Majora Carter, Urban Revitalization Strategist, to Speak at RWU on Feb. 13

Peabody Award-winning broadcaster will talk about “Environmental Equality in Low-Status Communities”

By Public Affairs
Majora Carter

BRISTOL, R.I. ­­– Majora Carter, an urban revitalization strategist and Peabody Award-winning broadcaster, will come to Roger Williams University on Wednesday, Feb. 13, to speak about “Environmental Equality in Low-Status Communities: How a Clean Economy Fits in Our Shared Future.”

Carter will discuss how a clean economy lies in the best interest of everyone’s future and how to work toward environmental equality. Her presentation is part of the President’s Distinguished Speaker Series and RWU’s yearlong series, “Ocean State/State of the Ocean: The Challenge of Sea-Level Rise Over the Coming Century.”

The presentation begins at 7 p.m. Feb. 13 at the RWU Campus Recreation Center, on the Bristol campus. The event is free and open to the public.

“Anyone who has seen Majora Carter’s TED Talk, ‘Greening the Ghetto,’ knows what a powerful and inspirational speaker she is,” RWU Interim President Andy Workman said. “RWU is particularly pleased to welcome her to campus during our yearlong conversation about pressing environmental matters. Her message connects directly to RWU’s commitment to sustainability, diversity and justice.”

Carter, a social entrepreneur and real estate developer, has devoted her career to transforming urban blight and to developing “low-status” communities into places where people want to stay and live. 

In her hometown of South Bronx, Carter established Sustainable South Bronx, where she launched MIT’s first Mobile Fab-Lab, an early iteration of the “Maker-Spaces” found across the nation, and she co-founded the Bronx Tech Meetup and the StartUpBox Software Services, which created a tech-job pipeline to help diversify the U.S. tech sector.

Carter is a Peabody Award-winning broadcaster and a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow. She was named a BusinessInsider.com “Silicon Alley 100” and Goldman-Sachs “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.” Her 2006 TED Talk was one of six to launch the groundbreaking site.

Anyone with questions may call RWU’s Special Events Office at: (401) 254-3166