Majora Carter is a Distinguished Fellow with Groundswell
Majora has led her own real estate development and urban revitalization consulting company since 2008, which focused on talent-retention strategies in community and corporate settings. Her clients have ranged from municipalities and NGOs to professional trade groups, large corporations, and federal agencies. She founded Sustainable South Bronx in 2001. Under Majora’s leadership, the organization secured the passage of New York City's Green Roof Tax Abatement, launched one of the nation's first and most successful green-collar job training and placement systems, and changed the national discourse on the relationship between environmental equality and economic development. Along the way, she produced and hosted the Peabody Award-winning public radio series, “The Promised Land,” which highlighted leaders of color in environmental and economic projects across the US.
She is a board member of Solar 1 and has previously served on the boards of USGBC, The Wilderness Society, Andrew Goodman Foundation, and Ceres. Her 2006 TEDtalk, Greening the Ghetto, was one of six to launch TED.com to the world. She is a MacArthur Fellow, and recipient of 7 honorary PhDs, along with accolades from organizations as varied as the Center for American Progress, Goldman Sachs, News Corp, NRDC, The Eleanor Roosevelt Society, and many others. She is quoted on the walls of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture: "Nobody should have to move out of their neighborhood to live in a better one," which is also the subtitle of her book, Reclaiming Your Community, available in February 2022.
She lives in the South Bronx community where she was born and raised and is also the proud owner of The Boogie Down Grind, a curated cafe experience that celebrates Hip Hop culture and community roots.