Running-Grass is an educational and cultural theorist and environmental activist. His expertise spans several fields, including multicultural education, critical pedagogy, and environmental and wilderness education. He is widely published and nationally recognized for his formative contribution to the field of multicultural environmental education and environmental justice. Running-Grass was one of the 300 delegates to the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in 1991, which launched the Environmental Justice movement onto the national stage. Since the late 1990s, in his position at the United States EPA, he has worked on Environmental Justice issues at various levels of government, including federal, state, and local, with a focus on identifying and addressing these issues at the community level. Running-Grass is a long-time student of Yoga, Buddhist philosophy and practice, and the Japanese martial art Aikido.