Kareemah Batts is a native New Yorker who grew up in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, New York City. As a cancer survivor, paraclimber, an outdoor enthusiast, and a diversity, equity, and inclusion professional, she pulls from her lived experience and education to co-create a world where diversity is intersectional and accessible.

Early Life

Kareemah was raised by her maternal aunt and uncle who took guardianship of her at 19 months from foster care as her mother had behavioral disabilities. Kareemah’s Guardians took her camping, fishing, and showed her how to grow urban gardening in New York City and a respect for public spaces since the age of 4. This continues to spark the healing place she has for the outdoors.

Kareemah attended Hunter College and worked for NYC Department of Community Development as an assistant contract manager assisting in fostering youth programs that helped with homelessness and education obstacles. After this earlier schooling she worked with companies in marketing and publishing. She has a degree in Recreational Therapy and is pursuing her Business & Economics Management Degree

She grew up in a 7th-Day Adventist household where she learned about different natural health practices, and being a steward to the community. She was a Pathfinder from age 8 till 16. There she learned wilderness rescue, fire building, knots, and plant identification.  At the age 17 she joined the NYC Urban Park Rangers, working in trail building, water testing and park deterioration prevention.

Work

After being diagnosed with Synovial Sarcoma in 2009, leading to her partial leg amputation, Kareemah attended the Colorado Mountain School in 2011 where she fell in love with climbing. She became the first female paraclimber in a USA Climbing Competition. She has served as a team official for the USA Paraclimbing team since 2017.  In 2012, she was inspired to found the  Adaptive Climbing Group, the largest climbing program for people with disabilities in the country, It is 100% volunteer run; and she remains its Program Director. Additionally, she currently serves on committees and boards across the outdoor industry for diversity initiatives such as Access Fund, Brooklyn Boulders Foundation, American Alpine Club, USA Climbing, NYC Department of Transportation, Brown Girls Climb.

In addition to her non-profit passions she is a consultant to brands, climbing businesses, events, and guiding companies. Her work includes training and developing sustainable accessible opportunities for people with disabilities. She travels the country and the world educating, and speaking on behalf of her lived experience as a person with a disability serving others like her with intersectionalities of race, sex, and socio-economic under representation. Clientele is diverse with the likes of AdidasTERREX, Dartmouth, Elizabeth City State University, BackCountry and National Park services to name a few. 

Awards and Honors

Winner of the 2013 ADA Sapolin award given to her by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg at Gracie Mansion for her creation of integrated climbing communities for people with disabilities. 

Recipient of the 2019 Climbing Advocate Award by Access Fund for: “outstanding climbing advocacy, dedication to fostering a more diverse and inclusive climbing community; and leadership and service on behalf of adaptive climbers”

In 2023 American Alpine Club named her “Change Maker of the Year” for the the creation and work of Adaptive Climbing Group