Name: Majora Carter
Organization: Majora Carter Group
Title: President
Age: 45
What makes her an effective leader:
In one of the nation’s most environmentally and economically challenged areas, Carter successfully founded the nonprofit, Sustainable South Bronx. She ran the organization from 2001 to 2008 and helped establish a local model in the Bronx for green-collar job training and placement systems. Now with her own economic consulting firm she offers her invaluable expertise to a range of clients. Plus, she is a Peabody Award winning public radio producer and host of “The Promised Land.â€
My advice for President Obama:
“We can use green infrastructure projects to provide accessible jobs for people with significant barriers to employment such as the generationally impoverished, formerly incarcerated and many of our nation’s veterans. Jobs in green infrastructure include urban forestry, urban agribusiness and green roofing. These jobs help adapt our cities to climate change and numerous studies have shown that working with plants provides therapeutic benefits to people who work with them. Furthermore, the most efficient and cost-effective form of crime prevention and social service is a job; so this strategy has the benefit of reducing social service expenses as it improves public health, lowers law enforcement costs and improves quality of life.â€