and conservationist as a young woman. She will conclude the talk by sharing ways to advocate for and support young women as developing anglers and in male-dominated recreation spaces broadly.
Speaker Bio Michala Hendrick is the director of Rensselaer Youth Outdoors, a program of Rensselaer Plateau Alliance. She has a passion for radically engaging youth with nature and fostering place attachment through stewardship, education, and play in nature. Michala is a Rensselaer County native, growing up in East Greenbush. Exploring the outdoors has always been a central pillar in her life that has connected her to diverse landscapes across the country. Her connection to nature deepened during her years in college at SUNY Plattsburgh’s Center for Earth and Environmental Science, where she purchased her first fly fishing rod and fell in love with fly angling. Michala continued her education at Old Dominion University, pursing her master’s degree in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Studies and a Graduate Certificate in Conservation Leadership. During her time in graduate school, she contributed to research with the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, focusing on stakeholder perceptions of climate change threatened resources, visitor use management, air quality, the role of prescribed fire, and barriers and constraints to recreation access. Michala spends all her free time fly fishing across Rensselaer County, the North Country, and the East Coast broadly.