Announcing The Second Round of Collective Resiliency Fund Awardees
Meet the 7 women of color leading the sustainability movement through their powerful and impactful projects, companies and initiatives.
Women of Color Collective in Sustainability launched the Collective Resiliency Fund this past summer to support women impacted by the pandemic. We received submissions from across the U.S. and awarded our first round of funds to those selected out of an impressive pool of applicants.
The goal of our collective has been and will continue to be providing resources, tools and opportunities that amplify and support those who self identify as women and make up the global majority. That is why we are so thrilled to announce the next round of awardees who are building a sustainable future for all communities.
Alexandra Gonzalez
President and Co-Founder, Hive Public Space
Alexandra is the President and Co-Founder of Hive Public Space, a Women-led urban design and placemaking consultancy based in New York City. She is an architect and urban designer, who has experience working with private, public and non-profit sectors. She is committed to designing sustainable and resilient public spaces that are socially and culturally inclusive. She is the former Senior Urban Designer for both the Bryant Park Corporation and the 34th Street Partnership in Manhattan, NY. At this role, she was part of a multidisciplinary team responsible for the management, design and operation of the park and other plazas in the Midtown Area. Alexandra believes in the power of public spaces and strives for her work to create memories and connections while evolving the impact and business of design. She received both a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Bachelor of Architecture from Rhode Island School of Design and holds a Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University in New York. She is the current Design Fellow at the Design Trust for Public Spaces and core-organizer for Design as Protest.
Ciara Imani May
CEO & Founder, Rebundle
Ciara Imani May is the CEO & Founder of Rebundle; the first U.S. made plant-based braiding hair. A University of Southern California alumna, her master’s in social entrepreneurship led her to start her own company that addresses the intersectionalities of beauty and sustainability. After suffering from scalp irritation from braids for years, Ciara recognized an opportunity to provide a safe and sustainable alternative to traditional braiding hair. Now, Rebundle is on a mission to revolutionize hair extensions with more comfort and less waste.
Diana Jaramillo
Founder and Principal Architect, Kin Studio
Kin Studio is an architectural and design studio based in Syracuse, NY. Established in the summer of 2017, Kin Studio started with the mission to practice an architecture that is diverse, equitable and sustainable. Kin Studio seeks to embrace and practice design that is diverse, equitable and sustainable. In practice, what that means is that, we aim: to make sure we work with clients from different backgrounds, to make our prices accessible for large and small projects, and to build our designs with sustainability in mind. Founder, Diana Jaramillo, is a licensed architect in New York State and a record holding member of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), which allows her to do work in other states. Diana received her Masters in Sustainable Construction Management from SUNY ESF, and her Bachelors in Architecture from Syracuse University.
Diana Nguyen
Director of Strategic Partnerships, Climate Action LAb
Diana is a storyteller, environmentalist, and basic needs advocate. She is passionate about bringing people together — from all walks of life — to advance equitable access and distribution of affordable housing, transportation, healthy foods, and clean air and water. Diana is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Climate Action LAb, a digital platform dedicated to empowering young Angelenos to take climate action. At the LAb, Diana cultivates meaningful relationships with folks in the Greater LA community to create educational and engaging climate-related resources. In addition to her role at Climate Action LAb, Diana serves as the AmeriCorps Volunteer and Stewardship Coordinator for The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut where she engages communities on decision-making related to natural resources and water quality issues.
Dior St. Hillaire
Director of Operations, GreenFeen OrganiX
Dior is the Director of Operations for GreenFeen OrganiX and supports the team with composting, customer acquisition, project management, coalition building and policy analysis. She is passionate about Environmental Justice in the South Bronx and adds a unique approach to reimagining New York City’s waste management system, while positioning the business to influence local policy, build capacity for local organics processing, and employ creative marketing techniques. As a former educator in New York City, Dior St. Hillaire uses Hip Hop to teach Environmental Sustainability. After starting several after school programs, teaching workshops, composting, and sitting on multiple boards, Dior brings her knowledge of education, environmental awareness, community development, and leadership to the organization. To deepen this understanding she is currently enrolled at The New School, obtaining her Master of Science degree in Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management with a concentration in management. She is an innovator who has accomplished a great deal in her young age.
Kaya Alta
Coordinator of Social Initiatives, K’allam’p
Kaya Alta is a first-generation Kichwa indigenous woman from the Santa Bárbara community leading the health care system of Cotacachi City. She is an alumni Fellow of the Hanns Seidel Foundation, during which she investigated the relationships and circumstances in the dichotomy of indigenous midwiving knowledge and the local hospital acceptance of ethnomedicine practice in the northern part of Ecuador. She has managed the County Medical Strategy, District of Cotacachi, Coordinator of the Apuela Operating Unit, Provision of Health Services of District 10D03 Cotacachi, and General Practitioner. In addition to her health care functions, MD Alta leads the different community-participatory projects related to food sovereignty, social justice, water/soil conservation, and access to education and health of
K’allam’p Ecuador, she alsoworks in the first Indigenous Midwives Congress in the City of Cotacachi, Ecuador.
Raina Turner-Greenlea
Sustainable Community Solutions Network
Afia Raina Turner-Greenlea is a staunch proponent of employing sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies. She has her own consulting firm, Sustainable Community Solutions, where indigenous wisdom informs each custom solution for clients. Additionally, Raina organizes an annual Black Sustainability Summit, manages a diverse, global network and database of over 2,000 individuals and organizations dedicated to sustainable community development in communities across the African diaspora. For the past four years she has helped design and implement HABESHA, Inc.’s & The Nature Conservancy’s Urban Green Jobs workforce development program. She is supporting the City of Atlanta’s Clean Energy Advisory Board 100% Clean Energy goals through Hummingbird Firm & Sierra Club and is currently volunteering with Ayitian/Haitian non-profit Fondayson Felicitee to support re-righting history for cultural pride, gender equality/justice and respect for the living planet. Sis. Raina’s passion for creating healthy sustainable communities, locally and abroad, shifted her career focus from merely advertising the issues to engaging in global research for local solution generation, relationship development and increasing self-sufficiency for people of African descent.
Thank you to the many supporters who have made this giving possible. We appreciate you and looking forward to working together to advance the stories and actions of women of color across the globe.
