In the Media
Social media, finally caught up to a 30 year career of pioneering, Professional Coach Emily Taylor. Check out all of the coverage from incredible writers and filmmakers in the industry.
Filmmaker
Pallavi Somusetty
Pallavi Somusetty is a cinematographer, producer, and director whose documentary portraits center BIPOC voices in the hope that we feel fully seen, exploring intersections of identity and belonging for our communities. She has been a series producer for A-Doc’s Storytelling Initiatives since 2020. Pallavi’s feature debut in progress, COACH EMILY, is a DocLands DocPitch Industry Award Winner, and she is a 2023-2024 IDA Logan Elevate Grantee and 2022 Center for Asian American Media fellow. Her work has been supported by Center for Asian American Media, California Film Institute, The Puffin Foundation, Eddie Bauer, Studio IX Project, and Center for Cultural Innovation, and more. Pallavi’s award-winning cinematography has appeared on Nat Geo, PBS, and other media outlets. She holds a documentary-focused Master in Journalism from UC Berkeley and a BA in Creative Writing from UC Santa Cruz.
Coach Emily Film (wt)
Coach Emily Film (working title), feature documentary follows Emily Taylor, an Oakland-based Black rock climbing coach, as she battles systemic racism in her professional and personal life during a time of unprecedented upheaval. Through her Brown Girls Climbing program, Emily supports young girls of color as they grapple with discrimination in the climbing world and work to define their identities. Some of her students are homeschooled, some have special needs.
Local Hero
Michael A. Estrada is a Salvadoran-American photojournalist and artist. His work falls at the intersection of media, environmental justice, art, and folks of color in nature. He interviewed about the creation of Brown Girls Climbing and photographed Professional Coach, Emily Taylor for this article.
Climbing Towards Justice
Journalist, Leonie Sherman spent hours interviewing to write, Climbing Towards Justice, an article featuring the social justice work in climbing from Coach Emily Taylor
The Power of Climbing Harnessed: Brown Girls Climbing addresses trauma and is increasing diversity at the crag
Michael A. Estrada is a Salvadoran-American photojournalist and artist. His work falls at the intersection of media, environmental justice, art, and folks of color in nature. He followed Emily Taylor and her crew for weeks to bring a beautiful conversation healing trauma through climbing
An Inclusive Community Celebrating Powerful Women
Mia Bolt, writer, blogger, travel storyteller, of Lady Days came through Oakland and spent a few hours recording Emily Taylor’s life, work and vision in an interview this past summer. Excitingly, this is the first time this story has been written.
Paving the Way for the Next Generation
DMV Outdoor Afro Leader and writer, Bethany Lebewitz has written a feature article highlighting professional career of Emily Taylor and the Brown Girls Climbing Program.
Brown Girls Climb and Brown Girls Climbing are excited for future collaborations in climbing, education and community connection. Stay tuned to our sites and all the POC climbing sites for events and updates!
San Francisco Chronicle
Writer, photographer and videographer, Yoshi James tells a beautiful story of Brown Girls Climbing and the life work of Emily Taylor in this Martin Luther King, Jr. feature article and online video article.