Leslie Elus

Regina Silas

Vanailxs

StephanieCreates

Nana’s Restart

Convicts of Diversified Empowerment (C.O.D.E.)

Multida's Daughters' Enterprise

Latinas Power Inc.

Hotep LLC

Those Gifted Hands Services, LLC

Water Boy Water, Inc.

Adore J'adore

Powerful Learning Academy

Rekiya Overstreet

Ebani Thomas

Natalio Moreno

Property Solutions Co-op







**Photo credits:** Saul Martinez for _[The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/24/us/miami-democratic-debates.html)_ (header), Nadege Green for _[WLRN](https://www.wlrn.org/news/2017-10-03/volunteers-in-miami-dade-create-collective-to-offer-free-tree-removal-after-irma)_ (first 2 photos in story), and the Konscious Kontractors [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/kkontraktors).


Michael Clarkson

Koby Price

Keith Preciados

Cortes Maria Lewis

Lauren Johnson

Marlenny

Louis

Estela WindWalker

Combcutters

Cristina Livingston

Valamere Mikler

Alexina Prather





## Ana Jaramillo has always wanted to make her parents proud, especially since they moved from Medellín, Colombia to Miami when she was a young child. Now, she’s fulfilling their dream of going to college, and her own dream of pursuing a career in which she can help others.


Ana Jaramillo

Bosco Moises Morales

Vanessa

TKH Renee McCoy

Stories of Impact

He was [recently elected](https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/tackling-climate-justice-issues-in-miami-neighborhoods/article_d2d843ae-5d26-11ec-9f51-f73a191bf713.html) as a steering committee member for the Miami Climate Alliance.

Micheal Clarkson is a landscape technician, CLEAR grad, and climate resilience advocate who founded Konscious Kontractors, a grassroots community initiative working to combat climate gentrification and help residents of all neighborhoods in their times of need.

The group provided free cleanup, repairs, and help for residents in need. In this photo from [WLRN](https://www.wlrn.org/news/2017-10-03/volunteers-in-miami-dade-create-collective-to-offer-free-tree-removal-after-irma), volunteers with Konscious Kontractors remove tree branches from a Little Havana home.

Michael, who graduated from our first CLEAR cohort in 2016, started Konscious Kontractors after Hurricane Irma devastated Miami in 2017.

One month after the storm, they had assisted over 100 community members, boarded up over 30 homes, and removed 75 fallen trees from private property.

“They call it urban renewal, redevelopment and all these other things, but when you look at those communities, those are the communities that have been historically exploited over the years,” he said to [The Miami Times](https://www.catalystmiami.org/tackling_climate_justice_issues_in_miami_neighborhoods), pointing to redlining, which has prevented Black residents from getting loans and developing their own communities in the first place for decades.

The organization also works to combat climate gentrification by beautifying yards and homes to help residents build equity, in an effort to prevent developers from doing it first. 

Michael also dedicates himself to raising awareness about climate gentrification and advocating for those affected by it. In a New York Times interview, he spoke about how climate change disproportionately impacts Black, Indigenous and other communities of color.

“Our basic thing is educating people. Developers and city officials have neglected Little Haiti over these years, and now it has become this hot spot, and people don’t know that it’s because of climate change. The name now is ‘climate change gentrification.’ We call it ‘climate change invasion.’”

He speaks alongside Nicole Crooks, who also has first-hand experience of climate gentrification occurring in her hometown, the historically Black neighborhood of Overtown, Miami.

In this TEDxMiami talk, Michael encourages us to take a stand for communities that are being pushed out.

As part of his CLEAR Fellowship in 2016, Michael launched CACASI, which stands for the Climate Action, Cultural Arts, and Science Initiative. In November 2016, he gave away 500 hot meals while educating hundreds of community members about climate change through his successful event, Chef, Church & CLEAR. Through CACASI, Michael co-founded Konscious Kontractors.

Michael kickstarted a legacy of compassion in action.

Konscious Kontractors worked tirelessly to provide meals, masks, and helpful resources across South Florida communities.

During the 2020-2021 pandemic...

Michael Clarkson

Micheal Clarkson se yon teknisyen jaden flè, klas CLEAR, ak defansè rezistans klima ki te fonde Kontraktè Konsyans, yon inisyativ kominotè k ap travay pou konbat jentrification klima ak ede rezidan nan tout katye nan tan yo bezwen.

Michael, ki gradye nan premye COHort KLE nou an nan 2016, te komanse Konscious Kontractors apre siklon Irma devaste Miami nan 2017.

Yon mwa apre van an, yo te ede plis pase 100 manm kominote yo, monte moute sou 30 kay, epi retire 75 pyebwa tonbe nan pwopriyete prive.

Òganizasyon an travay tou pou konbat jentrification klima pa anbeli yad ak kay pou ede rezidan yo bati ekite, nan yon efò pou anpeche devlopè yo fè li an premye.

Nan pale TEDxMiami sa a, Michael ankouraje nou pou nou pran yon kanpe pou kominote yo ke yo te pouse.

Michael kickstarted yon eritaj konpasyon nan aksyon.

Pandan pandemi an 2020-2021 ...