[3] Subsequently, Mills started an outdoor focused career in 1989, spending time as a guide, outfitter, independent sales representative, writer, and photographer.
[9] In 2009, Mills founded "The Joy Trip Project", a news gathering and reporting organization that covers business, art and culture of the outdoor recreation industry.
Through the blog and podcast, Mills covers the people and culture within the industry and unearths buried stories, particularly of adventurers of color.
[9][10] In 2013, alongside Aparna Rajagopal-Durbin and Jeanne O’Brian of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), Mills helped organize Expedition Denali, the first all African American expedition to successfully summit Denali, North America's highest peak.
It additionally highlights role models who found ways to participate in outdoor recreation despite these barriers.